baby shower for teacher

[mrszrw]

Ok I need help! My DD's Kindergarten teacher is having a baby. Another Mom and I are planning a shower for the kids to have for her.

My plans so far are to ask each parent to send a small gift under $10 for their child to give at the shower. ( already bought extra gifts incase a parent forgets or doesn't want to or can't afford a gift. No child will be giftless at the party) I was going to also ask them to chip in for a large gift sending what ever amount they want to to go towards a larger item such as a car seat or just a gift card.

I want to have the kids do something such a make a book for the teacher to keep. I'm going to make up a sheet of questions for the kids to write out their answers about their teacher and the new baby. then turn this questions into a book along with drawing from the kids.

Where I need help is with questions. So far I have--

1) will the baby be a boy or girl
2) how many pounds will the baby weight?
3) What would you name the baby?
4) How many hours a day will the baby sleep?


So any other ideas out there????

 

[arielsleepingbeauty]

I am sure the teacher will be so thrilled that you and the class are doing this for her.

another question you can ask:
"How many diapers will need to be changed?"

They could also draw a picture of the teacher with her baby.

A teacher in my daughter's school just had a baby and one of the parents said that a couple of moms got together to do something for the teacher. Instead of gifts they asked each student, if they wanted, to bring in a package of baby wipes, jar of baby food and $2.00 They wanted to keep the cost under $5.00 because it was close to Christmas. The moms organizing pitched in more money and they went to her registry and bought a high chair for her . The day of the school shower they brought in the high chair and made a basket of the wipes and baby food. I thought it was great because you can always use wipes and baby food. Other parents also wanted to help out so one made cupcakes, one made chocolate lollipops and one brought in juice and paper goods. The teacher was so happy that her class did this for her. One parent brought in a plant and she had copied the class picture and attached each student's picture onto a separate piece of paper. She cut out the paper with those fancy shaped scissors, attached it to a thin wooden stick and inserted them in the plant.

Does the teacher know what she is havig?
ON the same idea as the plant, my sister bought a plant for me and then because i was having a girl, she took little pink and white socks and rolled them to look like a flower and attached it to green wire and stuck them here and there in the plant. It was really cute and simple. That plant is now almost 7 and i have watched it grow just like my daughter.

 

[kristen821]

what should the teacher name the baby?
what will be the babies first word?

 

[aprilgail2]

Just be ready for THEIR questions...my daughter who is an only child knew how babies come OUT but not how they got in there-her girl scout leader got pregnant and not only was she appalled that they would be having their third child "mommy WHY would she get pregnant again, they have 2 already" like its some kind of weird thing or something to want 3 kids LOL...but "when exactly did she get pregnant" and "how did that baby get IN there to begin with".... so just be ready to field off those questions while you ask yours LOL...

 

[drakester]

I would go to the store and steal a look at those premade fill-in-the-blank books. they would give you all the questions you. But here's a few more. Birthday and what time the baby was born
When got first tooth
first tooth
Who were you named after or explain why was given name
first trip to the doctor

 

[tiggger1]

I like the basket idea... I would do what arielsleepingbeauty said, have them bring in a 1 small food related gift..under $5( think bibs, spoons, baby food, wipes, sippy cups, bottles) and ask for a $5 dollars and get her her high chair...most high chairs are under $100. how many kids in her class? If there are 20 kids in her class, the that pays for the chair and then she has all the feedng supplies she needs.....

 

[xyzabc33]

I like the basket idea too. Tho to be fair to those kids(parents really) who dont have the money to give why not have all the kids bring in the same thing that costs the least, like the baby food or maybe the wipes. That would make a neat basket totally full of the same thing. Wipes in particular is something that can be used till her child gets to K and beyond. LOL Pick up some extras for those kids that forget.

An idea for the "party" would be to let the kids decorate a diaper. Use stickers and/or markers and let them go to town. Just make sure you repeat like 18,000 times "Do Not Open the Diaper up, Decorate the outside ONLY" What a neat way for the teacher to think of her students (like 20 times a day...lol)

OH....I wouldnt go purchase a big gift. Unless you know the teacher and her friends and family well, someone else in her immediate circle may be planning on buying something like a stroller for her. Then comes the problem of having too many of something and having to return it, or denying grandma the joy of getting the grandbaby thier first whatever.

 

[mrszrw]

She has 21 kids in her class so $5 from each would be great to go towards the high chair to go with the food and wipe basket.

I'm so loving that idea!

She is registered for one at babiesrus so it would be easy to get the one she wants.

keep those question ideas coming.

You guys are great!!!!!!

 

[golfgal]

If there are real concerns about people being able to afford a small gift I would skip the larger gift all together. Buying all those little things adds up for new parents too and are usually the things that are most forgotten at showers, etc.

