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Happy Friday, y’all! Popping in with some favorites from the week, as always!!
O N E – New Rug
I used some birthday gift cards to purchase this rug for our bedroom, and I finally got it unrolled last weekend after it sat in our foyer rolled up and fully packaged for a full month. Y’all, I AM IN LOVE. It is beautiful! It’s even better than I hoped it would be! The quality is excellent, it’s so soft, the colors are beautiful, the price is incredible, and it’s from a real brand – a brand that I know and trust (the lamps in our living room are the same brand) – and not some random Amazon brand. I’m hoping to get it in place under our bed this weekend, but it’s going to be a big job since our bed weighs a ton. Fingers crossed! I’ll be sure to share when it’s done!
Teacher Appreciation Week is always an exhausting week since I’m on the committee, but nothing makes me happier than celebrating the wonderful teachers, faculty, and staff at our beloved school. The chair for TAW always outdoes herself (and, unfortunately, she’s leaving us this year as her last baby is graduating), but she planned and lined up such a wonderful week for her last year with us. It’s always such a wonderful way to wind down the school year and I truly enjoy helping out each year.
I posted a little bit about our TAW on Instagram earlier this week, and I received numerous DMs asking for more details, so I thought I’d include them here.
Our Home and School Advisory Board (AKA PTA) plans and executes the entire week. I’ve been on the Advisory Board for several years, so I’ve been helping out with TAW for several years now. We typically choose an overall theme for the week and then we do different things for the teachers each day based on the theme.
This year, we set up two large tables by the main office and decorated them the Friday before TAW, and we used those tables nearly every day, so the teachers knew exactly where to go to get their treat for the day.
Here is what they were treated to each day:
Monday – Breakfast Bar. We had Chick-Fil-A chicken biscuits, sausage biscuits, and buttered biscuits with all the condiments, we had apples, oranges, and bananas, and then we had a yogurt bar with granola and blueberries + various juices and coffee with sugar, cream, etc.
Tuesday – Make Your Own Trail Mix Bar. We put out pretzels, M&Ms, chocolate covered raisins, chocolate covered peanuts, peanut M&Ms, dried apples, Goldfish, marshmallows, chocolate chips, walnuts, raisins, dried apricots, almonds, and popcorn, and we put out paper bags and boats so the teachers could mix theirs up and seal it in a bag or put it in the boat to eat right away.
Wednesday – Coffee Truck. We hired a coffee truck to come sit in the school parking lot from 11 AM to 1 PM so the teachers could go get a (free) drink of their choice as a little afternoon pick-me-up.
Thursday – Snack Delivery. We put cute little door hangers in all of the teacher’s boxes earlier in the week that had instructions to select two snacks and one drink from the list, and then Thursday morning, all of us ladies filled their orders, bagged them up in a cute little paper bag, and then delivered them to their classrooms. Their options were various types of chips, crackers, and candy bars and various sodas and water.
Friday – Gift Day. We made gift bags with a “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” theme for each of the teachers. Each bag included a school koozie, a school lanyard, baseball tickets for our new minor league baseball team here in town (that’s super popular right now!), sunflower seeds, Cracker Jacks, peanuts, bubblegum, and beef jerky and cheese sticks.
Several people asked about the stats at our school and how we pay for this. We have nearly 900 students (our school ranges from 1-year olds all the way through 12th grade), and around 125 teachers, faculty, and staff. We do have parents of kids at our school who own their own businesses, and a couple of them sponsor one of the days. This year, the breakfast was sponsored by one family’s business and the gift day was sponsored by another family’s business. Then our Home and School Association has a budget to pay for the rest.
In the past, we have also done a Mexican fiesta for lunch (because the day fell on Cinco de Mayo), we did a sweet treats day where we had a ton of baked goods such as cookies, brownies, and cakes, we’ve done a donuts and pastries day, and so many other things.
In addition to the things that our Home and School Advisory Board organizes, room parents are also encouraged to remind their parents about Teacher Appreciation Week in case parents would like to bring in gifts or treats or flowers as a thank you for a great school year.
