Teacher Appreciation Week

Hello my friends!  It's been quite a while since I've been able to write anything on this blog.  Between my son's sports teams and my 7 month old baby, things have been nuts in our household.  You would think that with all that craziness, I wouldn't be doing any crafting, but au contraire, mon frere!  I have been super crafty.  The only problem is that the stuff that I'm making is not necessarily anything that anyone would be interested in making.  For one thing, I've become obsessed with bows for my new baby girl.  I have also developed an obsession with the following: rhinestones, ruffles, ribbon.  I'm like a crack addict, but my pusher is Hobby Lobby.  As a result, I'm spending a lot of time with my mini bowdabra and my glue gun.  Lucy is looking very glamorous.

But that is not what I'm writing about today!  Today, I have Teacher Appreciation Week on my mind.  Mainly because that is part of my PTA job, so I have to get it together, but also because I figured a few of you are wrestling with the same stuff.  In case you don't know, or live under a rock, TAW falls this year on May 7th-11th.  That date is not set by me, but by the national PTA or something.  Super big stuff! 

Anyway, I lucked out because my predecessor set up a really cool week for the teachers and I just get to copy her.  My motto is "If it ain't broke, don't fix it", so we are just going to continue this greatness at our school.  (Plus, I asked the teachers and they said that's what they wanted to do.)  My friend Hillary came up with this idea and I'd like to share it.  She has a whole week of fun stuff for the teachers, but each day is handled by a different grade.  That way, no one gets too bogged down with having to bring something every day.  In the past, I know some schools have you bring a little something every day, but it can get to be a real pain.  And I never understood what person would want so many random things.  One school we were at had us bring some seeds one day, a pudding cup, a flower and other stuff.  So each teacher ends up with 22 packets of seeds, 22 pudding cups, 22 flowers etc.  What on earth are they going to do with that?  Maybe they can eat the pudding while they start their summer gardening?  I have no idea! 

Long story short, I figure Hillary has the right idea.  Here is some information from the note that was sent to the teachers, along with instructions in italics for the parents:

Monday-Entire school goes to the Arboretum.  (To volunteer, please contact the school office.)

Tuesday (hosted by 1^st and 4th grade)  - Need an energy boost or just a snack?  Our snack cart will provide personal friendly service to your room with sweets and drinks. (Need snack donations brought to school the day before or that morning.)

Wednesday (hosted by 3^rd grade & a.m. PK)  – Spruce up those staff bathrooms. (Need donations of nice toilet paper, soap etc. and volunteers to put it in the bathrooms, please bring Monday or Tuesday)

Thursday (hosted by 2^nd grade & p.m. PK)  – You are all so sweet and deserve a treat.  Ice Cream Sundaes served after school from 3:00-4:00 in the lounge. (Need volunteers to help serve and donations of toppings. Let us know what you can bring)

Friday (hosted by 5^th grade & KN)  - Breakfast to end a special week!  Breakfast will be available in the lounge from 7:30-10:00. (Need volunteers to bring food/coffee and for set-up/clean up)

Teacher gifts from the teacher wish list.  (Teacher wish list is attached, please get your teacher items from this list.  If your teacher is not listed, we do not have their information.  Gift cards are always welcome!)

Isn't that great?  Then, the room reps for each class are responsible for coordinating the responsibilities so no one parent brings too much.  We also had the teachers fill out a "wish list" which is reference under Friday so people can get them classroom supplies that they really want so they don't have to spend their own money.

Last year, I was in charge of Tuesday (the snack cart) and I had so much fun decking it out with a tablecloth and fancy dishes.  Of course, the teachers didn't care, they were just happy for the food.

Usually, we do not have a field trip on the Monday of TAW, but this year since we did, I just moved the teacher breakfast to Friday instead.  Since we are going on a field trip and the entire school will be gone, I was a little concerned about what to do for the teachers to kick off the week.  So I came up with an idea, inspired by my friend Stasi, for a little treat that the teachers can take with them. 

This was very easy and inexpensive, but I hope it lets them know that we are thinking about them.  I simply bought water bottles, removed the labels, and then used printed duct tape to replace the label.  Then I tied on a tag that says "It's Crystal clear we are WILD about our teachers" to the bottle, along with a packet of Crystal Light. 

I hope these ideas help you in your own personal Teacher Appreciation Week quest for perfection!  Have a great week.