When I was a freshman in high school I was on the pom squad (yes... I admit it...). 

We only had 2 competitions but after the first our coach gave us a tiny bear that she tied a ribbon around with a nice note.  It wasn't anything fancy but I saved that bear for YEARS... who knows... it may still be in a box in my basement somewhere!

Knowing how much I treasured that small gift, when I began coaching I made a point of giving my students gifts as well.  Without "breaking the bank" I tried to give them a little something at key points in the season - their first show, championships, the banquet.  

And... growing up I had a "crafty" mother... she was (and still is) constantly making things, crocheting, sewing.  She taught me when I was small that a well-thought-out handmade gift can make a big impression.  Certainly with my students I found they were always so shocked when I gave them something handmade because they knew I had spent my own time, outside of rehearsal, thinking about them and making something for them.

Hey... it's not for everyone... but I think it's fun!

So this week's FUN idea is a project I did for my guard way back in 2002 to let them know that I thought they ROCKED!

Before I go on I want to say that I did NOT create those cute, adorable little anime' style guard girls you see in the rock pics.  AND for the life of me I can not find them on the internet ANYWHERE... Back in 2002 they were a popular guard clipart posted on a website somewhere... I think it was a student website... and it may be long gone.  Through extensive google searching I cannot locate them.  But if anyone knows who created these guard cuties I would love to give them the proper credit so please let me know.

All I did was find some big rocks, paint them with acrylic paint from the craft store (I did a base coat and then sponged a lighter color over it)... I free-hand copied the little guardie (which were favorites of my students that year), drew a flag with the phrase "You Rock" and painted the students's name on the back.  You could also paint a clear acrylic layer over to protect it from scratching.  It probably took an hour or two to complete and they dried overnight.

AND IT WAS A HUGE HIT!

So - that's it!  That's the fun idea this week.  You don't have to draw a fancy character - even a plain rock that says "you rock" hand painted by you is SURE to make a big impression.  If you know your students' favorite colors I bet they'd love you FOREVER!  :)  It's inexpensive but sure to be a keepsake!

Here's a link to a website with instructions for how to paint rocks:

"What You Need to Get Started Painting Rocks"

And here are some pics of some of the other rocks I painted way back when.

Have a great weekend!!