Since the spring of 1989, the first graders from our school have been designing class t-shirts. My collection of shirts includes the names of every child I have had in my class for the last 20 years! It's quite a sight when I hang them all up outside our classroom. After making the design, we then go on a short trip to Write On, a local graphic design, printing and embroidering company, to see how our original artwork is transferred to our shirts. Owners Peggy and Don do a great job of setting up the tour, and their employees are very patient with the endless questions from curious first graders.
This year, we started the tour with a welcome from Peggy as she showed us some of the products that Write On can make, including mugs, mouse pads, shirts, hats, jackets, sweatshirts, photo enlargements, buttons, stickers, key chains, and more. Then we divided up into four groups to rotate through the various work stations.
The kids listened very carefully to everything Don and Peggy told us, and they were very excited to start our tour.
We saw a huge sewing machine that could sew many items at one time. It was very loud when it operated at top speed!
The needles could go fast or slow.
This machine was sewing a design on jackets.
Next, we saw some of the many designs that have been used over the years.
This machine was sewing a design for Fil-Mor Trucking.
We learned that computers are very important. All of the artwork is generated by a graphic designer who works with a special computer program. The designs are put on discs, which are then put into the drive of the sewing machines. The information on the discs tells the machines what color of thread to use, and what design to make - amazing!
The kids in each group got to choose clip art to make a picture on the computer.
The finished pictures were sent to the printer and are now hanging in our classroom.
Then we saw how designs are put on mugs. The mug got really hot!
It really sizzled when put into the water to cool it off!
Then the design was peeled off - pretty neat, huh? 
Next, we went to the vinyl department where we saw how they make banners and signs for trucks.
The kids helped design a silly smile face, and then everyone got a sticker and a transfer.
Finally, we got to see our design being transferred to our t-shirts. Most of them were already done, but several shirts were left to demonstrate the heat transfer process. Our design looked really weird because all the printing was backwards before it was transferred.
First, the shirt was pre-heated, and then the transfer was placed on the shirt and a large piece of teflon was placed over it.
Into the machine it went, where it was heated for 15 seconds. There was a loud "whoooooooshing" sound when it was done.
The transfer was peeled off and...
There, all finished, and it isn't backwards anymore! Looks good!Don met with us again at the end of our tour, he gave us a treat, and then we headed back to school, just in time for playtime and lunch. One of the kids summed it all up:
"That was the best trip ever!"
Thanks, Write On, for our awesome t-shirts and another great trip!
And here we all are in our brand new shirts! We will be wearing these shirts for our spring concert, class trip, and Phy. Ed. Fun Day. It's really easy to tell where each first grader belongs since each class has a different color. We'll look like a giant rainbow on the stage for our concert!
The kids just couldn't resist doing a "goofy face" picture.What a crew!
