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Last year I had the opportunity to participate in the 2011 Elmer’s Bag It Forward Campaign and I am so excited that I was able to participate again this year! My challenge was to create an Elmer’s Bag It Forward School Supply Kit to give to a special teacher. We donated the supplies to Ms. S. I would like to share our story with you with the hope that it will inspire you to pick up a few extra supplies while you are shopping for your kid’s school supplies and give them to a special teacher, student or organization.
I went shopping at Walmart with Vanessa to buy some of her school supplies and to pick up some quality supplies to donate as well. You can see my entire shopping trip in my Google+ Album. We spotted this Elmer’s Kiosk right after walking in the door. There was a QR code for us to download the Elmer’s 1st Day Of School App for free.
We downloaded the app onto our iPad. The 1st Day app is all about celebrating the first day of school. It can be used to capture images of the first day of school each year! Pictures can then be stored in albums and shared with family and friends. Also, for every photo uploaded, Elmer’s will donate one product to The Kids In Need Foundation – up to 200,000 products! The Kids In Need Foundation currently supports the Elmer’s Teacher Tool Kit Program which provides funding and supplies to educators. Elmer’s is committed to the education of children and the innovation for educators who inspire them to learn.
We found a bunch of different Elmer’s glues available at Walmart like the Elmer’s School Glue in a bottle, the Elmer’s Disappearing Purple School Glue Sticks, the Elmer’s X-TREME Glue Sticks, the Elmer’s Classic Glitter Glue and even Elmer’s Colored Glue Sticks! They were all reasonably priced too!
The Elmer’s Disappearing Purple School Glue Sticks were only 10 cents so we bought 20 of them!
Here are all of the school supplies that we will be giving to Ms. S. Some of the supplies are for her to have available for her students like the notebooks and glue sticks and other supplies are for her personal use like the highlighters and paperclips.
I put all of the Elmer’s Glue into this small box so that the glue sticks won’t fall through the holes in the crate.
I noticed that the Elmer’s 1st Day of School App is available for download on the back of the glue bottle! You can also get the 1st Day App download here!
I purchased a gray crate to contain the school supplies. I wanted to give something that Ms. S. could use in her classroom but I decided to decorate it a little before adding the supplies. I put washi tape around the top of the box.
Then, using a red Elmer’s Painters marker, I colored in every other circle on the long sides of the crate.
Once the paint dried, I added the school supplies. They all fit in the crate and at the last second I added a bag of Smarties. Ms. S. will sometimes give treats to her students and I figured that Smarties would be the perfect treat for a teacher to give her smart students!
Then, I put the crate in the back of my husband’s car and we went to drop off the kit. Ms. S. is going to have a birthday soon, as is another friend of mine. So, we got together for a little birthday celebration. It was the perfect opportunity to give Ms. S. the kit. She was delighted and so very thankful. She said the the supplies will definitely get used. The first thing she grabbed out of the crate were the permanent markers. She said they get used a ton! She also liked the crate and was pleased that she got to keep it as well.
I choose to give the kit to the same teacher that I gave it to last year, Ms. S. Why did I choose Ms. S? Well, first of all because she is a childhood friend of mine but more importantly because she is a wonderful teacher. She gives teaching her all and her students love her. Ms. S. is a high school teacher and often spends her own money to buy supplies. Although high school students are not the first ones that come to mind when thinking about kids needing school supplies, they need supplies as much as any other students. These supplies will help not on only Ms. S. but also her students. A special teacher in your life or at your child’s school would be just as happy to receive some school supplies! Please pick up some quality school supplies to donate the next time you are out shopping. The supplies are super cheap right now! It’s easy to do and you will be helping a student have a successful school year!
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Hello, I'm Tonia. Welcome to The Gunny Sack, my online place to inspire others through recipes, crafts and tutorials.
Smarties were an excellent addition!
Tonia, you are a wonderful, giving person! This yr my son starts preschool and we’re both so excited. I will be sure to Bag It Forward for his classroom
The teachers are going to LOVE you! What a fun thing to gift to them!
You did such a great job decorating with the Elmer’s Paint pen!! It looks a million times better!!
Tiffany
What a wonderful thing to do. I am a teacher getting ready to start my 24th year in two weeks, and I don’t know any teacher who would not greatly appreciate what you did. We spend so much of our own money every year on things the students need. My school hasn’t bought it’s teachers so much as a pencil in 4 years now, so we’ve also had to buy our own office supplies as well. There are lots of teachers everywhere having to do the same thing, so thanks so much for remembering your teachers.
Such a lovely and thoughtful way to say thank you to a special teacher! I’m certain she appreciated all the special products you chose and the fun way you dressed her #BagItForward kit! Thank you so much for helping to spread the word about this important giving effort!
You did a good thing.