As a room parent, I typically arrange to do a gift from the class… I have parents contribute money and then I purchase a bunch of the teacher’s favorite things and make a basket. To make this easier, we hand out “favorite things” lists at the beginning of each school year for all teachers to fill out and return, and they are then sent to the room parents to share with all of the parents. The lists ask the teachers to list their favorite snacks, drinks, places to eat, places to shop, flowers, colors, scents, etc.
THANK YOU to all of my teacher friends and readers!! We are so grateful for every single thing you do for our kids. We know your job doesn’t stop at work, and we’re grateful for all of the work you put in at school and at home to ensure our kids are getting the best care that they can possibly receive.
I’ve been so grateful to have one-on-one time with each of the kids for the last few weeks. One-on-one time is very rare because they’re typically BOTH always with me, and when they’re together, they’re stuck like glue. They are truly the best of friends, and it’s hard to pull them apart sometimes, so we typically all just hang out as a family.
Since Jacob started Velocity this year, that has given Olivia and me an hour together once a week and I have cherished our Chick-Fil-A milkshake and Culver’s cement mixer dates together so much.
Olivia does have dance two nights a week as well, and while I’m usually cooking dinner, cleaning the kitchen, tidying the house, prepping for the next day, etc. during those times, Jacob and I have been able to get out for a few walks since the time has changed, and I have loved every second of them. He is just turning into the kindest, most intellectual, most thoughtful kid that I know, and we have had some very good, very interesting conversations on our walks.
As a Catholic, I’ve been glued to the news awaiting an announcement from the Papal Conclave. As I type this (11:45 AM EST on Thursday), the Cardinals are submitting their third votes, and we still do not have a new Pope after two prior votes.
There have only been three Popes in my entire lifetime, and I wasn’t born when Pope John Paul II was elected, so this is only the third time in my life that there has been a Papal Conclave. It’s been so interesting to follow!
Pope Francis was an incredible human, so our new Pope will have some big shoes to fill. I’m praying for someone who cares for the marginalized like Pope Francis did, someone who was inclusive like he was, and someone who was just as humble as he was. Praying for the best outcome for our Catholic community. <3
F I V E – SUMMER IS ALMOST HERE
And finally, y’all, we are only two weeks away from summer break as I type this and that is definitely a favorite for the week! Next week is going to be our busiest week of the whole year as it’s RECITAL WEEK + Jacob’s 8th grade dance + Olivia’s 5th grade walk + meetings + appointments + music lessons + regularly scheduled dance classes + everyday life stuff that’s required of us all the time and then the following week is a field trip, a class party, and Jacob’s 8th grade graduation (waaaahhhh), and then we are DONE.
Amen. And cheers!
Friday Funnies
On the Blog This Week
Our Week - The One with and Orthodontist Appointment, Field Day, and a Shakey Graves Concert
I’m so glad you like your rug. It’s gorgeous! A coffee truck is such a great idea. Have a beautiful Mother’s Day weekend!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Andrea! I hope you had a happy Mother's Day!
DeleteOur school did the trail mix bar too!
ReplyDeleteSo fun! It was a hit at our school!
DeleteSuch fun teacher's appreciation week ideas! I hope you have a wonderful Mother's day.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Joanne! I hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day as well!
DeleteI have owned several rugs from that brand, and love them. Happy Mother's Day!
ReplyDeleteThat's great to know! Happy Mother's Day to you!
DeleteThat rug looks and sounds fab! Good luck with getting it where you want it.
ReplyDeleteTeacher Appreciation Week isn't a thing here but I think it should be! What a fantastic way to show the teachers how much they mean for all the hard work that they put in.
I have been watching the news a lot this week about the Pope.
Yes, our teachers do work hard, so we love to shower them with appreciation for a job well done at the end of the year! It does seem like the coverage on the Pope has been more than ever this time!
DeleteYay for the new rug! Hope you enjoy your Mother's Day!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Marilyn! Happy belated Mother's Day to you!
DeleteYour rug is gorgeous, Lindsay!! I'm so happy you ended up loving it after getting it out! Oh my goodness, those teachers are so blessed to have you and the others on the committee, you did amazing with their goodies all week! :) I hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day!
ReplyDeleteMake Life Marvelous