Template Spotlight: Yearbooks & Teacher Appreciation

Whether you’re recording your child’s school year, congratulating a graduate or thanking a dedicated teacher; April is the time to start bringing school projects into full focus. Heritage Makers offers beautiful yearbooks for every grade, meaningful gifts or greetings for the graduate and one-of-a-kind teacher appreciation gifts. Let’s take a look at a few examples in each of these areas.

      

      

Yearbooks to Remember
From pre-school to graduation, every grade and experience is something to be preserved and celebrated. Ask any grandma and she’ll tell you, you may THINK you’ll never forget your child’s performance in the school play or his third grade best friend; but memories fade fast. As a parent, one of the greatest legacies you can leave your child is a record of his or her younger years. Roxanne Buchholz has an entire line of 8 x 8 yearbooks that span pre-school to high school. You’ll love how easy these books are to use and how they coordinate with one another so you can make one each year. Those shown here are “HM Kindergarten Yearbook,” template 81118; “HM 1st Grade Yearbook,” template 56434; “HM 2nd Grade Yearbook,” template 56433; and “HM 6th Grade Yearbook,” template 25798.

  

Words of Advice for the Graduate
Looking for a classic gift of wisdom and encouragement that can go with the graduate as he or she starts her life journey? Sandra Dovre’s “A Bit of Advice-Son,” template 34717 and “A Bit of Advice-Daughter,” template 34832 are Heritage Makers projects that celebrate the occasion and become lifelong keepsakes.

   

A Memento for the Graduate
One of the simplest graduate gifts you can create is a framed 11 x 14 “Graduate Subway Gift.” Template 84423 is by Lynda Angelastro and can be customized with appropriate school colors, name and initials along with the graduate’s name. Buy a large frame at the hobby and craft store that is matted for an 11 x 14 photo. Use a 40% off coupon and a good frame should be well under $20. With your Club HM membership, you’ll be createing a wonderful, original, personalized gift that’s also very reasonably priced!

  
Teacher Appreciation Time
At Heritage Makers, there are a many a one-of-a-kind ways to tell your child’s teacher “thank you.” Try these two ideas from Sharon Macfarlane. They are made on simple 7 x 5 Invitations that can be hole punched and attached to a beach bag for the “Teacher Fun-in-the-Sun Kit,” template 83307 or to any kind of container for the “Teacher Movie Mania Kit,” template 83309. Instructions are included on the reverse side for teacher to use an assortment of small gifts for a day at the beach or the movies. The reverse side also includes a place for a “thank you” from your child.

  
  

Group Teacher Appreciation Gifts
If you’re responsible for gifts for all the teachers in the school or want to say thank you to several of your children’s teachers, try these fun ideas from Roxanne Buchholz. “HM POP-ular Gift Tags” template 86184 and “HM Smart Cookie Gift Tags,” template 86183 are each designed especially for teacher gifts. Each card of these decks can be personalized on the front side to make up to 54 custom labels for cellophane bags of gourmet popcorn or cookies. Personalize with the name of the teacher and the child, or the class if it’s a group gift. If you’re using the gifts tags on cello bags of cookies, make the cookies from any recipe that stores well for a couple of days. For the popcorn tags, use your family’s favorite gourmet popcorn recipe or try the ones we show here.

LIME POPCORN
3/4 cup popcorn
1/4 cup olive oil for cooking popcorn
1/3 cup butter, melted
3 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 teaspoon lime zest
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Pop popcorn in hot-air popper or in olive oil in large lidded pan on stove. Mix together the butter, lime juice, lime zest and salt. Put popcorn in large, lightweight paper bag and pour over popcorn. Shake until popcorn is coated and moist. Line a cookie sheet with foil and spread popcorn evenly. Heat oven to 300 degrees and bake popcorn for 5-7 minutes until dry.

WHITE CHOCOLATE POPCORN
Two 3 1/3 ounce bags microwave popcorn
6 ounces white chocolate chips
Pop popcorn, remove unpopped kernels. Melt white chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave. Place popcorn in large bowl or on cookie sheet. Drizzle melted white chocolate over all and refrigerate until hardened. Break up into smaller clumps before bagging.

Heritage Makers offers gifts and greetings for every school occasion. To find templates for commemorating your child’s school year, gifting a graduate or saying “thank you” to your child’s teacher; simply head to the Template Gallery. Search on “school,” “teacher,” “graduate” or “gift” to find well over a thousand perfect present possibilities for your school needs.

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My Happy little Valentines

Happy After-Valentines! The time of much sweetness and candy :)

The most exciting thing for us on Valentine's Day is the fun of preparing and sharing Valentines with my daughter's preschool class! This year, I let Gabby pick a pre-designed template to put her name and picture onto, and we used the valentines as tags on giant heart-shaped cookies that she helped me decorate.

We made and fancied-up a lot of cookies. She had a blast :)

The front of each valentine said "I'm just NUTS a bot you, Valentine!" (Gabby thought this was hilarious :)) 

And the back, my favorite part of all, has a picture of my little sweetheart, giggling. Just like her classmates probably would recognize her. Even if they can't read her name yet.

 Gabby came home with TONS of goodies in return...

Lucky for her little sister, she's willing to share!

Check out our fun customizable projects in the Template Gallery, and as always, let me know if you need any help or want the best deal! :)

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Template Spotlights: Back to School!

