Earlier last week I got an email from reader Jen R.
Your readers have really good ideas! Anyways I was wondering if you would do a post on Teacher gifts… I was a teacher for 2 years before staying home and I have more towels and such then I can use. My kids have the BEST teachers this year and I want to give them something meaningful. So I was wondering if you would do a post and get some readers ideas!
Absolutely!
In the past (again in a previous life, before I worked outside the home) I always made things for my kids teachers for the end of year and for Christmas. At this point I feel like I am just trying to keep my head above water. Although I REALLY miss working with my hands!
So, along with Jen I would love to hear of some ideas of things that you have given to your children’s teachers, either homemade or store bought.
I made these last year, they were really fun to do and cheap. They also didn’t take much time.
HERE are the directions for the altered art clip boards and notebooks!
These were my favorite! I had the entire class make a herb garden for the teacher.
HERE are the instructions on how I made the Herb garden!
Twelve hours later when it came out of the kiln, I planted a little herb garden with basil, rosemary and cilantro.
This was a post from a few weeks ago, you can read it HERE. I talked about making candles and air fresheners into gifts.
What kind of gifts do you give your children’s teachers? Are they homemade or store bought? Do you have a spending limit?
Part comedian, part Dad, part athlete. He will boss around your children while they play ball.
Just as angelic as she looks, this girl could easily raise a Village by herself, and all the children would grow up to be President.
Self proclaimed, she would be a webkinz dog. Because, "they're cute, and puppies are too. And they're sweet and they always get along with other puppies."
This mini-Martha Stewart can handle ANY craft you send her way. She isn't all bows and rainbows, she's got karate kid moves!
Not "Pick-Me-Up" like caffeine, she wants you to pick her up! AND NOW!
Anything that can be destroyed WILL be destroyed!
Practically Perfect in Every Way for now! Nicknamed "The Panda" she is rolly polly and lives by the motto, "the little one, is KING!"
The resident Labradoodle, Miller got his name because Mom won and got to name the baby! Need something chewed up? He'll take care of it. Especially if it's expensive..
Any ideas on what to give a 4th grade male teacher?
Thanks so much for this post. I tried to click on the link for the directions for making the clipboards and notebooks and it took me to Blogger. Was it suppose to take me there or to a different link?
Thanks again.
so cute!
As a former teacher, my husband as well, we also got our fair share of items from students. Both male and females teachers would enjoy the following:
gift cards (any store, mall, Starbucks, Best Buy, cinemas, Lowes etc…), a hand written letter from a parent is also appreciated. This year I’m planning on making a meal for each of our kids teachers – those in school, we’re taking big muffins from Sam’s (individually wrapped), fruit and drinks to school for the teachers in his grade. For my twins preschool bunch, we’re making a big lunch for them to have between am/pm sessions.
My husband is a 5th grade teacher in a very low income area. He appreciates getting gifts each year. Every year he gets multiple coffee mugs, though he does not drink coffee or any other hot beverage. He also gets lots of candy, and since having gastric bypass surgery, he isn’t allowed to eat candy. What he really appreciates receiving are items for the classroom that he otherwise would have to purchase on his meager salary. I understand the parents may only have a dollar or two, but That would purchase a pack of pencils or erasers. It is sickening to think of how much we spend on these items each year, and any help is so appreciated.
i agree cuz i am also a teacher
Those are really good suggestions! What about gift cards to the local teachers supply, that is what I am hearing would be most appreciated.
We always made little sewing kits for the girl’s teachers. Saw in a Martha Steward Magazine years ago.
http://www.marthastewart.com/good-things/sewing-kit-in-a-jar
I often crochet dish cloths from cotton yarn. They take me about 1/2 hour to make and everyone loves them. They work better than the traditional dish cloths you buy in the store. I work in these in the winter when we go sit at my husband’s teams wrestling tournaments every Saturday.
For a male teacher you could make a special treat like buckeyes or even just some homemade cookies. You could make something that takes a little work that he wouldn’t normally be able to cook for himself.
I like to give them grade-appropriate books for their classroom library.
Our school offers a Scholastic Book Fair order each month. I purchase gift certificates from them to give to the teachers. The teachers can then buy more books for their room & they receive so much credit for every purchase that is made by their class. So it’s a double win!
We do gift cards to a bookstore. If we had more than one child in school that could get really expensive though!
For my kindergartener’s teacher this year, I organized all of the parents to chip in for a large gift card to Target as well as the teacher’s favorite restaurant. We’re going to put it on a chenille pipecleaner “stem”, and put it in a flowerpot filled with marbles. Also in the flowerpot will be “flowers” on the stems, with each child’s photo.
As a teacher for many years, the best gifts I have ever received are Visa gift cards. It is a tradition at my school for the entire class to contribute both at Christmas and at the end of the year. I was able to save them up for a couple of years and buy a laptop computer which was very useful! I would not have been able to afford such a luxury otherwise!
I am getting my daughter’s teacher a Thirty-One Organizing Utility Tote with her monogram. Many teachers at this school use these totes to bring their things (everything from their laptops to their lunch) from home to school. It has lots of pockets on the outside & is perfect for teachers! She’s even commented on the bag when she saw other teachers with one.
As a former teacher in a low income school I never received much. Notes from students and/or parents were the best gift and most meanigful. However, I wouldn’t have turned down a gift card from the class that was organized by room mom. 😉
I taught for 8 years,a nd wrote an article about what teachers DON’T need:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/464307/5_christmas_gifts_not_to_give_teachers.html?cat=46
I have also given a basket of cleaning supplies (ie clorox wipes and oust spray) and then volunteered to come in after school the last day before vacation to use them. I did this for several teachers who always seemed to appreciate it. I also, was known to do this any time a stomach bug swept through the elementary school. A win for both the teachers and me!