Mothers Day

I am grateful for my Mom, who watches over me from heaven, and for sweet Rosalia who loved me like a daughter. For my sisters who helped me raise my own children and who let me help raise theirs. I am thankful for the dear mothers of my close friends who were second moms to me. Love to my sweet daughters-in-heart who were raised by amazing moms. Happy Mothers' Day to my dear Aunt, who has always loved me unconditionally. And special shout outs to my friends who have help mother my children.  Happy Mothers Day. I love and honor each of you for all that you have done for me.

"Few of us will reach our potential without the nurturing of both the mother who bore us and the mothers who bear with us." - Sheri Dew

Last one ... I promise

We have had so much fun this week with Teacher Appreciation week that we had to sneak one more idea in. Ter's current teacher has a dog and since Dad sells dog bones we thought we'd try to be teacher's pet by treating the teacher's pet.
This was so easy. We picked out some tasty (we think because we DID NOT try them) dog bones and put them in a handy brown paper bag.

Next we tied a pretty ribbon around the bag and created a cute label.

Cute and easy for our super teacher.

Teacher Appreciation Day 3, 4 and 5

I had seen this idea in several different formats and always thought it was interesting. But I had never tried it. Teacher Appreciation week seemed like the perfect opportunity. You can see a flawless one here at Our Best Bites . She did hers using small fruit cans. I wanted to give our teacher lots of candy in hers so I got a can of cashews from Target. The first step is to remove the bottom of the can. Be sure to keep it because you will have to put it back again.
Next, fill your can with treats. We chose all kinds of candy because teachers love candy! (Remember that: Candy - YES, Apples - NO!).

We tried to get a good assortment.

The next step is to place tissue paper on top of the candy. Really stick it in the can good because it protects the candy when you put the bottom back on. The tutorial said to use a hot glue gun. Of course, I had the gun but no glue. Instead, I used a heavy duty white glue. This was pretty messy and probably not the best choice but I didn't want to take another trip to the craft store. I did cover the bottom by tracing the lid and gluing scrapbook paper onto the lid as an added bottom.

I chose a cute scrapbook paper to cover the can and added my label and a ribbon. We will give it to our teacher tomorrow.

This turned out to be a fun project and I will be doing it again. The possibilities of what could be put in the cans is endless.

♥♥♥

I'm adding two more ideas we are doing because I'm not sure I'll have time to post the rest of the week.

This idea popped up on The Rachel Berry Blog . She used a six pack of the bottles. I changed it up by buying cans. We wanted to give something to some of the other teachers who interact with Ter (his buddy class teacher, a couple of the yard duty teachers he loves, the after school program teacher, etc.) so the cans were a great choice. The saying is You are (A&W logo)some!

The last idea is my own (Yes, occasionally I have an original thought) and you are welcome to borrow it. We have a favorite Chinese restaurant and I thought that Teacher Appreciation leant itself favorable to treating our favorite teacher to lunch. I put the brown lunch bag right into my printer and it worked perfectly. I set the paper size to 5 x 11 and set the top margin at 2" to give the bag a chance to feed through far enough before the printing started. I'm going to put a copy of the menu in the bag for her to choose what she wants. I'll pick it up and have it ready for her when she comes to the staff lunchroom.

"I've seen and met angels wearing the disguise of ordinary people living ordinary lives."~Tracy Chapman

Teacher Appreciation Day 2

This is Day 2 and the inspiration came from A Bushel and A Peck . Teachers really appreciate classroom supplies ... especially when they don't have to use their own money to buy them. Pencils are always a good choice.

But if you are going to buy them, make sure you get the Ticonderoga brand. I know what you're thinking. "It's a pencil. As long as it's a No. 2 what does it matter?"

Well, let me tell you. Just like everything else, you get what you pay for when you buy a cheap package of pencils. We have noticed that the cheap ones break easier and they are harder to sharpen, the lead is not centered in them. If you really want to make a teacher smile, buy the kind that come pre-sharpened. Seriously, it's the little things! We are placing these in a basket along with a multi-color pack of dry erase markers (there are no chalkboards in our classrooms).

By the way, the "Thanks A Latte" cards were well received.

“I like a teacher who gives you something to take home to think about besides homework.” - Lilly Tomlin

Teacher Appreciation Week

May 2nd is the first day of Teacher Appreciation Week. I cannot say enough about how much I appreciate the many teachers who have touched my children's lives over their educational careers. I also know my teacher friends well enough to know that anything with an apple motif sends them right over the bend. So I have been scouring the blog world for creative ideas and then figure out how to recreate it.
I saw this eighteen25 and knew it was perfect for Day 1.  Ter and I have been celebrating "Treat Your Teacher Tuesday" all year by bringing his wonderfully patient teacher her favorite Starbucks treat each Tuesday morning. Here's my version:

Instead of using an actual cup wrapper, I created one using cardstock and my crimper. I tied a ribbon instead of the string ('cuz that's what I had on hand). We'll stop by Starbucks before school tomorrow and pick up a gift card to go in it.

The important thing is not so much
that every child should be taught,
as that every child should be given the wish to learn.
John Lubbock