DIY Chalkboard Carton Gift -- Teacher Appreciation Week

     Whew, this gift is finished! Done. Complete. I started working on this gift first thing Tuesday morning. Over the weekend, I asked Nate to take one for the team and buy two six packs of beer so that I could use the cartons for teacher gifts. There was a little arm twisting...but he agreed.


Yea, I'm totally just kidding about having to twist his arm. haha

     Also over the weekend, I picked up a can of Chalkboard spray paint from WalMart...it was only $4. Score! The directions on the can said to apply a few coats and give the surface 24 hours to set. So after Kyleigh got on the bus Tuesday morning and Abby had a sippy cup of her "coffee" (don't freak out, I don't give my almost-3-year-old coffee, it's hot chocolate :) ) and watching some Dora, I stepped out onto the porch and started spraying. It was fun. :-D

Thank You Cards to Espresso Thanks -- Teacher Appreciation Week

     For Wednesday, the kids were asked to bring in cards made by them to say 'thanks' to the teachers. Yesterday, Kyleigh found out her teachers' favorite colors. Those were the colors Kyleigh started with to make the cards. :)

     I don't have a lot to post about today because it was all Kyleigh. She loves to make cards and pictures for everyone and she is so good at it, that today I gave total control over to her. :)

     While she worked on both of her cards, I made little tags for the tins of dark chocolate covered espresso beans. I used fun-colored cardstock, decorative scissors, a black permanent marker, mod podge, and ribbon (with a ruler design).

Helping the Kids Bloom -- Teacher Appreciation Week

     For Tuesday, the kids were asked to bring in flowers for the teacher. I figured we had a couple of choices: a bouquet of flowers, a potted plant, or Kyleigh could paint a picture of flowers and use the tips of her fingers to make the petals. After talking to Kyleigh about it, we decided to go with a little plant. On Saturday, we went to Trader Joe's and we picked out two little begonias. (By the way, they were $2.49 each!)

     We wanted a way to personalize the plant a little more, so Kyleigh and I each made a flower tag to place in the pot. Here's how it went.

An Apple...Muffin...for the Teacher

     This week is Teacher Appreciation Week at Kyleigh's school. Today we were asked to send in muffins for the teachers.

     Putting a little twist on 'an apple for the teacher', Kyleigh brought in Mini Cinnamon Apple Walnut Muffins. (Recipe is at the bottom of the post.)

Teacher Appreciation Week! -- 15 Gift Ideas

In Kyleigh's Monday Folder, there was a sheet letting us parents know about next week's activities in honor of Teacher Appreciation. 

Here is what the PTA is asking for:
Monday: Muffin Monday -- or substitute fruit or a special sweet for your teacher and their assistant.
Tuesday: Flowerful Tuesday -- send in a small plant or a lovely flower. It can be from your garden.
Wednesday: Thank You Card Wednesday -- have your child make a card for their teacher and assistant. Be sure and include your thanks as well. You may want to include a Coupon to volunteer that can be redeemed by the teacher such as Center Help, Reading Out Loud, Cleaning the Classroom, or Making a Bulletin Board. Be sure and put your contact information on the coupon.
Thursday: School Supplies Thursday -- some suggestions have been colorful expo markers, stickers, reams of colorful paper or bordered copy paper, prize pencils, books for the classroom library - ask your teacher what they need.
Friday: Parent's Choice Surprise Friday -- Suggestions - small gift cards for lunch out, books, coffee. The only limit is your imagination. Have fun with your child showing your teacher and their assistant how much you care.

So, with all that in mind, I got on Pinterest (where else?!?! :p ) and searched for Teacher Appreciation gifts....I know I had seen some before and thought they were super cute.

Here is a list of Teacher Appreciation Gifts I found via Pinterest. Enjoy!

Picture from Mom's Party Cafe

1) SODA-lighted! -- From the blog of Tammy Mitchell Design, a free printable to go along with a six-pack of soda bottles: "I'm SODA-lighted that you were my teacher this year!"

2) Tin Can Treats -- From the blog of Our Best Bites, a recipe for creating fun treats using pull-tab topped cans and filling with M&M's or any kind of treat with a super cute and silly (and free! :) ) printable label.

