We started with a small plastic bin from the Dollar Tree:
And then we filled it with all sorts of goodies:
Here are a few items you might think about adding to your basket:
- Pencils, pens, highlighters, white-out
- Erasers
- Tape
- Paperclips or binder clips
- Glue sticks or glitter glue
- Stickers!
- Water bottle
- Ruler
- Post-It Notes
- Mints or Candy
- A brush/comb
- Hand sanitizer, disinfectant spray, and/or wipes
- Lotion
- Band-Aids
- Starbucks gift card
We finished it all off by adding colored tissue paper to the basket (like a gift bag), wrapping pencils, pens, and highlighters in ribbon, and stuffing the basket full of goodies.
The tag? I made a simple greeting with PicMonkey, glued cardstock to the back, punched a hole in the top, and secured it with ribbon:
Easy as can be!
Natalie gave her new teacher, Mrs. H, the basket yesterday at the Open House/Orientation. It was so cute to see her hand it over. The teacher, who had only just met Natalie, seemed delighted by the surprise and spent a couple of minutes going over all the goodies with my oldest. They even hugged. It was a fantastic ice breaker; I'm so glad we did it!
This is a fun project to help your kids get over those first-day jitters. Let them help you choose inexpensive items (ours came from Target and the Dollar Tree) to purchase and then assemble the kit together. Natalie was excited to give the kit to Mrs. H, even if she was a little scared of the new school experience. I think she's looking forward to her first day of school today!
How do you help your kids get over jitters at school? (Any teachers out there with advice?)
If you enjoyed this post, or found it helpful, I hope you'll click your "Pin It" button to add this post to Pinterest, or a +1 for Google+.
How do you help your kids get over jitters at school? (Any teachers out there with advice?)
If you enjoyed this post, or found it helpful, I hope you'll click your "Pin It" button to add this post to Pinterest, or a +1 for Google+.
What a cute idea!
ReplyDeleteThis is fantastic! Both of my boys are starting pre-school this year. This will be a great idea for their Open House. My boys are so used to spending time together, the fact they are in separate rooms I know makes them uneasy. Something like this should help with those back to school jitters as well as help their teacher. When I was teaching, I was always so grateful for gifts from my students.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea Amanda, thanks for sharing! I'm pinning this one so I don't forget to gather the supplies. :)
ReplyDeleteLove it! I'm planning to do the same thing for my daughter's teacher. She'll be starting first grade Sept. 4th. I see you managed not to cry. I don't know I'll be able to hold off the tears after I drop her off. haha Can't wait to hear all about Natalie's first day! =)
ReplyDelete~ Catie
aw!!! what a wonderful idea! i want one - does home school mom qualify? hahaha! i'll have to show this post to my daughter :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a cute idea! My sister is a teacher and I know she would just die over a goodie basket like this. Great job, momma!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a fun gift for teachers.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing with us!
awwwwww! So sweet! i bet the teacher hugged her like crazy for this very thoughtful gift! A good idea for next year! thanks!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea. I bet her teacher loved it!! I hope school went well today. Thinking about you!!
ReplyDeletexoxox
GOOD FOR YOU! Showing the teacher that you care about her is a great way to get started, I think--and to have Natalie give it to her is a wonderful idea! I can just imagine a teacher's heart melting as a darling little girl presents her with a cute gift that's also useful. . . .
ReplyDeleteWho wouldn't want to have YOU as the mom of a student?
Across the street? Really?? As in NO CAR POOL??
ReplyDeleteVery cute idea!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this idea! My daughter just started her first year of school and I hope to put together baskets like this for the winter holidays- I love how practical these items are!
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet idea! What teacher wouldn't love a gift like this? So very thoughtful.
ReplyDeleteDebbie :)
What a sweet idea! I love the details that you can personalize this with :-) I need to make one for my sister, she teaches 4th grade. :-) Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic idea and I'm sure very much appreciated from the teacher!
ReplyDeleteWhat a cute idea! I'm sure here teacher loved everything in it... especially the M&M's:)
ReplyDeletespeaking as a former teacher - that's fantastic! I'm sure her teacher was so touched :)
ReplyDeleteHi Amanda - this is such a super clever idea. I am sure your daughter's teacher deeply appreciated the gesture and loved reading the words 'Teacher Survival Kit'. That sure would have brought a smiel to my face. Well done ... this is something I will implement into my life.
ReplyDeleteThis looks fantastic - I am sure any teacher would be over the moon with a kit like this! Hope the school year goes well for you all. Rebecca @ heronscrafts.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteclever girl!
ReplyDeletewe can never do too much for those amazing teachers! i always love to see what other ideas people come up with to show appreciation.
love this!
xo
kellie
Love the gift tag and the basket I'm sure will be appreciated!
ReplyDeleteAs a former teacher, I have to say THANK YOU! I'm sure your child's teacher will love it, and supplies like that are so helpful and useful!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea - love how it became an ice breaker for your daughter and I am sure the teacher loved it!
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher that is an amazing gift to give!!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful and thoughtful gift!! I'm a teacher, and I'd looooove a gift like this :)
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! The only other thing I would add is a bag of apple chips. A play on the old apples for the teacher. :)
ReplyDeleteThis idea is great! It would also be a good idea to make and give to a beginning teacher to welcome her or him to the grade level!
ReplyDeleteSweet wonderful idea...here in South Carolina parents are given a list of supplies to buy before school starts..budget cuts have made patents responsible for all those items..cost of supplies per student is about $40.00.. I wish we could buy such a great gift for the teacher...
ReplyDeleteI know I'm a little late on this post but I just saw it and thought it was awesome! I will be student teaching in the fall and thought this would be a great ice-breaker with my mentor teacher, I was wondering what the basket cost you overall if you don't mind my asking?
ReplyDelete