Thank Your Child's Teacher!

This last week of school is bittersweet for me. I am thrilled that the kids are older and wiser with another year of elementary education under their belts but at the same time am so sad that we're crossing another year of elementary education off their list. I can't believe how fast this school year went by and that in only 3 months from now I'll have a 3rd grader, a 1st grader and a Kindergardener. Crazy. I have been so fortunate that my kids had such awesome teachers this past year and that my kids truly loved going to school because of them. They all grew tremendously this past school year but sadly enough, we'll probably never see these fantastic teachers again! Since we're moving to a new neighborhood, the kids will be attending a different school next year and we wanted to come up with a thank-you gift that was a little more than just a card or an apple. I googled online for gift ideas and came across 15 suggestions from a teacher who was tired of all the mugs he was receiving because he doesn't even drink coffee or tea and this was his list of ideal gifts from students who wanted to give a gift to their teacher.

1. Personal Notes: A note from a child expressing thanks and/or demonstrating skills learned in the classroom. I have several prized student notes posted to my computer monitor years after my students have graduated. The mugs their classmates gave me had only a fraction of this shelf life. A heartfelt, handwritten student note is an educator's most valuable currency.


2. Joke Books: I start off each day with a joke, but any teacher likes to have school and age-appropriate jokes handy! One former student customized a list of jokes she got off the internet solely for my classes and I still use it to this day.


3. Framed Student Art: I proudly display the framed clippings about me that students created, glued, and put under glass. It helps future students understand more about me as a person, and it also sends the signal that I value student work!


4. Home cooking: Over the years I've packed on the pounds as a result of goodies made for me by my students. Parents have also made special lunches for me and dropped it off during the day to say thanks. Still, there's only so much fruit cake a person can handle...


5. Quotes, poems or songs about teaching: Teachers love having time-tested quotes about learning at their fingertips. Compile a list of the best and present them in poster or booklet form.


6. Parent coupons: Offer to share your talents/expertise with the class! Teachers are always looking for ways to work with parents and use your collective skilles to educate their classes.


7. Plants: There's nothing that dresses up a classroom like a room full of low-maintenance plants! It's the gift that keeps on giving, and it makes for a fantastic atmosphere in which your children will learn. I got a flowering hyancith bulb one year that kept my students fascinated for months.


8. Donations in a teacher's name: I am still touched by one student's donation to the Adopt-a Pet foundation in my name. (I am famous for bragging about my 2 cocker spaniels)


9. Gift Certificates: Teachers usually end up spending much of their own money on their students anyway, so each five or ten dollar certificate means a lot! Consider the usual suspects: bookstores, office supply stores, video rental stores, or local restaurants that can supply food for class parties.


10. Teacher Supply Box: We can never get enough anti-bacterial soap, tissues, pens, colored pencils, markers, glue, tape, scissors, air fresheners, fans, notepads, construction paper, etc.


11. Books: Regardless of the subject, teachers are always on the lookout for discipline-specific books that use humor, games, etc. Inscribe the front page with a dedication to your teacher (or donate to your school/public library in their name)


12. Plan a Party: Whether it be for teachers or for your child's class, it's nice for someone else to take over the planning once in a while!


13. Order a magazine/newspaper for class: Again, a gift that keeps on giving and directly benefits every student! Even better, most schools already plan a magazine drive of some sort during the school year.


14. Jar of Treats: Let's face it, we say they're for the kids but they're also for us!


15. Board Games: There are so many incredible ways to challenge students with games that are specific to each discipline, yet many of us can't find the time or funds to get them for our classes!

So after taking all these ideas into consideration, this is what we came up with:

I asked each of the teachers what their favorite colors were. Mrs. Andersen's is pink, Mrs. Fort's is yellow, (Miss Cathy's is green and Miss Terry's is red but the last day of preschool was last Thursday and we delivered their baskets to them already.) With their favorite colors I was able to pick out linen napkins to sew the lining of the basket with and pick patterned paper to modge podge their initials with. Then I asked my kids to draw their teachers a picture that we would put in a frame that they painted. I compiled a bunch of quotes on education and teachers that I put in a little book, and made three goodie bags - one chocolate, one sweet, and one salty. Then threw in some initial post-it notes. Lastly, the kids wrote a thank-you note to their teacher to put in the basket.

I think they turned out really cute. I don't do this every year but thought this was an exception since my kids will never see them again. We've had these teachers in some way or another for 2, 3, and 4 years! Love them!

I hope these ideas will spark your creative juices so you can also come up with a thank-you for your child's teacher. They really are amazing people, aren't they?