Showing Appreciation :: Teacher Gift Ideas

Everyone remembers their favorite teacher, the one who left a lasting mark on their heart and who changed them for the better. I grew up with a plethora of amazing teachers. At the time I wasn’t so sure about them, but looking back, they all taught me lessons that weren’t in the text books. Something that I can teach my kids, and then they can go onto make memories with their teachers.

Teachers are often overlooked. It’s not intentional, but the everyday hustle and bustle gets in the way and we sometimes forget that there are other men and women out there caring for our babies. They’re helping raise our babies too, trying to help them reach their potential.

Teacher Appreciation week is May 4th-8th, and although one week does not seem nearly long enough to give thanks for teachers, it is definitely a great opportunity to let them know just how appreciated they are. Here are some ideas for how to make the teachers in your life feel appreciated::

*A note of thanks – This does not cost a thing but can mean the most. A note just to say thanks. Thanks for taking time out to spend that extra time with Johnny. Thanks for continuing to teach despite budget cuts, larger class sizes, and the sad reality of school violence. I think we often forget about the teachers that have sacrificed themselves for their students. I look at all of my kids’ teachers (4 of them) and I can honestly say I know they would do anything in their power to protect MY children. That deserves a thanks in and of itself.

*Flood them with food – Check with your PTO and help organize to have food brought to them throughout the week like fun treats and Sonic runs! Some schools have a budget for stuff like this and can be organized school wide. If yours doesn’t, you can try to organize it through email and volunteers and sign up genius.  Either way, it can look as simple as this ::

  • Monday::Breakfast food – bagels, fruit, juice
  • Tuesday:: Snack foods – chips and dips and hummus and veggies, sweets-something they can grab a bite of while they are making copies or checking their mailbox
  • Wednesday:: Sonic run! If you time this right, you can get drinks at happy hour right before school dismisses and they will have a cold drink while they finish up their day.  Tip – have a sheet in the office that they can write their name on and their drink choice. MAKE A COPY. Then just hand that sheet of paper over to the guys at sonic. I always ask them to write the name of who it is going to RIGHT ON THE CUP so there is no confusion over is this Diet cherry limeade or just cherry limeade? I have even had this list filled out the day BEFORE the sonic run and then I dropped it off the day of and asked the drinks to be ready at 3. It was so easy to pull in, pay and be on my merry way with all drinks marked!
  • Thursday:: Dessert day – cookies, brownies, pies (keep those in mind that may need sugar free or gluten free too)
  • Friday:: Lunch – sandwich trays or soups, baked potato bar, if you can afford to have it catered, do that.  Set up lunch helpers and recess watchers so the teachers aren’t rushing to get back, let them enjoy the lunch provided.

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*Giftcards/certificates – Target, Office Max/Depot, Bradley Fair, restaurants around town. Or get them a couple of smaller value giftcards for quick food places like Subway, Starbucks, Pizza Hut that they can use on days they have an inservice or meetings. My family’s “end of the year” teacher gifts are pedicure gift certificates! Nothing says “summer is so close” like a relaxing break and pretty toes.

*Personalized gift – I absolutely love anything that is personalized. I think there is something so special about having something created just for one person! This can be a coffee mug, teachers bag, stationary, something for their classroom, lots of possibilities.

personalized teacher

Anything that comes from the heart and lets them know that you really are grateful for all they do is appreciated. Let’s go celebrate our teachers (and try to do so more than just one week)!

How do you show appreciation for teachers?

Jeny Ayres
Jeny is a baker, a shaker, and a baby maker. She is crazy about her college sweetheart, C, and their little tribe of 5 kiddos (ages 10-2). Although born and raised a "city girl" in the ICT, falling for a country boy has recently relocated Jeny to life in a farmhouse, with cows, chickens, & the freedom to get the paper in her pjs with no chance of anyone else seeing her. When she is not singing insanely loud in the car on her way to and from 100 different places with her tribe, you can find her baking for Brown Sugar Bakery {https://www.facebook.com/brownsugarbakeryks} and trying to keep up with her happy chaos, which she blogs about over at Little Wonders {http://littlewonders-ayres.blogspot.com}. She loves Jesus, dance parties, and her 6 roommates.

3 COMMENTS

  1. As a teacher, who is taking a break for a couple years while my kids are young, I want to say thanks for this post. One of the things we did growing up (my mom was a teacher, too!) is to send flowers on the first day of school to our teacher from last year. However, I must agree that a simple note of thanks from a parent is an awesome thing to get!!! Can I add that you shouldn’t forget about your child’s teachers in middle and high school? We know that there are a lot of us but we are working just as hard as the elementary teachers to “help raise your babies” as you said in this post. Thanks so much to all the parents out there who take time to appreciate teachers!

    • There’s a local place downtown called Social Manor who does personalization! Or a lot of shops on Etsy too!

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