Dear Teachers, Thank You!!!

I will NEVER forget Mrs. Schwam, my 4th and 5th grade teacher.  She surrounded us with fun, let us "be kids," and knew exactly how to make EVERYONE feel important in her classroom.  She hosted mummy contests for Halloween; she encouraged us to bring our boots and snowsuits into school for snowman building contests; every student got a chance to be "The Citizen of the Week" and assist her for an ENTIRE week, while sitting at an extra special desk; the top performing teams (we sat in groups of 4) got to go out to lunch with Mrs. Schwam AND we got to drive in her super cool gray sports car no less (now I am showing my age!); to top the year off, Mrs. Schwam threw us an end-of-the-year pool party at her house!  In between all of this fun, we learned a ton; I still have some of my investigation reports from 23 years ago.  Who wouldn't be inspired to be an active learner in such a fun-loving, supportive environment?

So in honor of all of the Mrs. Schwams out there and National Teacher Appreciation Week, here are some of my top picks for the extra-special teachers in your lives...

via A Pretty Book

For your Favorite English Teacher (Thank you, Mrs. Ball & Mrs. Geddis!), how about these Postcards from Penguin! An awesome collection of postcards highlighting a variety of the much-celebrated Penguin Book covers.

via Spoon Sisters

For your Favorite Math Teacher (Thank you, Mr. Gelfand & Mr. Kapner!), how about this pi pizza cutter!  Isn't this product genius? It's sure to make EVERY math teacher smile :-)

via Amazon

For your Favorite Science Teacher (Thank you, Mrs. Squillace & Mrs. Pastir!), how about one of these wonderful books with a special inscription from you. These are definitely some of my favorites in my own home library!

via Amazon

For your Favorite History Teacher (Thank you, Dr. Butt!), how about these history trivia cards.  Perfect for any history buff!

via Spoon Sisters

For your Favorite Music Teacher (Thank you, Mr. Mathews & Mrs. Reynolds!), how about this DIY music box!  It just looks fun.  Not sure I would create anything too wonderful, but I know the Mr. Mathews and Ms. Reynolds of the world certainly would!

Thank you to all the teachers out there!  

You make each day better!

The Art of Stuffing a Stocking

Years ago, my husband and I decided to only exchange stocking stuffers at Christmas. I really enjoy this because it requires a little extra thought and creativity. Not only does the gift need to be sentimental and/or useful, but it must be small too...a little extra challenge!

Here are some of my favorite stocking stuffers...

For the baby in your life, the Doidy Cup is an amazing product that eases the transition from bottle to cup without major spills!

For the organizer in your life, Magnutz are super small magnets with UNBELIEVABLE strength.

For the love of your life, the "I'm nuts about you!" key ring says it all. The packaging is simply adorable, and the key ring itself is the perfect size-small enough to be unobtrusive, but big enough to remind your honey how lucky he or she is!

For the cook in your life, a silicon basting brush is a MUST-have!

For the men in your life, try these easy to match dress socks. Once he tries them, he will never go back to traditional gold-toes. Not only are they thin and soft, but they make matching socks fun and SIMPLE!

For the child in your life, include these adorable mini lunch notes.  Nothing is better than finding a fun-loving note in your lunch from someone you love...a guaranteed smile every day of the week!

Please share some of your favorites too! With a little help from each other, we can all have ROCKIN' full stockings this year.