Hi all and apologies both for my absence over the past week and for this wordy post, but I felt like a little bit of personal sharing today!

Caleb made it to his first day of Preschool yesterday and as you can see from the photos below he was all smiles!

However, I on the other hand, got my very first taste of all of the preparations that go into this whole "Back to School" gig!  While things were a little hairy at times (it didn't help that all of us spent the week and half prior sick!) the process itself really was a joy and in a way I felt like I was experiencing my very own "rite of passage."

After surviving  all of the extra activities and errands that going "Back to School" entailed, I was able to put away my "Mother in Training"  Badge and join the ranks of moms with "school-aged" children.

There was also plenty of fun had!  Call me crazy but I LOVED back-to school shopping--of course I went a little later than most, but earlier than the last bunch so I didn't experience the "crowds" that I remember growing up.

The MOST  fun I had though had to be constructing my "last minute" teacher's gift    Those of you who know me best, know that I am a procrastinator and while I've fought for a long time to try to change this about myself , I have since embraced this flaw and in this case turned it into a way to be spontaneously creative.

The Teacher's Survival Kit

This simple kit is made from a fisherman's lure box and a bunch of extra little goodies to help your child's teacher get through the day!

I included the following things in my own kit, but you should feel free to tailor yours to your teacher's grade or to reflect your own personality:

• Dry Erase Markers
• Pencils
• Crayons
• Push Pins
• Mini Stapler and Staples
• Elastic Bands
• Paper Clips
• Sticky Notes
• Erasers
• Batteries
• Kleenex
• Travel-Sized First Aid Kit
• Hand Sanitizer
• Lotion
• Chapstick
• Advil
• Tic Tacs
• Gum
• Candy 

To find the perfect items for your own Teacher's Survival Kit at a good price visit the dollar store or the travel section of your local Walmart.


Once Caleb and I got all of these goodies tucked into our organizer--which I'll admit was a bit of a challenge--then came the really fun part:  creating a cute little label for the front of the kit.

I used The Smart Alec Collab Kit from Sweet Shoppe Designs--included as a part of this month's Digi Files membership--and a few of my favorite fonts (Homestead, Pacifico and Californian FB) to design my label and then printed it out and cut it down to size to fit perfectly inside the top of my the container.

If you are short on time but still want to extend the thought and consideration of gifting your's child's teacher--this really is a great gift idea for any teacher and best of all one that your children can easily take part in as well.

For different spins on the Teacher's Survival Kit check out the links below:

• Teacher Survival Kit  from Scrap Circus
• Teacher Survival Kit  from the Purplest Pecalin
• Teacher Survival Kit  from Paper Craft Planet
• Back to School Survival Kit  from The Funky Polka Dot Giraffe
• Teacher's Survival Kit w/Free Printable from Home Confetti

I hope you've all had a great "Back to School" experience this year...in fact I'd love it if you'd share a back to school memory from this year or year's past with me in the comments below!