Parent Volunteer "Thank You" Gift

I absolutely LOVE it when parents want to volunteer in my classroom. I think it sets a positive and inviting tone with students are able to see their parents get involved in their education.  

This school year, I had 16 consistent parents who either volunteered in the classroom, donated various items throughout the year, and/or supported myself and the students in some way, shape, or form. I feel so blessed to have been able to allow so many parents the opportunity to be involved in their child's 3rd grade year. Although, many parents work full-time, I always felt supported with their overly-generous gestures. 

What better way to thank them than to get the kids involved. As we all know, kid-created crafts are the absolute best! 

I took a bunch of Pinterest projects I found and merged them in my brain to form one amazing "Thank You" gift for all 16 parents without breaking the bank. 

The Picture Frame:

• First, I drew the letters for "Thank you for volunteering!" in bubble letters on individual pieces of white paper. Each student was able to decorate their own (I purposely used the phrase I did in order to allow 24 letters for my 24 students - including an exclamation point, of course!). 

• Next, we took a class picture on the day everyone was present - rare! I used the Walgreen's Photo app to develop the pictures. I love this app because it's super simple to use, they're developed before I can even take my final sips of my morning coffee, there is almost always a coupon code somewhere in the Google world, and Walgreen's is on my way home from work! 

• Then, I ordered simple 5x7 white picture mats from Amazon.  They reached my doorstep within 2 days - thank you Amazon Prime!

• Last, I set out bright colored sharpies and had the class sign each frame. I taped the picture to the back and added a medium-sized square of magnetic tape. 

The Tags and Card:

I love the look of rustic, neutral colors, with really beautiful fonts. It was very challenging for me to find what I was looking for when I'd hit up the store last minute, so I decided to start making my own cards, tags, signs, and basically anything else I needed.  I found an outline of a tag by doing a Google search and added the parents name using Google Draw.  Then, I searched for a sweet poem about children, positivity, and great parenting when I came across this quote:

I thought the words were so sweet and touching. This quote encompasses everything I was looking for to express my gratitude to my student's parents.

I typed this quote on Google Draw and included a personalized message for the parents thanking them for all they have done.

It took a few tricks at the copy machine to make sure the cards printed correctly - but worth the trial and error! :)

Bags:

I wanted to find an inexpensive way to package the items without losing the rustic and unique appearance of the gifts. I had white sandwhich bags left over from Valentine's Day and white yarn in my craft bin. VOILA! The gifts are signed and sealed and ready to be delivered! 

These small gifts were just a piece of the appreciation I have for all of the parents who are invested in their child's education. These inexpensive gifts were more about the meaning than the price tag! 😊

Click here to access the Google Documents in the post:

Parent Volunteer "Thank You" cards

Parent Volunteer Name Tags

(to change names - click "File" then "Make A Copy")