Need idea for 3 year teacher

[KimD]

As I received a thank you card from my ds11's teacher yesturday for the teachers wreath I made her this year. DS11 received one also but since I made her gift she sent me one too. I got thinking next year is the last year David will have her as a teacher. He is in Sp. Ed. so he has the same teacher for 4,5 & 6th grade. She is a great teacher and a saint in my book she has 11 boys in her class and one part time girl. So she goes thru alot in this classroom. This year it has been alot with my son.

I really want to make something special for her this coming year. And since I am trying to finalize my craft gift list I need ideas please.

 

[momof4]

I was a spec ed teacher and had my students for 6th - 8th grade. I've been home since having my own kids, but I miss teaching! A few gifts that really meant a lot to me were ones that the whole class benefitted from.

One year a few parents came in and painted all my free standing bookcases in really fun colors (I was in an odd room that didn't have anything built in like most classrooms). These were bookcases that parents of previous students (before me) made for their teacher and time demanded they be painted again.

Another year a parent made me some organizers for posters, bulletin board stuff, etc - they were BIG file folder type things that she decorated and labeled nicely. I think she was also the parent that made me a wooden hanging file box that I used to organize each bell's work. I had an old cardboard one that was falling apart!

One parent made me a small scrapbook of pictures of her daughter's class over the 3 years I had them. This was before "scrapbooking" but she really did a great job decorating the pages. It included the official school pictures as well as snapshots taken over the years at all different school functions and activites. She collected pictures from all the kids. I kept the album in my classroom while I was teaching and future classes loved looking at it. I still have it.

I used a lot of homemade games in my classroom. Once I got a box filled with the types of materials I used for making games - file folders, manila envelopes, sharpies, glue sticks, index cards, etc.

You really develop a relationship with a spec ed teacher, so I know how you feel about doing something special after 3 years!

 

[KimD]

momof4 all wonderful ideas but none will work except maybe the homemade games. Could you tell me more about them? I have looked thru their regular games to see if maybe I could get some that they don't have but they have everything I could think of.

Why the others won't work is they are getting a brandnew classroom in a brandnew wing of the school. SPED department has already asked students,teachers, and parents what they want to see in the classrooms. They are also getting alot of new equipment and furniture.

 

[momof4]

Wow! I bet the teachers are excited about the new classrooms, equipment, etc!

The actual gift I got was just the supplies for making the games.

The games I made were based on my curriculum. I would make board games, card games, etc. with different themes - usually the unit of study or a seasonal/holiday theme. Sometimes I would take a common game like Life, Sorry, etc. and make my own board on a file folder or the front of a manila envelope and use cards with questions relating to the info or skill we were studying. Sometimes I used ideas from teacher resource books that covered games (Mailbox was a great source http://www.theeducationcenter.com).

I'm not sure if your child's teacher uses these types of materials. I know there are a lot more and better teaching materials for sp ed available now than there was 12 years ago (the last time I was in a classroom).

I still have many of the better ones I made, but I think I could do a lot better job now because of all the scrapbooking materials available now.

 

[jackfrosty]

I don't know if this would work for you but knowing how crafty you are I'm sure you can make something like this-
http://www.spoonsisters.com/Merchant2/m ... ct_Count=9

I love this site-someone posted the link here for something else and I just love browsing! Great ideas! Thanks to whomever posted it!

 

[KimD]

Jackfrosty I like that and there is another teacher that is perfect for. Actually my two younger kids kindergarden teacher that they love to go and visit.

For Ds's teacher I think that I am going todo a basket of somesorts.

 

[jackfrosty]

Let us know what you come up with! :flower:

 

[KimD]

Was looking thru threads and thought that I would update this one since I have had some ideas going thru my head. Since ds is going to be in 6th grade this year we are going todo 5 smaller baskets and one bigger basket(Just because of what theme we are doing)

1. Classroom supplies: Just things kids need in the middle of the year pencils, crayons, markers and such (She is always asking come January if certain parents have extras because some kids don't get replaced) Have been stocking up with sales.

2.Notepads, pens, stickers: DS says she loves funky pens, and she is always sending notes home on cute papers so we have found some and looking for more.(this one we are going to make the basket out of rulers and put her name on with broken pencil letters)

3. Snack basket: Snacks she can share with class if she chooses, will add her favorites

4. Stress basket: We are thinking on this one

5. Cooking lesson basket: She loves to give cooking lessons and this is in her weekly schedule: We are looking at a few different recipes and going to get supplies to make one or two

And the biggest and best: This one is David's idea and came from a love that they share. Syracuse Basketball Basket:
We still need to head to the SU store but have quite a few ideas in mind. We are also adding snacks to this because they watch all games that are on during school in the classroom. Poster board and lots of blue and orange markers, because there is one teacher that does not like SU Basketball and DS & teacher make huge signs to put on his door about SU on game days. And at the end of the year she made David a collage of pictures of the two of them from days that they were both dressed in SU attire. There are a couple of them that they are wearing the same tee-shirt or hoodie and they weren't planned. This one we are going to take a wicker laundry basket and spray paint it orange on the outside and blue on the inside.