3) Teacher Flower Pot -- From a wordpress site that you can order from (or be like me and just do it yourself ;) ), a cutely painted flower pot with the quote "Teachers change the world one child at a time. -Anon".

4) Embellished Scissors -- From the blog of Chester County Moms, embellished scissors with a tag that reads "You're a cut above the rest!". This site also has other cute end-of-the-year/teacher appreciation gifts.

5) The "Write" Teacher -- From the blog of Making Memories...One Fun Thing After Anothercomes this cute idea of pair a pack of pens, expo markers, or other writing utensils with a fun (and free!) printable tag that reads: "You are the WRITE teacher for me".

6) You're My "M&M" -- From the blog of Domestically Speaking comes a treat for teachers using M&M's and mason jars with a sweet poem you can attach to the jar.

7) Helping Us Bloom -- From the blog of Skip To My Lou, giving a personal touch to a potted plant by printing out (for free!) a tag that reads "Thank you for helping [Your child's name] bloom!" and then gluing it to a craft stick to insert into the pot!

8) Helping Them Grow -- From the blog of Miss Stitch A Wish, plant petite cacti in tea cups and then personalize the saucer with your child's teacher's name, then make an accordion flower with a center that reads "Thank you for helping [your child's name] grow up great!" and stick it into the tea cup as well!

9) Candy Gram Pail -- From the blog of Simply Savvy, this is a great way for my little kindergartner to give multiple candy grams (without the large awkward foam board) to her teachers. This uses a craft pail (that are fairly inexpensive at the craft store) and fills it up with candy bars then uses the name of the candies in a personalized message. Creative!

10) Need S'MORE Like You! -- From the blog of Women Living Well, put together all the ingredients needed to make s'mores in a little clear gift bag then top it off with a tag that reads "We need S'MORE teachers like you!". This site also has more Teacher Appreciation gift ideas with cute little sayings you can attach to the gifts -- great for the budget-minded Mommy!

11) Crayon Wreaths -- From the blog of Mom's Party Cafe comes a crafty idea of turning a box of crayons into a personalized wreath for teachers! This is definitely for the Mommys that have a little more time on their hands but definitely worth the effort!

12) Couldn't have PICKED a better one! -- From the blog of Dixie Delights comes a great concept of giving fresh strawberries to the teachers tied with a ribbon and a tag that reads "I couldn't have PICKED a better teacher!" -- what a great way to share the juiciness and sweetness of fresh picked strawberries with people who deserve a sweet treat!

13) Teacher-sized Pencils -- From the blog of Glue Sticks and Tape, turn an empty Pringles can into a giant pencil filled with little treats and since you're child's teacher is no No.2, have the pencil read "[Name of child's teacher] is No. 1". This would be another gift that would be easy enough for my little Kindergartner to bring in for both of her teachers!

14) Espresso Your Thanks -- Another one from the blog of Making Memories...One Fun Thing After Another, this is a super cute (and easy on the wallet) idea that hits the nail on the head! Get a giftcard to a local coffee shop with one of their to-go coffee cups (or just buy a reusable coffee mug) then fill it with some chocolate treats, and tie it off with a ribbon and tag that reads "Just wanted to ESPRESSO my thanks!".

15) The last site you will ever need. This one is full of so many ideas that I will be making some of these things for Father's Day, birthdays, maybe even Christmas! The end all be all site:  30 Homemade Gift Ideas for Teacher Appreciation Week from the blog of Tip Junkie.

Have fun y'all!!

Cinco de Mayo -- Part 1

It's Cinco de Mayo y'all!!! :)

Honestly, I can't say I've ever celebrated the day. But now I have two little ones that are learning everyday and absorb so much that I find myself spending lots of time on the computer to look up activites and things to do with them to help them know more. So as Cinco de Mayo started approaching, I thought it would be a fun day to show my girls something new. I also started thinking about doing something in honor of the day because with Kyleigh being in Kindergarten this year, they have spanish as one of their weekly 'Specials'. So with her being tracked out and this Mexican holiday coming up, what could I do to celebrate the day in a kid-friendly way?

I got to searching on-line.

I narrowed the choices down to a couple food recipes and a couple crafts. Yay! :)

After naptime, I got the girls in the kitchen with me. My girls are practically addicted to hot chocolate so I thought a fun this to make would be some:

Mexican Hot Chocolate