SingaporeMotherhood | Parenting
August 2014
10 Craft ideas for Teachers’ Day Gifts
With Teacher’s Day round the corner, what better way for your child to show appreciation to his teachers than to present them with a handmade gift? Here are some crafty ideas which your child can attempt – with mummy’s help of course!
1. “Teachers help us bloom” Flower
This is a decorative, yet practical gift which can be taken apart and used.
Materials:
– A 70cm x 30cm towel for the flower petals
– A 40cm square towel for the stalk (green, yellow or orange)
– 5 rubber bands
– Thread (of a colour that matches the towels)
Method:
Step 1: Lay the longer towel out lengthwise and roll it up.
Step 2: Make a fold in the towel to form the first “petal”. The length of this petal should be approximately 7 cm. Your child can help to tie a rubber band to hold the petal in place at this stage. You can then proceed to make the remaining petals.
Step 3: Using thread of a matching colour, tie up the loose ends of the towel to form the shape of the flower (A thread of a contrasting colour has been used in the photo for a clearer illustration). Leave at least one inch of thread when you tie the knot, and do not cut the thread from the spool.
Step 4: Roll up the smaller towel and insert it into the flower. You can then proceed to wind the thread around the next petal, removing the rubber band after you have tied a knot with the thread. It’s best to wind the thread twice around each petal and to pull the thread tight when you tie the knot. However, be careful not to pull too tightly or the thread will break.
After tying up the remaining petals, bring the thread to the bottom of the flower and wind it around the stem to secure it to the flower. You can then cut the thread and tie the loose end to the thread which you had left in Step 3. This ensures that the thread will not unravel. You can then tuck the loose ends into a flower petal.
Step 5: Fold the stem in half, tie it at the base of the flower and tuck the loose ends into the towel. This helps the stem better support the weight of the flower.
Step 6: Add a gift tag which reads “Teachers help us bloom” to your flower and it is ready!
Here are some other ideas that we like:
2. A pencil for my “Menthos” (Mentor)
You can modify Christie’s idea to make a “pencil” using a tube of “Menthos” sweets instead of the suggested “Rolo’s Candy”, and attach a note which reads “For my ‘Menthos’ (mentor)”.
3. “Berry” awesome teacher
Instead of giving your teacher sweets or chocolates, opt for a healthier treat of strawberries. Natalie shows you how to dress up an ordinary pack of strawberries for this gift.
4. Fusible Bead Craft Magnet
Arranging plastic fusible beads on a peg board helps to improve fine motor skills, encourage creativity and develop patience. If your child enjoys bead craft, why not design a magnet for his teacher? Beads and peg boards of various shapes are available at Ikea while magnetic strips may be bought at Daiso. You can also find some design patterns or download templates to create your own here.
5. Sticky Note Holder
Busy teachers will find many uses for a stack of sticky notes. Regina Lord shows us how to make a magnetic holder for these.
6. Button paperclips
If you can only spare a few minutes to craft, Jamielyn shows you a quick way of turning mundane paperclips into unique bookmarks.
7. “I’m ‘nuts’ about you” Kacang Puteh
Our SingaporeMotherhood editor helped her children to craft this for their teachers last year. She recycled magazine pages into kacang puteh cones, into which her children scooped mixed nuts, then taped up. They also wrote messages on retro vintage tags (bought from Popular Bookstore) and threaded ribbon through the punch holes, turning these into personalised bookmarks for each teacher, to gift together with their homemade kacang puteh.
8. “I love my TEAcher” tea bags
If your “TEAcher” enjoys drinking tea, guest-blogger, Stephanie, shows you how to turn humble tea bags into a great gift.
9. Hand print cards
A pre-schooler will have fun stamping hand prints for a Teacher’s Day card. Sherri Osborne suggests other gifts which you can make using handprints.
10. Loom band pencil grip
Children who are caught up with the Rainbow Loom Band craze will enjoy making this pencil grip to cushion their teachers’ fingers during long hours of marking. Alternatively, you can modify this design to make a pencil topper with a pencil shaped charm or a treble cleft for a music teacher.
All content from this article, including images, cannot be reproduced without credits or written permission from SingaporeMotherhood.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Telegram for the latest article and promotion updates.
