12/9/04 TEACHER APPRECIATION IDEAS
Posted by: jhbreneman <jhbreneman@...>
ENCOURAGEMENT TO WOMEN
12/9/04 TEACHER APPRECIATION IDEAS
As the years go by, it seems to become more and common for parents to be expected to give gifts to their children's teachers at school. There's a fine line between showing appreciation and going broke. Finding just the right gift -- at just the right price -- can be challenging at best. And besides, how many apple-decorated key chains or coffee mugs can one teacher use?
Gina Dalquest, a California mother of four, says, "Every teacher appreciates school supplies. Often teachers spend a lot of their own money stocking their classrooms. Pencils, paper, whatever I can get inexpensively or in volume. I bought a big cube of construction paper and sent half to my son's class. Last year, we made decorated glass ball ornaments by pouring several colors of acrylic paint into them and swirling the balls around to look marbled. It cost less than $2 per gift." The time and love put into a nice handmade gift is appreciated. During the winter holiday season, teachers can be so busy with school-related holiday preparations that they don't have time or energy for all the necessary preparations at home. Homebaked cookies, candy, bread and other baked items can be very helpful in this regard.
The following are suggestions for helpful and often inexpensive teacher appreciation gifts for "Teacher Appreciation Week," the holidays or the end of the school year:
1) Shoe-box sized plastic storage box full of school and classroom supplies that you can stock up on throughout the year at sales, clearance stores, etc.
2) Bag of popcorn and a flavored salt sampler.
3) Gift certificate for a video rental.
4) Homemade fudge or gingerbread men in take-out meal containers
5) Pencils printed with their names on them or "Best Teacher in the World"
6) Painted glass ball ornaments.
7) Flavored coffee, hot chocolate or tea mixes.
8) Coffee and cup decorated by your child.
9) A candle or a candleholder.
10) Anything for the classroom: games, construction or other paper, books, rulers, masking tape, Scotch tape, rubber bands,things to decorate or theme objects.
11) Handmade items from the students (potholder, pencil holder, etc).
12) Concert or movie theater passes.
13) Small basket of lotions or soaps or a gift certificate to a Bath store.
14) Letter or card from the student (and/or parent) telling what they enjoyed about the year or the teacher's input into the child's life.
15) Houseplant that you started and established earlier in the year (Pothos is a good hardy plant that lives through most anything).
16) Child-made apple-shaped something or other (although over the years many teachers end up with more apple decorations than they have room for in their house).
17) Baked goods (bread, cookies, candies, quick breads, yeast breads, etc.).
18) Chocolate dipped pretzels.
19) Chocolate anything!
20) Christmas ornament (These are fun to take out each year and remember students from years past. Write your child's name on them.)
21) Rubber stamps to use on papers (100%!, Good Job!, Excellent!, Improvement!, etc.)
22) Stickers!
23) Massage (several parents might go together for this)
24) Sationery or note cards
25) Postage stamps
26) Book about birds, flowers, houseplants, science experiments, riddles, jokes
27) Silk flower arrangement
28) Decorations for various holidays
29) Gift certificate to a school supply store
30) Pretty Storage Boxes--Cover sturdy shoe boxes and lids with fabric, wallpaper or contact paper
31) Home grown herbs and spices--Children can help with this.
32) Fresh fruit, dried fruit or nuts
33) A coupon for a main course, dessert or complete dinner--in January or whenever you say.
34) Handmade gift tags for all year round--birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas.
(Punch a hole in one corner and add a few rolls of ribbon to tie on the tags.
35) Devotional book, music tape
36) A tape from Focus on the Family (1-800-A-FAMILY)
One woman online writes, "There are too many people who get left out and probably feel bad about it, such as the P.E. teacher, the principal, the secretary, the cafeteria lady who knows your child by name, the teacher's aide who listens to them say their numbers or helps with reading, etc. And then there's the Awana leader, the Girl/Boy Scout leader, the Sunday School teacher, and the private teachers like piano. A parent can't possibly buy/make gifts for all these people."
Her unique suggestion to deal with this large number of potential gift recipients? Donate a book to the school or the public library "in the names of all the people who have been part of your child's life this year. Then give a card to each individual telling them why they were so important to your child and how this gift will help other children as much as he/she helped your child."
