[blindkid] teacher gifts?

[Carol Castellano]

My kids used to make ornaments by gluing "jewels" onto various 
objects and by sticking sequins into styrofoam balls.  We still put 
them on our tree!
Carol

At 06:22 PM 12/14/2009, you wrote:
>Dear Carly,
>First of all, how nice of you to think of your child's teacher! 
>Those teachers/therapists outside of the classroom often are 
>overlooked. Amazon.com gift certificates are good--you can buy 
>music, books, just about anything from them.
>
>One of my students made a desk name plate for me in "Braille". The 
>dots were made with puff paint and were not true to size but I love 
>it and people always ask about it when they see it. I think that 
>almost any homemade gift would be treasured, just as you treasure 
>those that your child made for you. It has been front and center of 
>my desk for 12 years now.
>
>I have seen plastic molds for chocolate or homemade soap on ebay 
>that have messages in Braille. They aren't very expensive and can be 
>used over and over.
>
>There is a type of candy that you may have seen that are colored 
>dots stuck to a roll of paper. The dots are just like a Braille 
>cell. You can carefully remove the dots to make a message. One year, 
>my kids removed the dots to spell "For You" and gave them to 
>classmates (clean hands, please!).
>
>Make bookmarks brailled with inspirational quotes, especially by 
>people with visual impairments. I used old calendars (the APH 
>calendars are great) because the paper is stiff enough to braille 
>and to be an efficient bookmark.
>
>Another year we made "eye pillows", used to relieve stress, 
>headaches, etc.. I sewed the satin material almost all the way 
>around, just leaving enough room for a funnel to be inserted. The 
>kids mixed dry rice (cheapest brand) with lavender and camomile 
>essential oils (I got gloves from the nurse for them to wear), then 
>filled the pillows using the funnel. I stitched up the rest of the 
>opening. The dimensions were about 9" X 4". The pillows can be 
>microwaved or put in the freezer, depending on what kind of compress 
>the recipient needs. :-) That year, all the ladies in my family got 
>one and everyone liked them. I still have mine 5 years later and put 
>it to regular use!
>
>I hope that helps give you some ideas. I like to make things a 
>shands-on as possible, even if takes a little longer. Multisensory 
>activities are good, too. Anything that comes from the child's heart 
>is by far the best.
>
>Good luck with your gifts. I would love to get some more ideas from 
>other TVIs and parents.
>I hope you have a wonderful holiday.
>
>Colleen
>TVI in TX
>
>--- On Mon, 12/14/09, Carly B <barnesraiser at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>From: Carly B <barnesraiser at gmail.com>
>Subject: [blindkid] teacher gifts?
>To: blindkid at nfbnet.org
>Date: Monday, December 14, 2009, 1:05 PM
>
> >There are a couple of books that may be helpful, too--Guidelines and
> >Games for Efficient Braille Reading (an oldie but goodie) and
> >Beginning with Braille (both AFB Press) and the Bridge to Braille (NFB).
>
>This got me thinking: would any of these make good gifts for my son's
>Braille teacher? Or does anyone have any other ideas? I always like to give
>a smallish gift to my sons' teachers about this time. Sometimes it's just a
>gift card to the local teacher store, sometimes it's to a local nursery
>(though that makes a nicer gift at the end of school). Any suggestions
>greatly appreciated! :)
>
>And thanks, Carol, for the book ideas above. I have the last two but had not
>heard of the first and am ordering it for myself for Christmas! :) (I found
>it for about $29 at Amazon and $25 directly from AFB... just a word to the
>wise! :)
>
>Merry Christmas all!
>
>:) Carolynn Barnes
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