The end of the academic year is drawing to a close and the summer holidays are almost close enough to touch. Across the country, children are eagerly anticipating a summer of leisure and fun in the sun, whilst teachers count down the days until they’re finally free. Being a teacher is sometimes a thankless task, with long working hours and challenging classroom situations the cause of more than a few headaches. It’s worth sparing a thought or two for the educators who have worked to mentally develop your child all year. If a trusty bottle of plonk is a little blase for you, then here’s a list of fun DIY projects that you and your child can make as a very special ‘Thank You’.
1. Personalised Mug
This DIY is a super easy one and also incredibly cheap. All you need are some oil-based Sharpie markers and a plain mug that has no clear coating on it. This mug could be a standard cheap mug, or you could push the boat out a little and get one in a cool shape. Whatever you decide on, the same rules apply. Simply write your message on the mug and bake for thirty minutes at 180 degrees Celsius. You may need to adjust this time depending on how effective your oven is at distributing heat.
To make this gift really special you could fill it with other hot drink essentials. Stock it with a sachet or two of hot chocolate and marshmallows and even a sneaky mini bottle of Bailey’s for something really fun. If you know that the teacher is a big tea or coffee drinker you could always pop a luxury selection in the mug.
Courtesy of paintedbyme.com
2. Coasters
A super easy DIY for your child’s teacher is to make some coasters. These can be as simple or as difficult as you choose, with cork, felt and tile coasters all a possibility. Of these options, however, cork is possibly the simplest and cheapest option. To tackle this DIY you will need some cork, waterproof paint, masking tape and a pencil. For modern looking coasters, lay the tape out in diagonal lines on rectangular shaped pieces of cork and then paint. When you remove the tape you should be left with neat diagonal lines running across the coasters.
For something a little different take some circular pieces of cork and carefully cut out a circle from the centre so that you’re left with a doughnut shape. Using coloured paint you can then paint an icing and sprinkles effect on top so that your coaster looks like an iced ring doughnut!
Courtesy of helloglow.co
3. Cookies for Teacher
Everyone appreciates biscuits and baking a batch of cookies as a gift means you make something thoughtful that’s also easy and cheap. There are plenty of recipes that you can find in a recipe book or with a quick search online. We suggest picking a type of biscuit that you can ice with personalised messages for your teacher.
With this DIY the presentation is what transforms a treat into a memorable gift. If you’ve made smaller biscuits then stack them and wrap them tightly in cellophane, twisting both ends and wrapping with a pretty ribbon. Another pretty solution is to stack them in mason jars which you can then decorate with a ribbon and the teacher’s name.
Courtesy of simplysweetsbyhoneybee.com
4. Bookmark
Once the final bell goes and children are released into the holiday wilderness, it’s probably the teachers that will be most relieved. As they step out of the school gates and look forward to days in the sun, there isn’t much more exciting that dipping into another world with the help of a good book.
Of course, each book needs a bookmark, and here’s an opportunity for a personalised message that doubles as a handy marker of a teacher’s progress through the pages.
Courtesy of positivelysplendid.com
Do you have any more crafty ideas? We’d love to hear them!
