FTT teachers' gift edition

easy notebooks and a magical poem formula

For Mother’s Day, Richard and the girls gave me a copy of Making Things, a new craft book by Erin Boyle and Rose Pearlman. It’s full of ideas and instructions for things to make using ordinary, around-the-house supplies and recyclables—string, cardboard, paper scraps, fabric scraps, etc.

The first craft we tried is matchbook notebooks. I’m definitely going to try this with a class (often on the first day I make notebooks with my students). I also think they’d be a lovely little gift for a teacher, especially if you tasked your child with taking it around to the rest of the class, everyone writing a little note of thank you or a favorite thing about the class.

Supplies you need:

-Thick paper (cardstock or watercolor) and regular paper (notebook, printer, or scrap paper)

-a stapler

-Crayons, markers, stick-on gems (optional)

How to make it:

1. Cut a rectangle from your thicker paper (we use this handy portable paper cutter to make straight cuts, but scissors work too). The size recommended by Making Things is 2 1/4 by 7 inches, but we just eyeballed it.

2. Cut your stack of thin paper into slightly smaller than the size of your rectangle. For example, 2 by 6 1/4 inches.

3. Fold the stacked thin paper in half.

3. Fold the top thick paper over, by about a a half inch, and make a crease. Insert the thinner paper stack under the folded part, and staple near the top, with one staple in the center or two on the edges.

4. Fold the rest of the thick paper in half, and tuck into the folded part. Crease the new fold.

5. Decorate as you see fit!

(This would be a great “note” to pass around the classroom, with each kid writing appreciations for a teacher. Just include enough pages so that everyone can write or draw something nice.)

Another idea is to write a poem for your teacher. List poems work great and are easy to compose and come up with something special. Harriet and I used Nikki Giovanni’s “Knoxville, Tennessee” as our model for writing a poem called “Kindergarten”":

Kindergarten

I always love kindergarten best

my teachers reading me a story

on the story rug and

letting me do fun things, like

puzzles

and brain breaks

and coloring

and playing with shaving cream

and learning to read

and doing dress-up days

and wearing pajamas on pajama day

and tie-dying t-shirts

and doing math

and going to specials

and playing with play-doh

and having popsicle parties

and eating inside the classroom sometimes

and having recess outside

and eating cupcakes for a birthday party

and when

it’s a special holiday

having parties and

tasting new foods

and giving a hug to Ms. Smithy every day

and making things for Ms. Hamm and Ms. Smith and Ms. Babyak

who are sweet

Giovanni’s orginal poem has been called “magic” by teaching artists because it inspires everyone who reads it to think of, and kids hardly need any instruction to make their own. I Rememember by Joe Brainard is a good one too (just list memories from your year in school).

We’ll print this for of her teachers, and package it up with a gift card. Bea might do a propagated potted plant and a gift card.

If you’d like to make teacher appreciation cards with me, CCAE, and other Public School Strong volunteers we’ll be at Pittsboro First Sunday today!

Other things we like this week:

-NC State alum Abby Lampe won the cheese-wheel chase for a second time! Read this post from North Carolina Rabbit Hole

The garden:

The tiniest snail:

Chanterelle season is starting:

The awesome Studio A performance (including Harriet and our friends Arley, Josie, and Ellie) of The Phantom Tollbooth.

Grateful for all the creative and dedicated teachers around us!

Lots of love, the FTT.