It's been my experience that people in volunteer helping positions (such as Sunday School teachers or nursery workers at church) are often completely overlooked when it comes time to give out thanks. Each year my husband and I try to invite our children's Sunday School teachers and their families to dinner at our house to thank them for all their hard work and dedication throughout the year. It's never ceased to amaze me that I always hear comments like, "No one has ever done anything like this for me before and I've been teaching Sunday School for twelve years." Even just a simple Thank You card given at the holidays or the end of the school term could be enough to bowl them over in shock.
Remember that it isn't a competition to see which child or parent gives the teacher the best or most expensive gift. Showing appreciation to assorted teachers should be an expression of heart-felt thanks to the dedicated people who have touched our lives and given of themselves to our children.
TEACHER'S OPINIONS PLEASE? I loved all the suggestions for teachers gifts. I would like to know from the teachers - if you could choose, would you prefer gift certificates for 1.) teacher supply or office supply store (not personal but practical) or 2.) movie & dinner or 3.) local mall. Do you consider gift certificates to be impersonal or does it reflect our appreciation? I would love to hear how the teachers out there feel. Thanks so much! Kelly
REPLIES
*Kelly, Having been a preschool teacher for the Head Start Program, my personal opinion is that a teacher would love to get a gift certificate for a teacher's supply store because that is the place that is utilized "to the max" by teachers (as well as dollar stores LOL). When I was teaching, I would get little gifts from my students like mugs and hankies, etc., and appreciated each one, but a gift certificate to the local teacher's supply store would have been most welcome of all. It would have allowed me to save money on the items I needed for class to help educate "my children." Believe me when I say that every teacher thinks of her students in terms of being "my children," and of course, being able to properly educate those children requires the right tools, and those tools cost money that many times leaves the teacher in a balancing act when it comes to paying her own personal bills. Educating children is of utmost importance in a teacher's mind -- a top of the list priority, and worth making sacrifices for --- if you could make her job a bit easier and less costly, she would greatly appreciate it ~ SGH, OH
*I am an early childhood teacher and LOVE the gift certificates for movie and dinner. I usually get to go to restaurants that I was not even aware of. Keep in mind, that it should be for the teacher and a guest, since eating alone is no fun. Since I have enjoyed it so much, I too give certificates to my children's teachers. As a thank you, I send a card to child and parent and tell them when I went and how much I enjoyed it. Ms. Daisy
*When I was teaching, I would have preferred movie and a dinner out, although gift certificates to the teacher supply store would be more practical! ~ HTH, Terri
*As a third grade teacher, I know that I spend a lot of my own money on school supplies. That means sometimes that I have to do without other things for myself just to make sure my students have what they need and want. While I truly love the gifts children make me, if their parents can afford it, a gift certificate to a teacher supply store, book store, or other type of store where I could buy school supplies could very much help to alleviate the burden off of me entirely and will provide another present to the classroom as a whole! Lora--North Carolina:
*Hi! I am a teacher and a parent of a school-age child and so is my husband. I guess that makes us pretty well equipped to add to the teacher gift discussion! Each year, we get lots of gifts from kind and thoughtful families. Trouble is, we try to keep our home life sane by not having too much clutter around and so, with great reluctance, many of these gifts end up as donations to the thrift shop or church fete. We appreciate the thought behind the gifts but what can you do with 15+ vases, etc? Also, toiletries are not a good option as many irritate individual's skins. Chocolates are a disaster for those of us watching our weight. School supplies ... practical but a bit boring. I always give my son's teachers a gift voucher. They enjoy he chance to indulge themselves a little without having to pay for it and get something they really can use. General vouchers, movie vouchers etc. are all great ideas. However, I also know that one of the things that impressed my husband the most was simply a letter from a student's family, letting him know that all the work he had put into teaching their child throughout the year had been noticed and appreciated. Often we take for granted that teachers know this, but that is not the case. In general, people are quicker to complain than compliment. So, maybe, the very nicest gift is one that costs nothing but your time.... a personal, heartfelt, thank you note or poem. I think that will be treasured long after a gift has been used up and forgotten. ~ Rebecca.
Note from Lois: I know this is true because after I wrote a thank you to a kindergarten teacher, she told me how she rarely ever got a thank you - in letter or word! So sad! And it doesn't cost anything except a little time! Your child could even add a P.S. and we all know how that would be appreciated by a teacher!
Lois
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