We just had our auction this past Saturday. I wanted to post on how the blankets went. They were a hit! They brought in between $200 and $450 a piece and we had 8 of them.
The auction its self was a huge success.
We are already planning for the one next year. It is going to be a circus theme.
If you would like to see all of our class blankets go to www.mvca-oh.com
and click on the Denim and Diamonds link on the left hand side. That will take you to the auction page then click on class projects. There are also pictures of some of the baskets that have been put together.
All the blankets are fleece and ordered through Walmart Photo.
I am in charge of my 4th graders classroom basket. Looking for ideas to incorporate the state of Pennsylvania, the school's 90th anniversary and to make it personalized. Any help is greatly appreciated.
We have never set up a budget before hand. We do ours one of two ways. If the class decides on a basket, they choose the theme, then send letters home requesting donated items fitting the theme, or a cash donation. The room mom is in charge of putting the basket together, buying any additional items, etc. If, by chance, there is an abundance of donations/money, then the class will divide it up into two smaller baskets, or one large live auction basket and one smaller silent auction basket.
If the class chooses an art project, we figure out the approximate cost of the project, then ask for donations from each family. If we do not get our goal amount, then we revamp the project to fit the budget. Although, I do not think this has ever happened. Usually someone (or a few someones) will kick in extra to cover the project.
We also have had a parent, or a small group of parents, plan the art project in conjunction with a basket. Those parents cover all of the costs. That is what I did with the sunflower art blanket. It was a project I decided upon myself to do, so I did not ask for donations. And since the blanket cost so little, I was happy to to do it. After a few of my friends saw the finished blanket, they also did blankets for their class. Theirs were put together in less than two weeks.
So many great ideas! In the past we have had classes create baskets for the auction but I want to roll out class art projects this year.
I love the blanket idea and thought I might tweak it to have pictures of all of the seniors (we're a small school) during the year. What a great item that would be for the student to have when they head off to college or where ever they go to remember their school friends.
I think the upper grades are definately going to be the hardest to work on. Getting information to the parents will be key.
Thank you everyone for posting your ideas. We're going to get information out regarding the switch from baskets to projects in the next week or two after we have our committee meeting and iron out details.
Does anyone give classes a budget for their project or ask parents to pay for supplies?