In thinking about what to do for her, I started to realize that I have a lot of friends who are, or were, teachers. We also have quite a few teachers in our family. I had a ready-made pool of advice for Kate.
I emailed and messaged every teacher I could think of, both friend and family, to get their advice for first year teachers. I got a great response and some really fabulous advice.
But, what to do with it all? That's where the fun really started. I created a template for 3x5 cards and started filling them in with the advice. I broke it all down into simple, useful pieces that I could sent to Kate one at a time, every week during her first year.
After creating the cards on white card stock, I cut them out and backed them on pretty scrapbook paper. I added embellishments, stickers, and other bits of fun. Then I mailed them off, one or two at a time throughout her first year. (Okay, first half of the year was pretty consistent... second half of the year was a disaster.) With each bit of mail, she got a fun card or note, or some little extra like post-it notes, a magnetic notepad, small things for her classroom, etc.
What a fun project! I thoroughly enjoyed putting it together for her and she really loved the cards. I'm ordering a cute little box for her to put them in so that she can keep them handy and just pull one out whenever she needs a little encouragement or inspiration.
You can print these note cards, too! Share them with your teacher friends and family when they need a little boost. Or pull them out for yourself if you're a teacher and need a little cheering on.
Teachers, what advice would you give a first year teacher? I have more quotes to put into a second set of cards and if you have something wonderful to add, I'd love to include it!
