Spirit Week Theme Day Ideas

Having worked at a middle/high school for a few years now I’ve experienced a bunch of Spirit Weeks and they can be pretty fun! I thought I’d share a list of some of the favorite Theme Days I’ve seen or have heard about from others - some are quite creative and ridiculous. I will continue to add to this list as I come across more fun ideas. Disclaimer: always make sure you check with your school/administration for any parameters or rules for Spirit Week Themes as every school will have different expectations as to what’s acceptable or not.
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Class Color Day

This is a classic theme day - every grade or classroom gets assigned a color and kids from that group are encouraged to wear that color. Some people get really into it with head-to-toe color-coordinated outfits and even face paint or temporary hair color!

Wacky Hair Day

For Wacky Hair Day kids are encouraged to wear their hair wacky! Side ponytails, mowhawks, temporary hair paint/color, crazy wigs, etc - and some kids even go all out with a crazy hair cut (with parents' permission/help of course).

Halloween in (Whatever Month You’re In) / Costume Day

This is a chance to bust out those Halloween costumes, dress up, and have Halloween in March (or whatever month you’re doing Spirit Week). Giving out some candy/trick or treating in the school might be a fun addition too. Just make sure those costumes are school appropriate!

Superhero Day

Dress up as your favorite Superhero! Kids can wear store bought costumes or easily make their own with some paper emblems taped to their shirts or homemade masks/capes.

Circle of Life Day

For this day each class is assigned a period of life… for example Freshman dress as babies, Sophomores as college years, Juniors as midlife crisis, and Seniors as senior citizens - of course.

Beach Day

For this one wear your beach-inspired items - think floral print shirts/outfits, shorts, tank tops, sandals, sun hats. Throw a towel over your shoulder or grab a beach ball to complete the look. Adding a flower lei necklace is an easy way to achieve Beach Day status.

Tourist Day

Tourist Day attire is usually very similar to Beach Day attire, but usually with the addition of a map, cameras or binoculars, and tall socks with sandals.

Anything But a Backpack Day

This one is always a favorite in our school - the idea is instead of bringing a backpack to carry your stuff, you bring just about anything else (a laundry basket, a microwave, a shopping cart, etc). Check out our dedicated blog post on Anything But a Backpack Day for more ideas!

Career Day

Career Day is a chance for kids to dress up as what they might want to be in a future career. Doctors, teachers, lawyers, electrician, plumber, race car driver, business owner, etc. This can be an easy one to put together from home with either nice or work clothes and a few accessories (a clipboard, a small toolbox, etc.).

Historical Figures Day

This can be a chance make a spirit day a bit educational as well as fun if kids need to provide a fact about their historical figure in addition to dressing up. Kids could pick figures from world history long ago (Julius Caesar, for example), our national history (ex. George Washington or Betsy Ross), or more recent history (ex. Steve Jobs or Sally Ride).

Little White Lie Day

For this day you write a school-appropriate “little white lie” on a white t-shirt (or a white piece of paper taped to your shirt). They’re typically sarcastic ones like “I’ve never been late to class” or “I always do my homework.” And if you’re not into poking a little fun at yourself you could do something easy and neutral such as “This shirt is blue” (but it’s actually a green shirt), etc.

Ugly Sweater Day / Festive Sweater Day

This is always such a fun one, especially around the holidays! Everyone is encouraged to make or wear an ugly/tacky sweater or a festive sweater. If you make your own sweater it's a chance to get creative and repurpose an old sweatshirt or sweater and add your own fun twist to it - think rickrack, pom poms, old ornaments (just make sure they aren't breakable!), etc. - Don't forget to use a glue gun to make decorating your sweater easy!

There are also tons of options available online if you want to buy a tacky sweater - just make sure it's school appropriate and not offensive.

BBQ Dads & Soccer Moms

On this day it’s encouraged to dress up as the stereotypical “BBQ Dad” or “Soccer Mom” - kids had a lot of fun with this one and some girls dressed up as BBQ Dads and some boys dressed up as Soccer Moms (you can do whichever you prefer - or a combo of the two!).

For the BBQ Dad ensemble think: aprons, spatulas, white sneakers, khaki shorts, baseball caps.
For the Soccer Mom ensemble think: oversized sunglasses, leggings, an oversized waterbottle (Stanleys optional), oversized sweatshirt, and of course a cross body belt bag.

