Creating an End-of-the Year Gift for Teachers
Submitted by Liz Eagan on May 31, 2016
In my continued effort to teach my students to give back or to tell others "thank you", my two young students learning braille decided to give a gift to their teachers that included a letter. The letter was an original creation where both students were allowed the chance to write each of their teachers to tell them how they felt about them. What they created was touching beyond words.
Text of braille letter to teacher (above):
Dear Miss Benavides,
I love you! I had fun at the school with you! I had fun beating you at the board game. My favorite was planting a plant.
Love, Gabriel (1st grade student)
Text of braille letter to teacher (left):
Dear Ms. Semer,
I have had an amazing year with you and I want to tell you how I feel about this great year. I have made good friends and I have had lots of fun learning about Math, Science, Social Studies, Reading, and Writing. I'm glad I have you as a 3rd grade teacher! I'm really going to miss you!
Your friend,
Minnie (3rd grade student)
Creating a Gift
The question was what gift to make. My students and I didn't have any ideas until I walked into another teacher's classroom and saw she had a picture on the wall. The picture was made from broken crayons, shaped into the first letter of her last name. I brought the idea back to my two young students who both loved the idea immediately.
I looked at picture frames in Hobby Lobby and found these gems on clearance! I used Google Images to figure out how to make the letters "S" and "B", but I recently noticed more ideas on Pinterest. After the students placed the crayons where they wanted them, I hot glued them in place.
The paper that was used to wrap the frames when I bought them became wrapping paper. Each student decorated their own paper before we wrapped the gift. This caused a thought process I hadn't considered. They asked me, "What's their favorite color?", "What do they like to look at?", "Do I think..." Oh my, the questions! BUT this was a good thing as the students were thinking of another person and not just about themselves. My goal was accomplished.
