I’m a bit of a softie.  We give presents to all of Clare’s teachers – not only her classroom teacher, but the helper, the library lady, the office staff, the Italian teacher, the art teacher, the music teacher, the after-school-care lady, the keyboard teacher, the school principal, and to Stella’s dance and swimming teachers.  And to the school cleaner and gardening volunteer. Whew!  It’s usually something little, but I like to have something concrete that lets them know how much they are appreciated.  Because they definitely are!  And maybe because I was once a teacher I know how much they do for not as much recognition as they  deserve.

This year the women all get necklaces made from alpaca/wool tubing and felt balls. They were super easy to make and I think that they are super effective. Some of my sophisticated book group friends kindly modelled them for me when we were away for the weekend. There is white tubing:

There is brownish coloured tubing:

There is bluish-grey tubing:

and it is completely up to you as to what felt ball colours or styles go inside. Alternatively you could thread the tubing through beads, or alternate putting beads/balls inside the tubing with threading it through. You could fill up the tubing completely or space out the balls/beads or only use them as a feature as I have done.  There is lots of creative potential to be had with this!

And the male teachers/staff? They get tins of biscuits this year. Store-bought.  Except for the classroom teacher, who will get a “bloke bag”. If I get it finished before Thursday….