May 7th – 11th is teacher appreciation week. In addition to all of your other end of the year activities, your child’s school has probably suggested a theme or ideas how to show your appreciation for the teachers. As a teacher, we are on the frontline of everything happening with your child. Elementary school teachers may spend more time with your child each day than you do. As a high school teacher, I have about 150 different teenagers come into my room each day for an hour, each with a different story, different experiences, different celebrations and disappointments.
It is an emotionally taxing job. If you don’t think we don’t go home with heavy hearts some days, then you haven’t spent much time with a teacher. The night that the school shooting occurred in Florida this year, I was up all night, thinking about how to rearrange my classroom. Where would I put each kid (by name, by class)? How would I make sure all of my precious students survived? It is a great burden to bear. So please, acknowledge your kids’ teachers this week.
The school my children attend have a theme and elaborate suggestions, which are nice, but not expected. They may not be affordable. In elementary school your child has a lead teacher, may have a co-teacher or paraprofessional, then they have the ones who teach specials, so it may be 5 or 6 teacher gifts you are asked to give. In middle and high school, your child may have six or seven different teachers. Many teachers are parents as well and we really don’t expect massage gift certificates or elaborate gifts. We are under the same pressures you are at home so we understand the need for frugality.
What should you do? The most prized teacher thank you is a heartfelt note about how being in my class made someone a better person, a better student, led them to discovery about themselves, or it was just a fun class they enjoyed.
I know I treasure those notes more than any Starbucks card. I keep an old fashioned peel and stick photo album for these notes and I read them on the days I want to quit.
Here are some other affordable ways to say thank you to teachers:
- Younger children love to draw pictures with notes of “I love you”. I don’t know a teacher who throw those away.
- Write your own personal note or email to your child’s teacher. If your child has had a good experience, grown in any way or improved something, letting us know you noticed again makes us feel satisfaction in our job. You may not be in charge of our review, but as a parent, you are our client. It feels good when a parent acknowledges our hard work.
- Think consumable. Space is a premium, so mugs and crafts, however cute, might not make
the cut one day. Gift cards are great, as well as baked goodies. I am sending cooking spices from Penzey Spices. The gift box includes a $5 teacher appreciation box featuring two spices, a bumper sticker and a button. - All teachers buy class supplies, so gift cards to Wal-mart, Target, craft stores, Amazon.com, Office Depot and the like would be more than welcome and used to support your child or the next group coming up. It helps us keep a little more in our pocket of our own money.
- Wrapped candy is another good option as many teachers offer Starbursts, or little chocolates as prizes.
Homeschool parents are also teachers and often get forgotten this week. These teachers deal with many of the same pressures that traditional teachers deal with except it’s with their own children. Some parents send their kids to school everyday just to get a break, these parents are usually with their children all day. If you are a homeschool mom/dad here are some suggestions for you:
- Let the kids plan the day.
- Plan an activity for yourself.
- Have each child write, draw or express what they like most about homeschool or what has inspired them most this school year.
To you parents at home… We know you are the first and primary teacher. We appreciate you for reading to your child, for asking about homework, for drilling spelling words and times tables, for buying all of that poster board, for sending in money for field trips and other specials. We do appreciate you! And to you homeschool parents out there… you do both jobs! You are important and treasured and if you don’t get a massage gift card for being an amazing teacher, know that you are an amazing teacher and giving your child the greatest gift of your time and intelligence. Thank you to everyone who takes the time to invest in our next generation!
