Birthday Book Bags!

I sewed a bag about the size of my books, using brightly colored flannel. I enclose three books and a chart, with the children's names on it, as well as the names of the three books in the bag. I also enclose some self-stick stars. On the child's birthday, he or she takes the bag home and shares the books with his or her family. They place one star by the book they enjoyed the most. They also take one or two pictures of how they celebrated their birthday. They return the books, chart, and camera for the next child to take home for his/her birthday.
Submitted by: Marilyn Hansen, Canada

Note Cards

Make a stack of notecards and envelopes for the recipient. When finished creating the cards, simply stack them and tie them with a bow.

• Have each student draw a picture of themselves with a black, blue or red marker on an 8.5" x 11" piece of white paper. Make a copies of the drawing but reduce them by 50%. You can then fold the copied papers in quarters and make a notecards.
  
• Potato Print Cards are fun to make. Cut a potato in half; store the half you are not using in a plastic bag and refrigerate. With a paring knife, cut a design—about 1/4" deep, in relief, in the potato. Clean the potato and dry. Students can then dip the potato "stamp" in a shallow pan filled with acrylic, poster, or other water-based paint and stamp them on blank white or colored notebooks. (Note: Potato stamps will keep for a few days if they are put in a plastic, sealed bag in the refrigerator.)

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