Adam Sandler Day

This one is pretty easy for most middle/high school kids to pull off - the goal here is to dress in “iconic Adam Sandler style” which pretty much consists of things like baggy basketball shorts, oversized t-shirts and flannels, and dark sunglasses. This is easily doable for most kids/staff and a lot of fun. (It’s also particularly a favorite here because Adam Sandler is a NH native!)

Meme Day

I feel like this is a hard one for me - I guess I’m just too old, haha. But for this day you’re supposed to dress up as or reference a meme. A few that I saw - that I understood - were the “‘I’ll allow it’ guy” (wear a sombrero and carry a piece of paper that says “I’ll allow it”) and the one where Kermit the frog is drinking tea (bring a mug of tea and add a green felt zig-zaggy collar like Kermit has). A few other people just printed out a meme and taped it to their shirt and we let it count - such as a picture of Grumpy Cat saying “this is my happy face.”

Sports Jersey Day

Very easy and simple one - just wear a sports jersey/t-shirt. Could be a major league team (like Boston Red Sox, etc), school sports team jersey, or local parks & rec sports jersey.

Dapper vs. Napper

Dapper vs. Napper is a fun one and very straightforward - the goal is to dress either “Dapper” (fancy clothes) or as a “Napper” (school-appropriate pajamas, etc). I feel like most kids and staff go for Napper because it’s easy and comfy and wear PJs, robes, slippers, bring a blanket or stuffed animal, etc. But some people will go all out for Dapper and wear a suit or formal dress, tiara, etc.

USA Day

For this day pretend it’s a Fourth of July and wear your red, white, and blue! A lot of kids will wear patriotic articles of clothing but it’s pretty easy to DIY the color scheme with blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and red accessories, for example.

Flannel Friday

Really you could do “Flannel Friday” any day of the week and just call it “Flannel Day” but Flannel Friday sure has a nice ring to it. Simply wear a flannel shirt or flannel items of clothing that day - a pretty easy one for us to do here in New England especially because I think most people own flannel articles of clothing here.

Disclaimer: always make sure you check with your school/administration for any parameters or rules for Spirit Week Themes as every school will have different expectations as to what’s acceptable or not.

Garage Locker Power Tool Organizer - Fits Between Garage Doors!

Lately our garage has been kind of a mess - my husband has been rebuilding our rotting deck and the power tools he has have multiplied with no good place to store them. I was getting tired of tripping over sanders and planers so I thought I’d come up with a way to get all the small power tools easily accessible and organized for his project. In my search I came across the perfect locker solution! | This post contains affiliate links |

I realized the space between our garage doors was vastly underutilized. It’s a skinny spot but tall - with a lot of potential for easily-accessible storage. I thought about building shelves there but then it would be open and kind of messy. I tried finding a cabinet that would fit but they were all too wide. Then I realized a locker would fit!

I searched for single-width lockers and found many options and considered doing a single tall locker or a double locker. But then I came across this amazing single-width locker with six doors/tiers! It was perfect for my needs - it fit right in between the garage doors and each tool could have it’s own cubby. This locker fit perfectly in our garage but make sure to measure your space first as you may have a narrower (or wider) space to work with. There was assembly required for the locker but it went together easily and then it was ready to use!

One important thing to consider before you put a locker in your garage is how you will contend with wet floors. We live in New England and in the winters especially our garage floors get quite wet when the snow melts off our cars… in order to protect the bottom of your locker from rusting you probably want to raise it up off the floor. For us we used a thick paving stone that fit well under the locker - though we did have to level it some with composite shims (similar ones linked) because our garage floors are slightly uneven. (Just slide the shim under the paver and break off when it's the right height - so easy!) You may also want to consider attaching your locker to the wall in some way if you’re concerned about it tipping.

| 6 Door Metal Locker |

Once we had our locker level and secured I labeled each cubby with what it contained (“Drills & Bits”, “Orbital Sander”, etc). To make the labels I just typed them up on my computer, printed them out on a sheet of cardstock, and cut them out.

This was an awesome and very easy project to do in our garage. We love how organized and accessible the tools are while still keeping them out of sight.

School Appropriate Live Streams

I’ve been working part-time at a school for a few years now. One of my daily tasks (that I love) has been finding a new Live Stream to run in the background on a large Promethean Board in the Library everyday. It’s a lot of fun finding new streams or going back to old favorites - sometimes they have to do with timely current events (like a NASA launch), other times it’s a nature-related live stream, and other times it’s a peek into a different part of the world and their culture. We always mute the streams so they’re not disruptive and just add a fun element running in the background. Here I thought I’d share some favorites and I’ll be sure to add to the list periodically.

