1. Birdhouse
Last spring my husband and daughter made a wooden birdhouse for the teacher. They spent hours on this project. Lily helped cut the wood, hammer the nails, and painted different scenes on each side. One side had a spring scene where Lily used her thumbs to make bushes. Her teacher proudly displayed the birdhouse on her desk until the end of the year. When we went back to visit the first day of school this year, she still had the birdhouse sitting on her desk.
2. Book Bag with Iron-on Transfers
I scanned the group photo of her class, then used an iron-on transfer to put it on a book bag. I titled it "Ms. Renea's First Grade Class 2001/2002." On the back of the bag I used another iron-on transfer to list every child's name. I also added some clip art (books, globe, school, etc.) In her thank-you note the teacher told me how much the bag would be cherished.
3. Button Bracelet
A single child or each one in class can contribute to this gift by bringing in one shank-style button. String 50 small safety pins onto two pieces of elastic string, one through the loop on the end, the other through the hole at the top. Open a safety pin and place one button on it, then close and move to another safety pin. When all buttons are strung on the pins, tie the ends of the elastic together, forming two loops that will fit over your wrist. A dab of hot glue secures the knot. This is an easy, no-sew project!
4. Decoupaged Tray Table
My twins and I decorated tray tables for their preschool teachers. We selected photos of all the kids in the class from field trips, parties, and during class. We cut them out and decorated the border of a wooden tray table with the photos. We secured them to the table by using Mod Podge (decoupage) glue and then painted the year and class on the tables. To make them water-resistant, I applied waterproof clear stain after everything was dried.
5. Stationery with Artwork
My 4th-grader brought home some beautiful, bright watercolor paintings of flowers from art class. We scanned the pictures onto our computer, cropped them, and printed them on vellum. We then mounted the vellum onto some buttery yellow card stock that had matching envelopes. We had the coolest set of note cards for the teacher using artwork from class!
6. Teddy Bears
My son's teacher collected teddy bears. I purchased a small T-shirt to fit a bear, took it to school, and had his 3rd-grade class sign their names. I then took the shirt home and fabric-painted over the names to bring them out more. When she opened the box and saw the bear she was thrilled, and when she saw all the names on the shirt she started to cry.
Variation: I went to a local pottery store, found the cutest little teddy bear, and painted it bright pink and yellow. I then put all of the kids' names on it (along with Ms. Jordan's). On the front of the teddy bear's T-shirt I wrote "Class of 2002." It resides in her classroom to this day.
