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Advice Network Worth sharing A fl ower wall photo
for Mother’s Day As I sat in the nail salon, I noticed they’d installed a gorgeous fl ower wall. I wondered if we might craft our own version at school, but I wasn’t sure how we could use it to make money. Then it occurred to me – a fl ower wall photoshoot as a Mother’s Day gift. I posted a callout on social media asking
children to make a paper fl ower over half-term. On the fi rst day back, I couldn’t believe how many pupils had remembered: there were giant sunfl owers, delicate paper blossoms and funky pipe cleaner roses. As well as being the PTA chair, I work
as a teaching assistant at the school, so I recruited the early years children to help me create the wall using a large sheet. One pupil’s grandad kindly loaned us his
Sophia’s sweet pea shop
My daughter Sophia and I spent an evening together sowing sweet pea seeds. Having seen another family selling sweet peas by the roadside, I thought it would be fun to grow some for her to sell from her own shop and raise money for the Friends of South Malling School. I’d had a few disastrous attempts
at growing sweet peas, but I’d since learned a few techniques which gave me confi dence. We soaked the seeds overnight before planting them in toilet roll tubes fi lled with compost. We kept them in the greenhouse for a couple of months before planting them outside. Next we needed a shop front. It
had to be a door that would hinge across our house doorway, so Sophia could be comfortable and secure. New materials were expensive, so I asked on our street’s WhatsApp group. Our neighbours gave us some picket fence panels, which I took apart. I nailed the slats onto a frame, and we painted
58 SPRING 2023
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them with old boat paints. I made counters from old kitchen units. Another neighbour donated some MDF, which I painted black and turned into the shop sign. I attached a fi nal piece of board to allow her to close the shop and an honesty box at the side. By May, the sweet peas were
fl owering. We created bunches of ten stems to sell for £1 each. We opened the shop and initially sold only to neighbours. Then I started another WhatsApp group, which the Friends shared. By June, we were harvesting fi ve bunches a day and had a visit from the head, Jo O’Donoghue, who ordered some for the school reception area. We sold every bunch – 150 in
total – and raised £163 for the Friends. Now we have the shop front we plan to open Sophia’s Sweet Pea shop every year. James Dandridge, parent at South Malling C of E School, Lewes (240 pupils)
professional camera for the week. With such a great piece of kit, we felt confi dent about charging £1 per photoshoot. Some pupils stood with siblings, while others opted for solo portraits. To our surprise, even a few dads wanted to strike a pose! During the three days the wall was up, we
completed over 40 photoshoots. I wanted to distribute the pictures in time for Mother’s Day so, with an SD card full of smiling portraits, I headed to Tesco to get them printed. We made a £20 profi t, which we spent on
Easter eggs for the children. Tesco generously donated more so that every child could receive an egg. This caused much excitement, especially when the ‘Easter Bunny’ bounced around the classrooms distributing them. Natalie Crowther, chair of Friends of Kirklevington Primary School, Yarm, North Yorkshire (147 pupils)
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