We've Got Spirit, Yes We Do!

We've got spirit, yes we do! We've got spirit, how 'bout you? I teach 4th grade in a Title I school in Florida.

When school started last year, I emphasized the importance of teamwork and pride in my classroom. As a back to school team-building activity, I asked my class to bring in t-shirts to decorate with our class ("team") name, the school year, etc. I thought this was a great idea, and the kids were enthusiastic about it, however, some kids just weren't able to bring in a clean, plain, white t-shirt. Some came in with dad's old undershirts. Some came in with long-sleeve shirts. Some came in with polo shirts. Some families donated a couple extra, and I gave out a few as well. In the end, everyone in my class at least had a shirt to decorate, even if they didn't all look the same! The kids had the best time designing their shirts! Because we were a "team," each student wrote his/her name or nickname and a number across the back like a jersey. As their "coach," I made a shirt for myself, too!

I would love to be able to continue this project with my class this year. Only this year, I would love for every student to have a brand new shirt of their own to decorate! It would be wonderful if I could provide a shirt for each student, rather than asking each family to add something else to their back-to-school shopping list. I've asked for 40 t-shirts in varying sizes. Any shirts that I have left over could be used for any new students that enter my class later on in the year, and can be saved for next year's project. The Crayola ClassPack of fabric markers and the t-shirt forms would be more than enough to complete our project, and could also be saved for future projects.

Last year, we decided as a class to wear our shirts on special occasions (such as assemblies and field trips) and on Fridays to show our pride and team spirit. Let me tell you, we got all kinds of compliments walking around our school campus. The kids loved the attention! I really feel like this little project, started at the beginning of the year, kept us going as a team all year long! With your help, this project will get my students' year off to an amazing start. You will make it possible for me to stress to my students the importance of working together as a team and taking pride in individual and group accomplishments - all year long! Thank you for your support!