DISCLAIMER: Please use your best judgement and double check links before showing. At the time of writing this post, these links point to the topics described but there’s always a chance the streams/channels may change in the future. Also while all of these streams would likely be considered “school safe” for most grades/age groups, they are LIVE and therefore there’s always the chance of something unexpected happening on them. Stream at your own risk.

Nature

• Bird Feeder in Gettysburg, PA - I particularly like this one because it's pretty active and often you see deer in the field in the background too.
• Ryan's Bird Buffet in Brownville, ME - this one is more local to us (in the Northeast) so it's a favorite.
• South Africa Bird Feeder/Wildlife Cam - This stream has some very exotic birds and when it turns to night there (afternoon our local time), they switch the foods over to attract fruit bats. Very cool channel to watch!
• Sea Otters at Monterey Bay Aquarium - these otters are just so cute and playful!
• Bald Eagle Nest in Big Bear Valley, CA - very scenic eagle nest which is especially interesting to watch during hatching season.
• African Penguin Live Cam at New England Aquarium - always enjoyable watching the penguins, especially during feeding or training.
• Giant Ocean Tank at New England Aquarium - very relaxing view of fish swimming around the tank.
• Namib Desert Live Stream in Namibia (Africa) - this stream shows a watering hole in the desert and it almost always has some animal activity.

Science

• SpaceX Launches - I'm linking to the general SpaceX channel here, since new live stream videos will be made as new things are launched. SpaceX launches happen pretty frequently, and they're always exciting and interesting.
• NASA Launches - Linking to the general NASA channel here. NASA Launches happen less often than SpaceX ones but are still fun to see.
• International Space Station (ISS) Stream - This shows a live view of Earth as seen from the ISS. A very relaxing and neat stream to run in the background.

Around the USA

• Rotating New England Live Streams - we enjoy this stream because it rotates amongst many locations around New England. We often put this stream on when bad or snowy weather is coming in (we're local to New England) to see how the weather is in other areas and how much snow they're getting. (Many of the videos featured have their own stand-alone streaming channels too and you can look them up individually if you choose to.)
• Mount Washington, NH Live Stream - Mt. Washington is known as "Home of the World's Worst Weather" and can be an interesting channel to live stream.
• Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Live Cam - busy stream of traffic coming and going across the Brooklyn Bridge and surrounding area.

Around the World

• Sydney Harbor, Australia Live Cam - since it's on the other side of the world it's usually dark/night when we're at school, but you can still see the lights and boats.
• Rialto Bridge in Venice, Italy - very scenic bridge with lots of gondola and boat traffic.
• Lucerne, Switzerland - beautiful views of this scenic city.

Planes, Trains, & Boats

• Midway Airport, Chicago IL - always super busy live stream of planes coming and going at the busy Midway Airport.
• Trains in Ashland, Virginia - a set of railroad tracks that gets a lot of train traffic.
• Soo Locks, Sault Ste Marie, Michigan - interesting feed that shows the Soo Locks and lots of boat and other commercial activity around.

Seasonal

• Bank of America Winter Village Skate Cam at Bryant Park, NYC - This is a favorite live cam to run in the library around the holidays/Christmas. The kids love watching the ice skaters and the wide range of skills they have ;)
• Boston Marathon - no link for this one because coverage changes every year. But when "Marathon Monday" (which is the 3rd Monday in April) rolls around every year we put on some kind of live stream or news coverage of the Marathon.
• Everest Base Camp - I can't find the link for it now, but last spring we were able to watch a live stream of Everest Base Camp.

Current Events

I won’t link anything here because these are often temporary or one-time events… but here are some general ideas of things we have streamed or could stream for current events:

• Weather coverage of a current weather event somewhere in the US - like an incoming nor’easter snowstorm or hurricane

• Presidential election coverage or inauguration

• Local election coverage

• Royal wedding or coronation abroad

• 9/11 or Pearl Harbor remembrance ceremony

• Olympics coverage

• SpaceX or NASA Launch

• News conference regarding a science discovery

• Baby watch of an animal about to give birth (like a giraffe at the zoo)

• Livestream of a local event

DISCLAIMER: Please use your best judgement and double check links before showing. At the time of writing this post, these links point to the topics described but there’s always a chance the streams/channels may change in the future. Also while all of these streams would likely be considered “school safe” for most grades/age groups, they are LIVE and therefore there’s always the chance of something unexpected happening on them. Stream at your own risk.

