10 Days of Back to School Frenzy: Day 3

On this 3rd day of my Back to School Frenzy, I'd like to piggy-back on something I mentioned on yesterday's post. As you may have noticed from the photo on that post, next to the back to school activity sheets I also placed a small goody bag with a note for each of my students. So for today's Back to School idea I'd like to share with you how I put those together and what's on the note as well.

In my students' back to school goody bags I place a couple of items that are not only useful for the students but also have a special meaning. Here's a list of the items I include and their meanings:

• Sharpened Pencils: To get you ready for all the writing we'll do
• Bookmark: To serve as a guide as we travel through the pages of many wonderful books
• Stickers: Serve as a reminder that we'll always stick together and help each other out
• Star Eraser: Serves two purposes: (1) It's OK to make mistakes, we learn best from them and (2) To remind you that I believe in you and I already know you are a star!
• Homework Pass and $50 Sanchez Money (related to my classroom economy): A little gift from me to you!

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As you can see from the picture, both the Homework Pass and the Sticker Sheet are camping related which goes together with my overall camping theme in my class. I place all these items in a clear cellophane goody bag and use the bag tie to not only close the bag but also attach the note.

You can also see that I included three pencils. I get my pencils from www.forteachersonly.com because they are of great quality, they sharpen well, and have good erasers. I have a Welcome to Ms. Sanchez' Class pencil that I personalized at For Teachers Only, a Fabulous 4th Grader pencil, and an I Love to Write pencil. I got the big star shaped eraser from Oriental Trading. That's where I got my camping stickers too.

If you are interested in creating Back to School Goody Bags like mine, your wish has been granted! I've gone ahead and created a generic version of my goody bag note along with a Homework pass that you can use in case you don't have one. I made my homework pass through Vista Print. So, if you'd like to get your hands on these documents, click on the picture below.

I hope you like this idea. Do you give your students special back to school goody bags too? If so, please share in the comment section below what you include in yours. Take care and see you tomorrow! Have a magical day.