5TH GRADE GRADUATION SCHOOL GYM DECORATIONS AND TEACHER GIFTS

Hi friends!  I'm in for a Saturday post today.  Things got a little crazy this week as we prepared to wrap up school yesterday, so I wanted to catch you up today.

Fifth grade is the last year of Elementary school for us, and our school celebrates with a graduation ceremony.  I was responsible for decorating the gym and thought I'd share a few ideas with you.  Gyms are hard to decorate!  ;)

There is an 8x24 ft. folding partition for the backdrop.  I covered it with black butcher paper (ever tried to hang a 24' long strip of paper by yourself...straight?  It's tough!). I made some register marks with a black sharpie (didn't show afterwards) to keep things semi- lined up over such a large area.  Then, I went to town with the chalk.  I kept it on the simple side, and I like that it ended up resembling a chalkboard, even though that wasn't necessarily the plan.  That's usually how I operate.  I never can tell anyone what they can do to help, because I just add and change things and do it as I go!

One tip, if you're chalking an area that might have a chance of someone rubbing against the design, spray your design lightly with aerosol hairspray.  It will dry clear and greatly reduce the chance of smudges.  Even if it's on a real chalkboard, it will all come clean with a damp rag.

I used a variety of pre-made paper fan circles, balloons, and scrunched up colored paper to resemble flowers.  I had some glittery caps left over so I mixed some of those in too.

I have to show you this, which I stole from my friend's IG feed and it was my inspiration for the backdrop.  Mine didn't even come close, but isn't this amazing?

He's the pastor of the church with this display (if you're near Keller, TX, try out Keystone Church!).  Wouldn't that be fun to have such a fabulous photo spot for special occasion days at church? 

We also decided to designate several "photo booth" areas for family photos after graduation was over.  There were two identical with ballons, pennant and tassel banners, 

and then one with a giant likeness of our school mascot "Rascal."

Lots of fun was had by all!

Lastly, I wanted to quickly show you our teacher gifts.  One, for a creative teacher, was a pack of canvases packaged with a few brushes and a Hobby Lobby gift card.

I got another idea from a different friend's IG feed that she received as a thank-you gift... a cute acrylic pitcher filled with a kitchen towel, wooden spoon, and fresh lemons...all ready for some summer refreshment!

I know lots of you are still in school, and may even have events to prepare for yet, so I hope you've been inspired with a few ideas today.

Have a very Happy Memorial Day Weekend!