A List of Educator (Teacher and Staff) Discounts - Happy New School Year!

I’ve been working in the school system for a few years now - while I did have a teaching degree at one time (I let it lapse), I’ve been working in a support staff role. Being a school staff member doesn’t pay much so getting discounts at different retailers is a small but appreciated perk of the job. I’ve complied a list of some of the stores and restaurants that give Educator/Teacher/School Staff Discounts. Also if you homeschool some places will honor that and give you a homeschool educator discount too so it’s always worth asking! | This post contains affiliate links |

Disclaimer: Different stores have different offers and rules - and they’re subject to change. Make sure to double check on discounts and read the fine print and before you use them. Some of these discounts are in person and others you can do online with verification. If I’m shopping in-store I always ask if they offer an educator discount - you’d be surprised how many random places do!

A Quick List of Some Educator Discounts:

• Many local museums - Always ask when going to a local museum if they offer an Educator Discount - many do for admission or at least for the gift shop

• Some local restaurants/coffee shops - You may find a local restaurant or coffee shop may offer an educator discount on a particular item (like coffee) or your whole meal - it’s always worth asking!

• L.L. Bean - 10% off (online or retail stores - does not work at L.L. Bean Outlets)

• Target - varying offers throughout the year with special coupons/discounts

• JoAnn Fabrics - 15% off

• Michael’s - 15% off

• J.Crew - 15% off

• Under Armour - 20% off

• Crocs - 15% off (full-priced items only)

• Loft - 15% off (full-priced items only)

• New Balance - 25% off

• Sunglass Hut - 15% off

• Canva - may be free if you sign up for an educator account with your school email (not all schools are eligible)

What other places give you a teacher/educator discount? Let me know!

Disclaimer: Different stores have different offers and rules - and they’re subject to change. Make sure to double check on the discounts and read the fine print and before you use them.

FREE National Parks Pass for All 4th Graders and their Families - "Every Kid Outdoors"

Did you know every 4th Grader can get a FREE National Parks Pass? I found out about the program when our not-so-little one went into the 4th Grade and we were able to take advantage of it. Signing up is incredibly easy through the “Every Kid Outdoors” Website - once you’re signed up make sure to bring your printed confirmation with you and your 4th grader to a National Park and the ranger there will finish the sign up process and give you National Parks Pass that’s good for the whole year (Sept 1st-Aug 31st of the school year your child is in 4th grade). If you’re a homeschool family this program also works if your child is homeschooled and in the equivalent of 4th grade.

We personally used it to go to Acadia National Park (our favorite place) in Maine and Saint-Gaudens National Park in New Hampshire. Maybe when our next child is in 4th grade we’ll get a little more adventurous and get to a National Park out west.

If you're planning on checking out several National Parks during the year, you might want to pick up a National Park Journal (affiliate link) so your kids can document the journey and adventures! Happy Exploring!

Note: This is not a sponsored post, I’m just sharing my experience with this program when we did it. Please see Every Kid Outdoors’ website for details as they may change.

No Soliciting or Political Canvassing Sign - Free Printable

It’s that season again… Election Season. And it doesn’t matter what party you’re registered for, there’s a good chance you’ll have door-to-door canvassers knocking on your door at some point to try to persuade you to vote for their favorite candidate or for themselves if it’s a local election. I don’t know about you, but we do not appreciate our day getting interrupted by solicitors or canvassers. We do our own research and make up our minds on our own. Not to mention, having a stranger knock on our door or ring our doorbell sends the dogs into a tizzy and interrupts my husband’s phone calls and remote meetings since he works from home. (And if you have a baby sleeping you know how frustrating it is to have someone ring your doorbell during that precious nap time!)

We already have a "No Soliciting" Sign (affiliate link) over our doorbell but it's always hit-or-miss whether the Political Canvassers respect it.. in order to make it very clear we aren't interested in political solicitation either I made this sign for our door.

This file is a PDF and sized for 4”x6” - I printed mine directly on a plain 4”x6” index card on my printer. If your printer doesn’t print on small formats like that you could just print on a regular sheet of computer paper and cut it down. We taped our sign inside the window of our storm door, so it can’t be missed. We’ve used this sign for the last few election seasons and it’s made a big difference! I think we’ve only had one person ignore it, everyone else has read it and then left - I’ll consider that a success!

We Are Losing Our Local Shops and Makers

Money is tight for everyone right now. But please try to support local shops and makers when you can.. we’re losing them at an alarming rate.

