THUMBS UP to Teachers Everywhere!

A teacher is an essential asset in your child's life- during the school year you depend on the teacher to care for your child while fostering learning and helping your child to develop... and often this can be a tough job- especially with 20+ children! We come from a family of teachers, and they all gush about how much they love their job, and they ALL talk about the end of year teacher gifts that they get (it is like having two Christmases). Some of the mothers get SO creative- and some spend WAY too much money- and while it is certainly not expected at all, it is always a nice surprise.

My Aunt was telling me of one year that a few of the moms created a piece of art and had each of the children add their own element to it- it was the most personal and kindest gift she had ever received  and it hangs in her classroom to this day- 15 years later. Hearing this story really inspired me to try to give back to my daughter's teachers every year... and in trying to do this I've found a lot of fabulous ideas (thank you, pinterest) but I also came up with one that I think is a winner.

We recently launched our awesome ThumbPRINT guest books where as an alternative to a guest book at an event (ie wedding, graduation, birthday, anniversary party, baby shower, etc.) the guest could "sign in" with their finger or thumb print and also provide an amazing piece of art for the person throwing the event. They are a huge hit and have really inspired me to create more! With this in mind I thought back to my Aunt's art from each of the students and started brainstorming ideas for a teacher print.

  

Check out (here) what my designers and I were able to come up with- they are pretty cool, and there are more coming! The parents can pitch in to get it- or one parent can do it all and then have the children all "print" in. It is a great way to commemorate the year for a lifetime- a personal piece of art to display and a wonderful way to get the children all involved.

Reward your teachers- they certainly deserve it! What do you think? Do you have any suggestions or ideas for more?

*Art made possible by Jeffrey Meade and Greg Bedalli*