Teacher Appreciation Ideas - Gifts that Teachers Like to Get

Description: Does your child have a great teacher you'd like to thank this year? Here are some thoughtful teacher appreciation ideas.
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How can you show your child’s teachers how much you appreciate them? A simple ‘thank you’ doesn’t seem adequate for some of the most important people in your child’s life, but how many “World’s Best Teacher” mugs does any teacher really need?

Here are some teacher appreciation ideas to help you tell those special people how grateful you are for the work they do, and that teachers will enjoy receiving too.

The best teacher appreciation gifts are practical things they can actually use, not knickknacks they’ll need to dust and make room for on the shelf. Instead of adding to their clutter, get to know your teachers and learn what they like or need.

For example, teachers spend a lot of their own money to keep their classrooms stocked with school supplies. Practical teacher appreciation ideas can be as simple as visiting a stationery store and buying some school supplies for the classroom, such as:

• Pencils
• Paper
• Construction paper
• Games
• Writing equipment
• Books
• Rulers
• Stickers

You don’t need to spend a lot of money to show teachers how much you appreciate them. Giving a teacher appreciation gift isn’t a contest of who can bring the best, or the most expensive gift. An expensive gift can even make your teacher feel uncomfortable, unless it’s from the entire class.

A small gift that relates to your teacher’s interests or hobbies can be more valuable than a large gift she doesn’t need. Some ideas are:

• A gift certificate for video rental
• Movie theater passes
• Supplies for their favorite hobby
• A book (find out what kind of books they like first). You can personalize the book by writing a note to your teacher inside the book

Personalized gifts made by you or your child are always hits with teachers. Even if you’re not crafty, you can still give a gift that will be treasured:

• Have your child write a letter telling the teacher what they liked about the school year and how the teacher has made a difference in her life
• Art project or poem from your child
• Home made bread or baked goods
• Invite your teacher over for dinner

A thoughtful holiday gift is to bake some cookies or make holiday decorations for your teachers. Teachers are usually too busy getting ready for school-related celebrations to prepare their own home for the holidays.

Another teacher appreciation idea is to give a group gift from the entire class. Parents can pool their money together to purchase a more expensive gift that the teacher would like and can remember the entire class by:

• Magazine subscription
• Collection of books
• Watch
• Gift card for favorite store or teacher supply store

An inexpensive but memorable group gift is to get together with the other classroom parents and have each child sign their name with fabric pens on a white cloth tablecloth. Each child can draw a picture or write a short note to the teacher on the cloth.

You can also show your teachers how much you appreciate them by giving to others:

• Donate a book to the library in their name
• Adopt an endangered animal in their name
• Donate money to a charity in their name

As with any gift, the thought that you put into choosing a teacher appreciation gift means more than the gift itself. The greatest teacher appreciation gift you can give is simply taking the time to tell your child’s teachers how grateful you are for the work they do.

Copyright 2008, Christian-Parent.com. This article may not be reprinted.

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