As an example - in the past eight months 4 brick and mortar shops I wholesale to have closed their doors. These are shops that employ many local people and buy goods from small businesses like myself. These shops not only support themselves and their employees but so many other small makers and businesses. These shops have all been in business for years and been successful, but times are tough and they had to make difficult decisions.

It’s so sad to see them close, but it’s a ripple effect that goes far beyond that one business. Everyone is struggling right now, but if you’re looking to spend your money please try to shop small and local when you can - thank you from all of us.

Tips for Selling on Facebook Marketplace

Lately I’ve been on a huge decluttering kick. I really want to pare down what we have in our home so we only have stuff we love, use, or is sentimental/important to us. Everything else can go. I’ve been taking my time with this process but it’s been really freeing to open up some space in our home. I try to throw away as little as possible and have been either donating items locally or selling them on Facebook Marketplace. Read on for my tips on how to sell your unwanted items on Facebook.
| Disclaimer: These are suggestions. Sell/buy on Facebook at your own risk. |

| Disclaimer: These are suggestions. Sell/buy on Facebook at your own risk. |

Tips for Selling on Facebook Marketplace

Clean Your Items Before Taking Photograpshs

Oh my gosh - this is the most obvious one that I feel like so many people neglect to do. They will post a picture of a table for example, still covered with magazines and cups - or the table will be filthy with dust. Kids’ shoes is another big example - make sure to take a little time and clean kids’ shoes. Get any stains/dirt you can off up the uppers and take an old toothbrush and clean the mud out of the treads. No one is interested in your dirty items - clean them up!

Consider the Backdrop of Your Photos

Don’t take photos somewhere messy or that looks unclean (like a basement or garage - unless you’re selling something that really belongs there like sports equipment or tools). For example, if you’re selling a nice piece of furniture, dress, kids’ toys, etc make sure the backdrop is somewhere clean and nice inside your home - don’t take a sketchy looking photo in a dirty/damp-looking basement because that implies the items weren’t well-cared for.

Price Your Items Well

Keep in mind this is a “yard sale.” And while things are typically priced a little higher than they would be at an actual yard sale, don’t be unreasonable. I usually price my items at the higher-end of reasonable, and then decrease my price periodically. If it doesn’t sell in a few weeks, it typically gets donated.

Be Safe

Be really wary with selling/buying on Facebook. Always check out the profile of who’s interested in the item to make sure it looks like it’s a real account with some history (it wasn’t just made in the last few months). Also never give out your phone number.. a lot of scammers will send you a message that says something like “I’m working, what’s your phone number so I can text you about this item? -or- Here’s my number, please text me.” Always decline to give out your number and say you only do correspondence through Facebook Messenger. It’s also a good idea to never accept electronic payments (Venmo, PayPal, etc) - stick to cash-only. (And if you’re a buyer never send an electronic payment as a “deposit to hold an item” - that’s a very common scam and a big red flag.)

And the biggest one - ALWAYS MEET IN A PUBLIC PLACE THAT ISN’T YOUR HOUSE. I strictly will only meet at local Police Department parking lots. Our surrounding town police departments all have designated parking spots under video surveillance that are meant for online sale exchanges. Several times someone has messaged me asking to meet for an item but instantly declined once they found out I only meet at the Police Station - that’s a huge red flag if they won’t meet at the Police Station and you want nothing to do with that person.. block them and move on.

Send a Reminder Message about an Hour Before the Meet

No-shows are the worst, and unfortunately fairly common. To help reduce no-shows, send a one-line reminder message about an hour before you’re supposed to meet the person.. something like “See you at XXX Police Department at 3PM.” Most of the time if they forgot or weren’t going to show up they will message you back and say “whoops, I won’t be there” and you’ll save yourself the trip. I also try really hard to line up my yard sale meets with other errands so I’m in that area anyways and it’s not as much of an inconvenience if I get stood up.

What Generally Sells Really Well:

• Kids’ toys

• Kids’ shoes & clothing (clothing typically sells better in big lots by size)

• Sporting equipment

• Tools

• Furniture

• Garden Items

I’ve found that some items in particular (like books and women’s clothing) do not generally sell well. Also make sure to try to sell items seasonally - don’t list snow pants for sale in April, they probably won’t sell. List them for sale in Fall when people are looking for them.

And always - make sure to follow Facebook guidelines on what is allowed for sale or not.

Good luck with your decluttering journey!