Another gift idea, especially since she is a teacher, is to have every child bring in a book for a gift. It would be a great way to start the baby's library.

 

[clh2]

My DD's 4th grade teacher had a baby in the middle of the school year.

For whatever reason, the person planning the party did not do a "big" gift, each child was encouraged to bring a gift. And, for the party stuff, each child was asked to bring in $2 to cover the food, drinks and decorations. There was enough extra to buy the teacher a nice frame, so when the teacher came back to school, she could have a nice frame for the baby's pictures.

The frame - was a wonderful idea. My DD made the teacher a hooded bath towel. (Under very close supervision I might add.) She also got her teacher a really funky "it's a boy ornament."

Now granted, the age of the kids is different, a different parent worked with the class to come up with a "new baby advice" book. So for this, each child wrote down one piece of advice for these new parents. My DD's advice if I remember correctly was "to make sure the dad knows how to change diapers, so you (the teacher) don't have to."

In grade school, a teacher having a baby is a HUGE thing going on. Having a party really helps the kids to understand that the teacher is going to be gone for a couple of months. I would also try to invite the substitute teacher to the party too. It will help to make a smoother transition to when the teacher is out.

 

[lfeikert]

When I was pregnant with my DS (we knew we were having a boy), a mother of one of my students worked together with the art teacher. She came in one day during their art class (which of course I didn't know!) and had them each do a handprint with baby blue paint and write their name on the square. Then she put them together into a quilt and gave it to me at a surprise shower. I assume that all the kids contributed a few dollars to cover the cost of materials for the quilt, but I'm not sure. I absolutely loved it because it was from them and a part of them with their handprints on it. I hung it on the wall in my DS's room. It was such a thoughtful gift.

I should add that this was my second baby so there weren't any big gifts to buy since we had them already from DD.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

When DS was born the room moms arranged a shower for me. It was so sweet of them! A complete surprise. Anyway they asked each of my students to bring their favorite book from when they were little for the baby. I got 25 books! Each had been signed by the student and there was such variety. It was just wonderful to read those to DS and now DD and remember the kids who bought them.

 

[Pembo]

I had a baby shower for ds's first grade teacher, the first thing I did was contact the principal to ask permission and she in no uncertain terms informed me NOT to ask the whole class to send in $ or a gift. We had the aide have the kids make cards, on a day the teacher was absent. One of the other mom's created a HUGE basket of stuff that we presented on behalf of the class. I brought the cake, another mom brought the ice cream and drink.

The kids were more excited about Having a Party than gifts.......have fun and what a lucky teacher.

 

[krcit]

My dds 4th grade teacher was pg and we had a shower for her before she left. We tried to do the book shower but didn't get much response. WE had a big basket filled with little gifts ie. bibs, rattles socks and some books and we bought a gift card from Babies r us. We also went into the art class and had each child finish the sentence I know Mrs W will be a good mom because... and draw a picture. Then we laminated it. It was very cute and she loved it.,

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

In my experience the cutest answers you get to these kinds of things are to open ended questions -- What should Ms. So and So name the baby? What should she do with the baby? What should she teach the baby?

We usually present these as an "advice" book, like Dr. Spock only from people who actually know what to suggest since they've been babies recently.

I also think that perhaps you could suggest hand me downs as suitable gifts? I don't really like pressuring parents to provide things that cost money, I also like the idea of things that really come from the kids (e.g.. a baby toy they've outgrown).

Have fun!

 

[freckles and boo]

Last year my daughter's kindergarten teacher went into labor early and had the baby before a shower could be planned. The room parents asked for donations for a Babies R Us gift card so she could simply get what she needed. It was probably for the best. They have a lot of parties and celebrations for good behavior as it is.

 

[unbroken chain]

I like the idea of the kids bringing in their favorite baby book (or a new copy if they don't want to part with the original).

In our district, room mothers are absolutely not allowed to ask for money for anything; you might want to make sure you are allowed to.

 

[barkley]

I like the idea of the kids bringing in their favorite baby book (or a new copy if they don't want to part with the original).

In our district, room mothers are absolutely not allowed to ask for money for anything; you might want to make sure you are allowed to.

might also want to find out if this is even permitted during school hours. i worked for a public entity, and 'parties' or 'showers' were not permitted to be held during work hours-only on unpaid 'lunch' or 'breaks'. we also were not permitted to hold them in 'work areas'-only in rooms that people were able to voluntarily enter or exit. the idea was that if the party was held in an area where employees/students were required to be present it might be interpreted that participation was required.

in some school districts there are def. allocations for classes re. 'parties' (non instructional time)-so a surprise party on the room mother's part could result in a planned/established 'party' being disallowed.

 

[mrszrw]

I have already checked to make sure we can have the party and we are doing it on Valentines day and making it one party instead of two seperate events.