We are in the process of collecting items for a set of class “treasure” boxes. These items will be used by the students to do a variety of mathematics activities. Each treasure box contains an assortment of one item such as: buttons, old keys, bottle caps, rocks, shells, nuts and bolts, screws, seeds, plastic bread tags, canceled stamps, small plastic items, etc. This is just the start of our list of possible materials. If there are other items that they want to bring in, please let them!

We are asking students to look at home and outdoors for items similar to the ones mentioned above to donate to the class collections. These items will not be returned. Please be sure that anything your child brings in to school will not be missed!

The experience of contributing to the creation of a part of the classroom’s learning materials helps students realize that they are a valued and needed member of the class. In addition, sharing one’s materials with others and having others share their materials with you helps students learn about and appreciate the cooperative effort that is necessary to build a learning environment.

Attached to this letter is a small square of paper. (Open the PDF version of the letter to see this size square.) Please be sure that any of the items that your child brings in are no bigger than the square. Your child can bring in any assortment of items that they want to – they are not limited to one category! But, please DO NOT BUY ANYTHING! This is a way to show students how items can be “recycled” and meaningfully used in new ways.