summer

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Coffee Cup Heaven

Once upon a time, a teacher who was very loved by her students, decided to clean her cupboards during her summer vacation. She found that she was needing more space and wanted to downsize somethings she didn't need anymore.

In this particular cupboard, she found an excess of coffee cups. Strangely enough this teacher is a non coffee drinking teacher. Don't get me wrong, she loves a good cup of hot chocolate in the middle of the cold Michigan winters, and occasionally she'll have a spot of tea when she's feeling a little sick. But she certainly had no need to have all these wonderful cups.
She kept 4 that matched with a snowman theme and 4 more that matched her dishes, but what should she do with the rest? She could keep them all because of the sentimental value of receiving them from well loved students. And she hated to throw things away. . . after all she was a teacher who scavenged many things and packed them away like a pack rat.

She thought and thought and figured there must be someplace they would be loved more than at her home. Would a nursing home need them? How about a church where many gather to have a cup of joe together? Maybe the Bingo Hall? But no, those places are filled with the exloved cups of other wonderful people. Could they be used as Christmas ornaments to hang on the trees? Could they become bird baths for birds who are overheating this summer?

Is the trash the best place for them? Or giving them to Goodwill? Can you make a craft out of them? Is there such a place as Coffee Cup Heaven that they could go to?

What do YOU do with your excess cups?  I'm sure this teacher isn't the only one who gets a boat load of them. Please share and maybe someone out there has a great idea for all of us.


Annnnndddddd........

Maribel Sheehan  from Learning in Wonderland has a great activity that I have previewed and totally fell in love with. I think you will too!

It's a Morning Work set of activities that would be super for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade students (maybe evne some of your higher 1st graders) and is good even if you do math in the afternoon! These are math activities that will allow your students to practice many areas over and over until they get it really absorbed into their brains.

So click on over to her blog and check this out. It's well worth your hopping abilities. While you're there, click to follow her. . . she is at 95 followers and would be so happy (you remember the feeling!) to get to 100!


Patty

9 comments:

  1. I am absolutely serious when I tell you that I did the EXACT same thing today. The only difference is, I had more than double of the mugs you have. No joke! I kept a small amount of them and the rest, sadly, I packed up carefully and I'm sending them off to new homes. Whenever I need to give stuff away, I call the Breast Cancer Society, and they send a truck to my house to pick up my goods. They know me well!

    Ѽ Lori
    Teaching With Love and Laughter
    luvyorkies@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great idea, Lori. In the past I have given them to my church to use in the various rooms that they have group gatherings and coffee. I even wondered about smashing them and making them into a form with cement to make stepping blocks around my flowers and such. . . but that seems like too much work. Now that I think about it, I believe I have at least 6 more sitting on a shelf collecting dust at my school! Jeeeze! Lately, the Walmart type stores pack them with what looks like a bunch of candy and put a pretty bow on them and the kids give them away at Christmas. Turns out there's usually only 3 pieces of candy inside! chump!! ha ha ! Anyway, I make the kids all googly eyed when I open them and promise to use them all the time. And truthfully I do use them for a little while, then it's time to send them to Coffee Cup Heaven!

    Change of subject. How did you get that little apple by your name so that it's always there when you make your signature?

    Just plain Patty

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So true about the 3 pieces of candy in the cup! But, they do look pretty, right? I am a sucker for anything wrapped in cellophane and tied with pretty ribbons!

      As far as the apple, all I did was copy and paste it into my signature. I found the symbol when I googled "facebook symbols." Do you know how to leave a hyperlink for your signature. If not, email me and I'll make you one and then you can copy and paste it into every comment you leave.

      Ѽ Lori
      Teaching With Love and Laughter
      luvyorkies@gmail.com

      Delete
    2. Thanks! I'll try that for my signature. . . I do know how to leave a hyperlink.. a huge neccessity in my books!
      Patty
      Second In Line

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  3. What a lovely story! :)

    In WP, we had a "store" at Christmas for the 1st and 2nd graders. They could choose something for free to give to their family as a gift. So, I took all of my non-teaching ones there. People donate all kinds of gently used goodies to the store!

    Also, how crazy that now I have to stipulate that we did that in WP... since tomorrow I'm official at my new district!

    :)
    Christina
    Bunting, Books, and Bainbridge

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    Replies
    1. yea for you! I love that you can say that! You will love it there, and they will love YOU!

      A word of warning, because I've been there done that. . . . don't keep referring to WP in your new district. I did that when I transferred from Quincy and people finally told me, "you're not in Quincy any more and we don't want to hear about Quincy!!!" Pretty bold to have to hear, but I got it. . . I had to learn to be in my new district and to adapt to their ways too!
      Patty

      P.S. WHEN are we going to go out for a diet coke or tea or coffee, (speaking of coffee cups!!) sometime? My daughter leaves this week to go back to Texas. Pick a day or time, and let's start figuring this out.

      Delete
  4. I am probably the LAST person who should give advice about coffee cups. I. Save. Them. All.
    But I'm a coffee drinker so it's ok. I guess.

    I have a cute little cup hook thing in my classroom and I change them out seasonally. It's one of the most important things I do around holidays, I think. lol.
    Buzzing with Ms. B

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  5. I also ended up with tons of them! How they got into my cupboards, I will never know! I've considered bringing them to Goodwill but my husband is a pack rat and can't let them go :) Thanks for reviewing my morning work. I hope it comes in handy in your classroom!
    Maribel

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