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Wednesday, May 24, 2006

teacher gift.
I finished the class teacher gift in the eleventh hour! This is the third year I have done this for Annie Kate's class and although time consuming I would do it again and again.
the last week of school I send out a secret paper to all the kids to take home and fill out. It has a list of questions that they fill in the blank. Here are the list from this year.
  • Why Mrs. Thorp will make a great mom to Anna (her teacher is pregnant)
  • Where does Mrs. Thorp live?
  • What I love most about Mrs. Thorp
    My favorite thing Mrs. Thorp taught me this year
  • What is Mrs. Thorp's favorite color?
  • What doe she love to eat for lunch?
  • Mrs. Thorp loves me because...
  • What I will miss most about being in Mrs. Thorp's class
  • What I hope to never forget about this year.

Then I compile these questions and answers and print them out on sheets of paper the size of dollar bills. I go to the bank and get 100 brand new bills. It will only work with brand new ones.
Then I make a cover for the front and a piece of chip board for the back.
I put a dollar then a slip of paper over and over.
I use a compound glue that is used for making note pads of paper, the possiblities are endless. I will have to find a national resource, i just buy mine at a wholesaler in town.
I paint the glue at the top of each sheet, clamp down with clamps. In a few hours you have a pad of paper, that does not come apart.
The cover says,
"100 things we love and will miss about Mrs. Thorp. From the class of 2006"
The answers are priceless.
I know it is too late for most people to do this but next year i would keep it in mind. you could even do it with your own child and just have them fill out a sheet of a bunch of questions.
The younger the children the funnier the answers to the "where does she live" most say at the school or with her mother. This year one boy wrote" she lives in a kitchen with grapes and green wall paper on the wall"
One boy wrote, she loves me because I have red hair.
I made a gallery with detailed photos. enjoy

18 comments:

TX Girl said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
TX Girl said...

I deleted my post because I can't spell.

So would it work to buy the book of 100 $1.00 and insert the paper inbetween using the same technique? Also- does it ruin the dollar bills?

Such a cute idea.

Did you have everyone in the class donate money or are you just really- really nice? I love this idea as a Christmas gift too.

everything pink! said...

no we collect money at the beginning of the year. are you kidding me i am nice but not that nice.
it does not ruin the money. you can just pull each dollar away when you want to. then when you take away the money you have a book of memories.
no you would have to make it from scratch you can't insert them in to stay.
or you could cut the paper smaller and insert them in.

jenny said...

what a cute idea. sounds complicated with all the glue and stuff.

TX Girl said...

Hey- you are like the super mom sooo thoughtful- I wouldn't put it past you to give to donate the money.

Seriously- I need to print out all of your ideas and put it in my "How to be like Kristi" book. You really do rock!

becca said...

That is the best idea I have ever seen! Your creativity is both inspiring and completely overwhelming!!!

Jill said...

How in the world did you come up with that idea? That's crazy cute. I love the stuff kids write about their parents and teachers, it's priceless. The pad of 100 dollar bills isn't too shabby either.

michelle said...

I love the idea, although I still don't really understand how it works... I like the idea of a How to be Like Kristi book! You are so out of control.

Bond Girl 007 said...

gorgeus colors and presentation

Anonymous said...

Kristi,

I've never used padding compound. I assume you have to put the compound on each page (and each dollar bill) one by one?

I also assume that you used cardstock?

Thanks for a great idea!

Kate said...

When I click on your gallery of pics (I would love to see them!) it says I need a password. Is there a way I can see them? Thanks!

Unknown said...

I just saw a post where you used vinyl... i cant seem to find it. you also posted the form that you sent out to the children.. where can I find that. THanks

MurdockFamily said...

How did you get the letters out to all the kids? Did you just ask the teacher to put them in their backpacks? I would have no problem making the book; getting the letters out to the kids would be a problem though without the teacher knowing.

Unknown said...

Do you just put the compound on the top of the full stack or at the top of each paper and then stack them and clamp them together? How quickly does the compound stick, do you have time to line them all up straight?

Unknown said...

I would also love to know the answers to Brooke Smith's questions..

Unknown said...

I would also love to know the answers to Brooke Smith's questions..

Unknown said...

Love this idea! I think I would make the memory book just a tiny bit larger than the dollar bills, then slip a dollar between each page after the book was glued together. The bills wouldn't be stuck in the book, but with ribbon around it, they wouldn't fall out.
For those wondering how to use padding compound, you stack the whole thing first and tap the edge you will be gluing on a table so all the edges are as straight as you can get them. Then you clamp it tightly. Then you paint the padding compound on the side you want glued and let it dry. That's it! (p.s. I made a small notepad once (about 30 pages) and didn't have padding compound, so I used Elmer's Glue-All. I had to be more careful not to use too much, but it did work.)

Katie Carston said...

I am in the middle of making 2 of these wonderful books for my kids teachers. I am curious about printing them on pages the size of dollar bills. Where did you find that? I've looked at my local office supply stores and they laughed at me.