PDA

View Full Version : Class project for school auction?



nrp
11-02-2008, 12:20 PM
So, after no one volunteered, I find myself room mother for DD's mother's-day-out class. When I signed up the teachers told me all I had to was call the moms who signed up for the class parties to remind them. Should have known better... :duh:

Anyway, now I find out I have to organize a project for the class that will result in some object to be auctioned off for the school fundraiser. A couple examples I've heard before are a big cookie jar that the kids all pressed their thumbprint on and some sort of bench (maybe a stepstool?) that the kids painted somehow. I am totally not creative. Does anyone have a good, relatively simple idea?

supercalifragilous
11-02-2008, 01:57 PM
What age are the kids in your class?

Our preschoolers have done a handprint stool, apron, desk, etc. The year previous they collectively painted two birdhouses and the teachers helped put their initials on them. The older kids have done mosaic stepping stones, painted lamps, painted mirror frame, mosaic patio furniture... the list goes on.

If you have a nearby ceramic pottery painting place (like Color Me Mine or the like), some of them will come out and do a class/school project where each child can paint a tile. Maybe they might be willing to do something for a class dish or something like that?

Last year, our big seller was a quilt. Each child had a square and the teachers had photoscanned a picture they had made onto cloth. They even photoscanned pictures of the kids' faces there was a cute little schoolbus with the kids riding inside and also dancing all around the border of the quilt.

If you don't have the time to do all that or sew, Oriental Trading has a tie-able quilt set that preschoolers could even do - each child can decorate a square. You can start here and see all the related products: http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/browse/processRequest.do?sku=57/9111&requestURI=processProductsCatalog&cm_mmc=bv-_-57/9111-_-57/9111-_-57/9111

I've learned that it doesn't matter how personalized the classroom projects are - no one really cares that their kids' initials or personal touch is on the item. Our parents look for functionality and beauty, so if it's a quality item, it fetches a higher price. The kids remember working on their class projects so it comes with built-in sentimentality already.

nrp
11-02-2008, 05:31 PM
Kids are 2 to 2.5. The tile idea is good. I've seen different trays made from tiles, so maybe we could do a handprint tray made of the tiles.

MamaKath
11-02-2008, 06:58 PM
We have done wreaths with ornaments on them. That has opened up lots of themes. You can do angels and let the kids put glitter on a paper angel, then you glue their picture to it. You can do cookies and they each provide a cookie recipe and a cookie cutter; this one is a good one to make salt dough ornaments for that look like cookies.

We have done aprons with the kids hand prints as the flowers and their names painted tall and skinny in fabric paint to look like grass.

Also group items like a basket or tote seem popular at our school. Everyone provides something that goes with the theme and then the kids do something little to go with it. Like the class decorating a canvas tote and then filling it with books about a theme topic (places to travel, cookbooks and utensils, childrens stories, etc).

Have fun!!!