 

Be a Part of Your Child’s School Year

This year as your child heads off to school, plan to be a more significant part of his or her academic life. Your child may disappear for many hours each week, but with a little thought, and some help from Heritage Makers, you can be an important presence DURING the school day. Ensure your child feels loved, make learning more fun, strengthen his or her bonds with others and preserve as many precious school memories as you can. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

   
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Back to School

If you took the typical photos of their latest haircuts, this year’s teacher or their school clothes and backpacks; don’t wait until the end of the school year to show off your photos. A few weeks to a school child feels like years. Make scrap pages and smaller projects for your younger children and celebrate them early and often. More frequent reinforcement will help them see school as something your family values. Templates that work well for back-to-school topics include "Pre-School Girl," and “First Day of Kindergarten,” both by Michelle Bedard; along with “Maya's Haircut” by Cynthia Coulon, and “1st Day of School” by Gina Brock.

        

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Be Part of Their Day

Take the opportunity to be present in your child’s life every school day by tucking a personalized playing card into each child’s lunch or backpack. Tell a joke, affirm their worth or encourage them to do their best by using “Lunch Box Love Notes,” by Jennifer Stratton; “Lunch Joke Cards,” by Cynthia Coulon or “Big Kid Lunch Notes,” by Kari Pieratt. It’s like sending a hug to school with them!

   

template 92474                                template 92285Starring Your Child

Prepare for spotlight day. Most classes for younger kids feature each child at least once during the year. Collaborate with your children. Interview them and have them help select facts and photos for their very own poster. Cynthia Coulon designed 18 x 24 poster templates for just this purpose, "School Girl Spotlight Poster," and "School Boy Spotlight Poster." Or, use other posters in the Template Gallery as a base for such spotlights. If YOU do YOUR homework, you can showcase your child with style!

   
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template 91558                                template 64530Friends and Classmates

Building relationships with classmates is a big part of the school experience. Be sure to take photos of your child with the friends you’ve come to know as loyal and supportive. This is a subtle but effective tool to boost the importance of peers that encourage your child to be his or her best. Use the photos to make meaningful gifts for such friends or make copies of your scrap pages for them. Good 12 x 12 scrap page templates to start with include “BFFs,” by Michelle Bedard; “School BFF,” by Deanna Payne & Shanna Vineyard; “School Friends,” by Cynthia Coulon and “Sports Day,” also by Michelle Bedard.

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Another way to use photos of those close to your child is to make a “My Fantastic Friends” 7 x 5 storybook  by Lori Mar. This pocket size book will be loved now and treasured later and makes a wonderful birthday gift for the featured friends. Including your child’s friends in preserving memories influences his or her choice of lifelong companions. Play this important part in building your child’s relationships and you better fulfill your role as a parent.

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Other Heritage Maker products that facilitate friendships are our “play date cards.” These are made from playing or business card sets. Use the card to start the arrangements for a visit from a friend. Two playing card “play date cards” are shown here. The top one is from Tanya Sadal and called “Boy Dinosaur Play Date Cards.”  The one below is “Space Playdate Cards,” by Kristen Melnyk.                

template 76963                    template 20983                  template 49500Help with Homework

Boost your child’s skills and encourage competency by using playing card decks as learning aids. There are several already in the template gallery. If you need something different, simply change a template to fit your child’s needs. “Savannah's Grade 1 Sight Words,” by Heidi Jackson is a good one, so are “Sight Words,” by Luci Fortune and “HM Pre-School Flash Cards,” by Roxanne Buchholz. 

   

template 56428                                template 56425Fostering Talent

If your child writes, be sure his or her writing is honored and encouraged. Roxanne Buchholz has wonderful 11 x 14 print templates that can be used for writing or poetry. In four colors, designated by season, the ones shown here are “HM Poetry Poster – Summer” and “HM Poetry Poster – Fall.” Perhaps a sport or art is where she shines. Reward perseverance and hard work anywhere you find it by searching the Template Gallery for ways to document and promote it. We have templates for nearly every interest.   

           

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template 52111                One of the best ways to foster any kind of talent or achievement is to acknowledge it often. As your child masters learning tasks at school, have some playing cards on hand that reward hard work with a treat or special outing. Heather Benson’s “Super Kid Reward Cards,” is a great set for a super-hero-loving child. “Totally Girl Coupons,” by Shelley Pettis takes the same idea in a more feminine direction.

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template 78998                                template 78934The Holidays

Plan ahead and you’ll have clever and inexpensive Christmas gifts for teachers and friends, personalized Valentines and end-of-year thank you gifts for those who have taught your children. Put “teacher,” “gift” or “Valentine” in the Template Gallery search field and you’ll find hundreds of great holiday gift ideas. Use “Math Teacher Tile,” 6 x 4 Invitation by Lynda Angelastro and mount to foam core or floor tile for a fun gift for a teacher or use a playing card deck, “HM POP-ular Gift Tags,” by Roxanne Buchholz and customize the front of the card for different children in the same family. Attach to a bag of fancy popcorn and you have a wonderful teacher gift.

One of Heritage Makers most popular children’s products are personalized valentines made from double-sided business cards. With 50 to a set, they are economical and lots of fun. Shown above are “School Fish Valentines,” by Cynthia Coulon; “You're a Hoot,” by Lynda Angelastro; “I Wheelie Like You,” by Nicole Hutmacher and “You're Outa this World,” by Michelle Bell. Check the Template Gallery for loads of other themes.

 

Make School Important

At the end of the school year, do sum up your child’s experiences in an 8 x 8 storybook. Roxanne Buchholz has an entire series, one for almost every age. Check out templates Pre-School-25797, K-81118, 1st-56434, 2nd-56433, 3rd-86295, 4th-85577, 5th-76275, 6th-25798, 7th-86192 and HS-25796. A child’s yearbook can become a powerful tradition that underscores the importance of education.

Bottom line, take an active role in your child’s school life today and you contribute significantly to your child’s school success tomorrow and their lives forever after. Get started today, it’s an effort that really pays off. And realistically, if you don’t do it, who else will?

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