Over the past two weeks, I've been consumed in "back to school" mode and blogging took a back seat. Between meetings, planning, meetings about planning and trying to get back into the routine of early to bed, early to rise; I could not find the time to sit down and write. But today I was determined to catch you up on my first week of school goodies.
Two weeks ago we had Open House and I got to meet my fabulous new 5th graders for the first time. Along with meeting my new students, I also met their parents and was able to give them a glimps of what to expect in the coming year. Not only was I put at ease when I met their amazing parents, but I was shocked when they signed up to volunteer for different activities throughout the year without hesitation. Each year, I never know what to expect when it comes to parent support.
At Open House, each teacher on our 5th grade team puts up a wish list of items that we know we will need throughout the year but might not have been on our school supply list. Items such as candy for the treasure box and recess equipment are just a few of the items that make it to the wish list.
This year I decided to be a little creative and have a Giving Tree for the parents to pick an apple from instead of my usual plain old white board with sticky notes. And the Giving Tree was a total success. The first day of school, students bound through my classroom door with bags of tissues, lysol wipes, candy, dry erase markers, and colored copy paper!
This year I decided to be a little creative and have a Giving Tree for the parents to pick an apple from instead of my usual plain old white board with sticky notes. And the Giving Tree was a total success. The first day of school, students bound through my classroom door with bags of tissues, lysol wipes, candy, dry erase markers, and colored copy paper!
How do you go about getting supplies for your classroom?
With happy cabinets full of school supplies,
The Penny Pinching Teacher
The tree idea is very creative! I usually offer extra credit to the students to get any extra
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I teach fifth grade also and I made a giving tree too! I put mine on the door outside our classroom for our Back to School nights. Great mind think alike!
ReplyDeleteOur school does the Giving Trees at Open House each year & the parents have come to expect it. Some put it on leaves on a tree and some actually set up artificial trees & hang their wishes on it. I also post needs throughout the year on my webpage along with a thank you to "the family of ... for donating...." This seems to work.
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