Each class or grade prepares a basket of items collected for a certain theme. For example a garden basket for apartment dwellers can include small window planters, small tools, a bag of potting soil, seeds, a garden journal and little watering can.
For a labor-intensive project, ceramic or glass tiles can make an enduring memento. Tiles can display each child's handwork for the class theme. If someone can apply grout, the tiles can decorate a mirror like a frame or a small tabletop of an inexpensive bedside table.
Aprons decorated with children's hand prints, the alphabet or the school's name can become a welcome addition to a kitchen or workshop. Recycled tablecloths can become place mats. Decorated toolboxes, cookie jars or storage bins can make colorful and practical gifts.
Students can bring recipes from home to compile a school recipe book. Food illustrations from each class can accompany the recipes. A gift certificate from a local grocer can accompany the cookbook.
Your students can make a positive natural event a theme for a series of art works. For example, a great year for your community's agricultural sector can lead to a collage depicting a cultivated field. A pastel drawing can show a detailed close-up of a successful crop. The return of the sockeye salmon can lead to a hanging mobile with cutouts of salmon.