Teacher's Chocolate Survival Kit

I love my children's teachers!  I guess that's why I volunteered to be room mom for both of my kids' classes this year - yes, I often wonder, what was I thinking; and no, I don't have that much free time, although I like to think I do.

When your children are lucky enough to have caring, dedicated and positive teachers in their lives on a daily basis, it's nice to do a little something for them to show them how much you appreciate all that they do.

I made this teacher's survival kit for my daughter's teacher for American Education Week.  As a former teacher, I remember that week all too well.  It was exciting and stressful all at the same time, but a little treat would surely help a teacher survive any rough patch during that week.

I purchased a plastic jewelry organizer at my local craft store and covered the lid with some pretty scrapbooking paper and adhesive letters.  I added some of the teacher's favorite treats and topped it off with a pretty ribbon.  She loved it!

This would make an easy and sweet gift for a teacher at any time of the year!  I'm thinking of making one for myself to keep at home!

Apple Gift Card Holder

Gift cards are another easy teacher gift.  It's a simple way to show our appreciation, but allows them to pick out something they would really like.  I saw this idea over at Inking Idaho to create an apple gift card holder and wanted to recreate it for a gift card we were giving.

Here's what we came up...

My son gave this to his teacher last year with a gift card to our local bookstore along with THIS handmade bookmark.  Very simple, but turned out super cute, especially paired with the handmade bookmark.

I Love Reading Bookmark

With the end of the school year quickly approaching, you may be thinking of ways to show your appreciation to your child's teacher.  This bookmark is just a small token, but a really cute and thoughtful idea. 

Last year, my son made this bookmark for his teacher.  We had seen the idea in Family Fun Magazine and loved how simple the project was.  Using cardstock for the base, we simply added my son's picture (in the shape of a heart) and wrote some of his favorite books he could first read on his own.  We added some school themed ABC ribbon as a tassle.  We also included a gift card to a local bookstore in a cute gift card holder.

Mosaic Flower Pots

I saw this idea to make mosaic flower pots on the Family Fun website.  We decided to make these for Mother's Day, but they would also be cute to make for your favorite teacher.  Instead of using ceramic tile grout, we opted for a less messy and easier alternative - Crayola Model Magic Clay!  We love this stuff!  Not only is it inexpensive, but it's easy to use, not messy and dries easily.

Each of the kids started by rolling their clay into a long snake that would wrap around the entire pot.  Then, using their fingers and palms of their hands, they flatted the clay so it covered the entire pot.  Once it was spread out, they stuck some fun crafty items into the clay, creating a mosaic effect.  We let them dry overnight, then planted some pretty flowers in each.  This was a very easy and quick gift project, and the kids really enjoyed making and giving them!

Personalized Teacher Tote Bag

My son's teacher is amazing, so I knew I wanted to make her something extra special for Teacher Appreciation Week.  With the help of our parents, and every child, I helped to create this adorable tote bag for her.

Since she is on the "green team" for our school and enjoys getting the kids outside in nature, I thought I would use a nature theme for her bag.  On the front of the bag, I painted tree branches and sewed on 23 tiny green leaves.  Then, each of the kids put their thumbprint on a lighter piece of fabric that was attached to each of the green leaves (with Heat n Bond tape).

On the back, I embroidered the school year onto a piece of fabric and stitched that onto the bag.

Our school's PTA put together a "Favorite Things" binder, where each teacher filled out a sheet with a list of their favorite things.  So, we took some ideas from her list and added some of her favorites to her tote bag.  She loved everything!

Crayon Letter Shadowbox

I made these crayon letter shadowboxes last year for my daughter's preschool teachers after seeing the idea over at the Trendy Treehouse.  These were pretty easy to put together and didn't cost very much.  Here are the list of supplies you will need:

• shadowbox type frame (I used an acrylic box frame)
• cardstock
• crayons
• Xacto knife (plus a thick piece of cardboard for cutting)
• hot glue gun
• letter stickers (optional)

I started by taking apart the acrylic box frame.

Next, I printed the teacher's initial on a piece of cardstock.  I chose a very light line so it couldn't be seen if the crayons didn't cover it completely.  This piece of cardstock is the same size as the cardstock that came in the frame (minus the folded edges).



Then, using the Xacto knife, I started cutting my crayons as needed to form the shape of the letter.

Once the crayons were arranged how I liked, I used my hot glue gun to run a small strip of glue on the back and glued them into place on the cardstock.  I also used letter stickers to spell out the teacher's name on the side.



Finally, I placed the cardstock with the crayons onto the white cardstock that was inside my frame.  I pulled up the folded eges and slid the box frame on top of the creation.

I made two of these, and the second one with the letter 'M' was definitely a bit trickier but still turned out pretty well.

I paired the frames with a new notepad and pencils and tied them together with some pretty ribbon and these free teacher printables I found at Tip Junkie.

The teachers thought they were so cute, so I plan to make them again this year for my daughter's teachers as well.  These would work great for Teacher Appreciation Week or an end of the year gift.