Re: [LM_NET] teacher goodie bags

[LINDA STONEKING <flyingmom1@SBCGLOBAL.NET>]

  Okay, here’s what I did for the teacher gift bags. I never found the original 
poem, but had so many suggestions from a number of people that I combined many of 
them and added a couple of my own. 
  First of all, I bought paper lunch sacks,. On a small piece of paper attached to 
the front I printed this quote from The Bee Tree, by Patricia Palacco: “Now, child, 
I am going to show you what my father showed me, and his father before him,” he 
said quietly. 
  He spooned the honey onto the cover of one of her books. “Taste,” he said, almost 
in a whisper.
  Mary Ellen savored the honey on her book.
  There is such sweetness in that book, too!” he said thoughtfully. “Such 
things…adventure, knowledge, and wisdom. But these things do not come easily. You 
have to pursue them. Just like we ran after the bees to find their tree, so you 
must also chase these things through the pages of a book.”
  The Bee Tree, 
  Patricia Polacco
  There are sweet things in this bag. 
  Together we can help our students find the sweet things in books. Please “pop” 
into the library and meet the new librarian. 
  I folded over the top of the bag, punched a couple of holes and threaded a 
tootsie pop through to close it after I filled it up with the following goodies:
  Inside the bag, I put the following on a 3 x 5 card, and glued mini candy bars on 
the back. (Bought cheaply in large bags at Costo).
   
  Where can you go to:
  Explore the adventures of the Three Musketeers?
  Study the Milky Way?
  Hear the Snickers of children?
  In the Library, of course!
  Remember, libraries are ‘mint’ to be used.
   
  I also included a recipe card, On the front of the card I put:
  RECIPE FOR A GREAT LIBRRY!
  On the back of the card: 
  WHAT’S YOUR RECIPE FOR A GREAT YEAR?  PLEASE TELL ME HOW THE RESOURCES IN THE  
LIBRARY CAN HELP YOU ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS.
  Return recipe card to library by Friday 
  for a cookie & a great cookie recipe! 
  (I left room below this for them to write.) 
  
  (I used the Neiman Marcus chocolate chip cookie recipe.)
  Then I made fabric bookmarks.I found the idea in a magazine. I went to the fabric 
store, bought red fabric with stars on it, some fusible webbing, ironed the webbing 
on the back of half the fabric, peeled off the paper backing on the webbing, folded 
it over, and ironed the other side. Then I got out my rubber cutting mat and the 
pinking attachment, and cut 6’x 1 ½ ” bookmarks. I punched a hole near the top and 
tied a black ribbon through it. Red and silver are our school colors. Total cost 
for 60 bookmarks: $11.40. Next year I will buy bookmarks from Oriental Trading 
Company. 
  Then I included a copy of “What Teachers Make” essay. I received this in an email 
and have no idea who wrote it.
  WHAT TEACHERS MAKE

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, 
decided to explain the problem with education. He argued, "What's a kid going to 
learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?" He 
reminded the other dinner guests what they say about teachers: "Those who can, do. 
Those who can't, teach." To stress his point he said to another guest; "You're a 
teacher, Susan. Be honest. What do you make?"

  Susan, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, "You want to know 
what I make? I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I make a C+ 
feel like the winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor. I make kids sit through 
40 minutes of study hall in absolute silence. You want to know what I make?

I make kids wonder.
I make them question.
I make them criticize.
I make them apologize and mean it.
I make them write.
I make them read, read, read.

I make them show all their work in math and perfect their final drafts in English. 
I make them understand that if you have the brains, and follow your heart, and if 
someone ever tries to judge you by what you make, you must pay no attention because 
they just didn't learn." Susan paused and then continued. "You want to know what I 
make. 'I MAKE A DIFFERENCE.' What do you make?"
  
  The last thing I will include (pending principal approval) is the announcement 
that a massage therapist would be coming to the workroom of the library one Friday 
a month to offer a 15 minute chair massage for $13. We had one at another school 
and it was a wonderful way to end the week.
  Many thanks to Pauline Herr, Debbie Allen, Tamara Jordan, Ellen Rubin, for their 
responses and great ideas. This is such a great list serve.!
   
  


Linda Stoneking, Librarian
Old Settlers Elementary
Flower Mound, TX
flyingmom1@sbcglobal.net


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