Teacher Appreciation Day this year is May 3. What are you doing to appreciate the teachers in your life or in the lives of your family? If you do not yet know what you will be doing, then please allow me to offer some suggestions. After all, teachers do some of the hardest work in the world right up there with nurses. They present our students with information necessary for their success, but teachers do much more than that. Many people report that a special teacher was the difference between success and failure for them or was their mentor when things were going badly at home. That is why teacher appreciation is important. However, your gifts to your teachers do not have to be elaborate. In this article, we will discuss twenty teacher appreciation gifts that will not break your bank.
Write a Note
Perhaps the best teacher appreciation gift is a note. Tell the teacher in your life how much they matter. If you are a parent, tell them how much you feel that they have helped your child. If your child likes that teacher as well, then they could make a note of their own, mentioni1ng some of their favorite experiences in class.
Send an Apple
It may seem slightly cliche, but an apple is a good gift for a teacher, preferably a glass one that can serve as a paperweight or desk ornament. Apples of this kind never go bad, and you do not have to worry about accidentally triggering any food allergies. As a bonus, an apple of this type will last for years to come and will be a gift the teacher can hold onto and display in their classroom.
Make Custom T-shirts
Custom t-shirts can be a great way to show a special teacher they matter. Get together with other parents or other classmates if you are a student, and decide on a design. Then you as a group can present the finished shirt to the special teacher.
Treat A Teacher
Get together with your classmates or other parents and make a small lunch for the teachers at your school. This is a great way to show all the teachers you appreciate them. Be careful to include foods that can be eaten by anyone regardless of food preferences or allergies. Foods that can be eaten with your hands, such as small sandwiches with a variety of fillings and breads work well for this. That way, the teachers can make their own sandwiches the way they like them. Be sure to ask the school’s permission before doing this one, especially if you are a student.
Pamper The Teachers
Teachers work hard every single day. During Teacher Appreciation Week, why not pamper them? With the administrators’ permission, set aside a space. Then hire a nail technician to come in and do the teachers’ nails or give hand massages with hot lotions. Every time the teacher looks down at their hands, it will become clear how much they matter.
Cookie Coupons
Slide coupons for cookies into teachers’ mailboxes. Then arrange with the cafeteria to allow teachers to retrieve the coupons. Alternatively, if you know the teacher’s favorite type of cookie, small packages of homemade treats could be inserted in the mailboxes instead.
Take Over the Class
With permission, take over the class of a special teacher for one period for a read-aloud session. You could read a favorite book and do a follow-up activity. This gives the teacher a chance to catch a break or do some planning activities. For older children and teenagers, you might do a writing activity.
Provide Special Gifts
Find out what sorts of things your teachers enjoy. Then keep an eye out for gifts that match those interests. For example, if the teacher in question loves knitting, you could get them a new book of patterns.
Gift Certificates
Give gift certificates for special teachers. Make the gift certificates redeemable at any point, and give the teacher a choice of which certificate they choose.
Recognize Birthdays
If you know of a teacher who is having a birthday, celebrate with them. Organize a small party for the teacher and be sure to wish them a happy birthday.
Send Encouraging Words
Attach an apple sticker to a blank piece of cardstock. Ask the principal to begin the chain by sending out the first five cards with words of encouragement written on them to five faculty members. Then ask those five people to send the chain onward. Be sure to recognize every staff member in this project.
Send Flowers
Most people like fresh flowers. Send a special teacher a bouquet of fresh flowers for their desks. They will brighten up the desk and smell lovely while making the teacher who receives them feel special.
Do Lunch
Take a special teacher out for lunch outside of school if you know them well. During lunch, make sure to tell the teacher they matter.
Provide Coffee Mugs
Coffee mugs make a great gift for teachers. You can provide a coffee mug with the teacher’s name on it. That way they can feel appreciated as they drink their morning beverage of choice.
Buy Supplies
If you know of a supply that teachers are missing, you could buy a stash of that supply for the classroom. That way the teachers do not have to spend their own money to furnish the classroom.
Purchase a Special Book
Purchase a special book to commemorate a teacher on a special occasion such as a twentieth teaching anniversary or retirement. The book will then have the teacher’s name in the back, and students for years to come will be able to honor that teacher. Allow the teacher to pick which book to buy.
Chocolate for Teachers
Buy boxes of candy for special teachers. Put these boxes in their mailboxes for them to find.
Stress Balls
Teachers are often very stressed. Slip a stress ball into each mailbox.
Give a Reward
Sometimes simple rewards are the best. Give special teachers blue ribbons that proclaim them the best teachers.
Vacation
If you are the principal of the school, provide your teachers with a coupon for a local attraction that they could go see with their families. It is nice to know that administrators appreciate you both in and out of school.
Teacher appreciation is very important. Teachers need to know they matter. Now that you have read this article, you have some great ideas to let them know just how much they matter.