VistaPrint, Oh how I love you!

Yes, It's about that time to start thinking about the new school year. There are few things I need to have prepared waaaaaay ahead of time. VistaPrint is one such thing. If you haven't ever used them you gotta check them out at www.vistaprint.com. The trick to Vistaprint is planning far enough ahead that you can wait two weeks for production and shipping. If you can do this, you will have some fabulous postcards, behavior certificates, homework passes, business cards, etc.

*Side note, you can get these printed and delivered in less that two weeks. It's just a matter of how much you want to pay for shipping. Also, I only purchase my products when they are free. Usually they are about 50% off or more, but once you make an account they will email you regularly with specials. About once a week, for a day or two, you can stock up on items for FREE and just pay shipping. I do the two week production and shipping which is about $3-5 for postcards. Summary: go ahead and make your stuff, save it in your portfolio, when you find out it's free place your order.*

You may have read my previous post about "Fabulous Days" which is a behavior incentive. Last year I printed the cards below on vistaprint. At the end of the day I would write the student's name on the card and send it home. The kids LOVED it, parents gave me positive feedback, and best of all it was way more economical and personalized than what I would buy at the teacher store. Check it out!

Okay, so the possibilities are endless. There are TONS of backgrounds and fonts at VistaPrint you can make it your own. The fabulous day cards I had printed on regular postcard size. Below is a picture of the cards I passed out on Curriculum Night. I had these printed on the OVERSIZED postcard because there is A LOT of information! Put a little magnet on the back and the parents can stick it on the fridge. Everyone is happy!

Lastly, you can use the business cards for homework passes, class tickets, punch cards, etc. Unfortunately I wasn't able to track down my Monkey Bucks business cards from second grade, but here is a card I created just a few weeks ago. (Somewhat of a shameless plug for adoption, but at least you get the idea of the different options and formats.)

Finally, since it's our last morning in Connecticut, I wanted to show you a little picture of our super fun banquet last night. It had a Seussical theme. Don't we look cute?