Teacher, I Appreciate You!

Did you know that this, the first full week of May, is Teacher Appreciation Week? Our school tries to show the teachers just how important they are to us as parents, our children, our school.

One thing the PFA (like PTA) does is provide vases for the kids to bring flowers in for their teachers, the principal, the secretaries and so on. The kids have the whole week to bring in flowers, and the Monday bouquet was beautiful!

The PFA also puts out a baggie of candies with "love" notes each day. Yesterday was a bag of Lifesavers saying "We Appreciate You a HOLE Lot!" I spent all of yesterday morning interrupting classes and kicking the teachers out for 10 minutes to get the classes to sign a large card without the teacher present. Whew! Lots of work there.

So, how can you appreciate your teacher? After all, how many porcelain apples can a teacher really display? Here are some practical, but not bank breaking, ideas to celebrate YOUR favorite teachers.

1. Teachers often spend hundreds of dollars of their own money stocking their classrooms. Help her/him out in this by giving a gift certificate to a school supply store, StuffMart, or arts/crafts store. In this same vein, remember to stock up a little extra at each sale of school or class supplies. Pencils, glue sticks, paper are always things that go over big here - put them in a clear plastic box with a lid and it's an instant present!

2. Gift certificates for anything - to the movies, DVDs (add a bag of popcorn!), restaurants.

3. Homemade yummies - cookies, fudge, breads, muffins, double-chocolate biscotti, dipped pretzels.

4. Personalized pencils or pens? Notepads? Sticky posts? Coffee Cup? Note cards

5. Something your child made (or wrote) just for that teacher.

6. A small gift basket with your favorite gifting idea inside: Lotions, soaps, bath items, growing herbs, candles, potpourri, class theme items, lollipop bouquet.

7. Donate a book to her classroom - this is especially helpful for the new teacher. Let your child (nicely) inscribe the fly page. OR donate to the library in the name of your family.

It's likely that you are going to forget someone - the office aids, the special ed teacher, the resource center ladies, the speech therapist, the janitor, the lunch ladies. Even just a thank you card means so much when it's not expected.

Providing a small thank-you to these hardworking people shouldn't break the bank! What other ideas do you have for appreciating teachers and the like?

Come on - you KNOW you want to comment!!


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World Breastfeeding Week: August 1 - 7