Is this common...

[velochic]

... because in dd's school it seems to be. If someone goes on a trip during school, it's kind of expected that you bring back souvenirs for everyone. Granted it's a private school and there are only 11 kids in her 3rd grade class (so not a lot to buy for), but now I'm wondering about what in the world to bring back to these kids!

[philomom]

I think some folks do it to show off. I have sent postcards in to pass around from some cool place we visited but I did not go so far as to get a postcard for each and every child.

[whatsnextmom]

It's not common here. If a child goes on a unique trip while school is in session, the child will typically do a presentation as part of their independant study contract. However, I've never known anyone to bring anything back for the kids.

If you feel you must, I'd go with some sort of treat... a chocolate, a cookie, a regional candy. It can be something they can take home so you don't get in trouble for bringing in food during school hours.

[claras_mom]

I've never heard of it.

But if it were the "expected" thing and the class was small, I'd go with postcards showing something unique to the area we visited. Inexpensive, compact, and kids seem to like them a lot.

[velochic]

She'll be doing a presentation. That's a good reminder because we need to do some research ahead of time.

I like the postcard idea. I'm probably going to go with that. There are a lot of food allergies in her class, so bringing back food might not be a good idea... although I could do a combination of treats.

Thanks for the ideas.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Never heard of that before.

[ollyoxenfree]

DD and DS like to bring back souvenirs for their close friends, but they don't do it for the entire class.

I might consider bringing back a children's book by a local author, book of local legends or history stories, children's travel guide or something along those lines to donate to the classroom. It would be fun to visit the class and read from the book and show some photos of the trip too, if the teacher was interested.

[GuildJenn]

Not common here. Praise the maker.

This is not directed at you but boy do I hate getting tacky little stuff from people just 'cause they went on vacation. I always accept it gracefully but it goes straight to the thrift shop or landfill. I'd much rather just hear the story, thanks.

[meemee]

since its only 11 kids i would definitely be tempted to bring back something. something handwork from the culture - as a learning experience for the kids.

you'd be surprised at what kids like. really. even if its a little box or a coin purse or just a piece of cloth they are taken in by the beauty and story if you have to tell. they treasure them more - esp. if done by a child.

yeah totally a presentation of the trip would be awesome.

[Llyra]

Originally Posted by velochic

... because in dd's school it seems to be. If someone goes on a trip during school, it's kind of expected that you bring back souvenirs for everyone. Granted it's a private school and there are only 11 kids in her 3rd grade class (so not a lot to buy for), but now I'm wondering about what in the world to bring back to these kids!

I've never heard of that before.

[ramama]

Geez, I hope that isn't common! If we go on a trip, DD will usually send a postcard to the home of very close friends. I can't imagine buying a souvenir for every child in a class.

[karne]

My kids have friends who have brought back shells, sand, other nature finds, etc. from trips. I personally find it difficult to bring that kind of thing back, intact, from trips, but I know my kids treasured those items. Most kids bring pics, postcards or tell something of their trip to the class.

[CarrieMF]

Some kids have done it here. I wouldn't call it showing off, but sharing their trip. Some kids never get a chance to get outside of the city they live in & now they have a piece of an outside world.

Teachers & kids have done it. If it's something you wish to do then do it, if you don't then don't.

[EFmom]

No, and it wouldn't go over well with the school here.

[Emmeline II]

My parents always brought me home pens--I love interesting pens and they are practical.

The class gift is a nice idea too.

Oh, to answer the original question, no, it is not expected around here.

[velochic]

Pens are a great idea, Emmeline. I LOVE stationery and stationery stores, and collect pens and notebooks from around the world. I can get some souvenirs pens with Italy on them. That would be compact and light to bring back.

[KCMichigan]

It is not common here either....

But as a teacher, I would suggest a book for the class/school library about your location!

It is always fun to have books that have personal ties to them, they get a lot of use in the classroom and are popular. We had a student leave school for a week and did a Civil War (Virgina & down south) tour with his family. He brought back a wonderful book on 'Civil War' mysteries (legends, tall tales, haunted houses, unexplained mysteries...) that was VERY popular with the 5th grade. Another student visited India and brought back a beautiful coffee table book of photos. Very pretty, it also got a lot of use---as well as opened a lot of discussion with the student about India. We also had a students another year share a book on caves after visiting Mammoth Cave.

The exception would be if you went to an amusement park or something, then I would likely suggest nothing--or maybe a postcard. Although some of the Amusement parks even have some interesting books on the history/photos (make great writing prompts).


If you travel to another state/region/country/neat location I would try to find a nice age appropriate book (desert animals if you went to Arizona, European castles if you went to Europe, etc). It is not hard to find books on local history, animals, culture, etc

[velochic]

Thanks KCMichigan. Dd is in immersion school, so her class is not in English. It would probably consume too much time trying to find a book about Italy for 3rd graders in her target language (only books in the target language are allowed in class). It'd be a great idea for an English school, though!!

[AndrewsMother]

The children in my son's class at his immersion school which is similar to your DD's school are a bit young yet. Most of the students travel over the summer break when school is not in session, and every six weeks there is a week long break when children travel with their parents.

If a child were to bring back presents and distribute them at school they would be required to bring something for all students in the class. Our school's policy is in place to prevent bullying, hurt feelings and the exclusion of peers.

[velochic]

Originally Posted by AndrewsMother

The children in my son's class at his immersion school which is similar to your DD's school are a bit young yet. Most of the students travel over the summer break when school is not in session, and every six weeks there is a week long break when children travel with their parents.

If a child were to bring back presents and distribute them at school they would be required to bring something for all students in the class. Our school's policy is in place to prevent bullying, hurt feelings and the exclusion of peers.

Yes, this is how they do it at dd's school. Same situation. The families are from SOOOO many different countries and they do travel to see these families on school breaks, and the kids always bring back something for every child in the class. With less than a dozen kids per class this isn't that big a deal, but I don't think we'd want to do this if class sizes were 30+ kids. We'd never bring back something for just a few. It's all or none. We traveled *a lot* up to 1st grade during summer breaks, but haven't done much during the school year for the last couple of years. I don't feel obligated to do this over summer breaks.