Mother's Day gifts for 25 cents? St. Norbert elementary students go shopping
Kindergarten teacher holds Mother's Day sale so students can buy gifts for their moms
Kindergarten student Noah Ferguson only has a toonie in his hand, and he is trying to find the perfect gift for his mom for Mother's Day.
The six-year-old says his mom deserves something nice because it's Mother's Day, and because whenever there is something up high, she is the one who gets it for him.
Ferguson has a good shot at getting something great, because he's shopping at teacher Lisa Yagi's Mother's Day sale. And he has a slight advantage over the rest of the students from Parc La Salle elementary school in St. Norbert, Man. — he's one of the first kids checking out the donated items on offer.
Ferguson is choosing from almost 200 gifts, including candles, scarves, jewelry, vases, flowers and picture frames. Yagi has collected them from friends, family and other staff members to allow the students to come in with anything from $2 to 25 cents to buy gifts for their moms.
Zoe Shersty, also 6, analyses a gold necklace with a cluster of peach-coloured stones.
"It's a hard choice for me, actually," Ferguson tells Shersty.
This is the fifth year that Yagi, who teaches kindergarten, has rounded up items to host a sale for the students.
"You can see the excitement on the children's faces when they bring in their own money from their own piggy bank and they get to choose something … that they think their mom would like," she said.
The students feel proud about buying their first gift for mom and taking it home in a little bag to surprise them on Mother's Day, Yagi adds.
Kindergarten students shop first. Students in the higher grades will rotate through the sale through the end of the week.
In previous years, Yagi has spent the proceeds on games or art supplies for her class, but this year she plans to purchase tree seedlings from the Manitoba Forestry Association to send home with students at the end of the school year.
Shertsy knows all about Mother's Day, and she wants to get her mom something special.
"She is very nice and she feeds me," she explains.
Shersty picks a gift — describing it might spoil the surprise — and says her mom will love it.
"She'll love it because it's from me, because she loves me, and whenever I give her something she says she loves it."