gifts for teachers

Parent Cafe
1

<p>I didn’t want to divert the “buying a house for the teachers daughter” thread
But- I wondered what other people do.
My older daughters school had a big holiday basket event.
( it was a private school)
I actually think it was a great idea from a parent perspective
it was a small school with perhaps 23 teachers from 6-12
before the holidays- parents would bring in- treats- coffee cups- tea- bottles of wine-pretty dishtowels… whatever to donate to teachers</p>

<p>Parents would make a party of it-
one evening we would take big baskets- one for each teacher & sort all the various donations into groups like the above.
Then we would just start making the baskets, so each basket had a good representation of all the treats- we would wrap them up real nice & arrange them in the room & the next morning the teachers would all pick their own.</p>

<p>It worked well for me- because I spent what I could afford- & my donation was essentially anonymous & because the teachers were very happy to get them.</p>

<p>When D2 was in elementary- public school- I gave small gifts- but I never really knew- if they really wanted another coffee cup or gift certificate to a restaurant . I also felt obligated to give to teachers, that I really didn’t feel like they deserved it, the same way you still leave a tip to a waiter who did a crappy job, just as an acknowledgment of their time.</p>

<p>Since she has been in high school, I have been giving Starbucks cards ( not that I am a Starbucks fan- but it fits in their mailslot in the office) twice a year( because some teachers she only has one term), to her teachers, and the principal & at least one staff member ( usually a janitor or security staff)
The Staff I do anonymously, but for her teachers I put my name- because I want them to know, that I really do appreciate their help. I don’t feel like I am “buying” them, but I think it is human nature to try and work better with those who notice what you have already done.</p>

<p>This year- I don’t know if I can do it at xmas- we are having a tough money time- but I don’t want to make them something that they don’t know what to do with. I guess I also kind of do feel- however- inaccurate- that now I have set up expectations? ( some of the teachers she has had more than once) I also hate- being chincy- and only giving them enough money for one latte!</p>

<p>I always participate in teacher appreciation things- the PTA holds lunches and brunches for teachers- and the teachers frequently ask for printer paper or books for English class or calculators for math that I try and rustle up what I can- ( I just donated 9 copies of a Sherman Alexie novel for my daughters LA class for example)
But I still feel like I need to do something for the end of the year & for the end of the school year.
Is that too much?
Perhaps I should just do what I can- & let the people who can afford it buy the stuff?</p>

<p>( this time of year also reminds me of when I was in middle school & I wanted to give something to my favorite teachers- this was also in the thick of Diet for a Small Planet- carob/earthshoes/dates for sweetening- I made some sort of nasty looking brown squishy stuff rolled in seeds-- wasn’t quite the frosted sugar cookies they were probably hoping for!)</p>

<p>OK fess up- what do you do or have you done to acknowledge teachers?</p>

2

<p>Well, our family stopped the personal gifts for teachers in middle school. We gave personal gifts for preschool-5th grade teachers. The high school does offer an option of giving a monetary donation in honor of a teacher/s. The teachers are notified by a card that a donation had been made by a particular student and their family. The elementary school encourages new book purchases in honor of either teachers, or anyone that the purchaser would like to honor (ie:aunt, grandparent, etc.).</p>

3

<p>Our kids have all gone to one private school and it is impermissible to give gifts to the teachers on any grade level. (I’m sure if a 1st grader made a card, that would be OK!) Instead, parents are asked through the PTA if they would like to make a cash contribution towards a special “Holiday Fund.” All the money is then divided up amongst all the K-12 teachers. It is anonymous and much appreciated by the faculty. H and I are very comfortable with the opportunity to donate what we think we can afford. The school has some seriously “heavy hitters” as well as kids on financial aid and the anonymity is most welcome.</p>

4

<p>Back in elementary school my mom occasionally did the coffee cup kind of stuff, but usually only for the really extraordinary teachers. I remember one year, though, that she just made an extra batch of the several types of Christmas cookies she was making anyway. It was a lot cheaper than gift certificates and the like, and I, personally, think that the teachers liked them better. A dozen or a dozen and a half cookies on a nice Christmas plate (nice but cheap) would be a great way to show appreciation but stay on your budget–that is if you don’t mind the baking.</p>

5

<p>EK, I think your basket idea is wonderful and wish I’d thought of that so many years ago. I’m past the teacher gift stage now (other than for a couple of very special individuals who have assisted us in the past year when my youngest D was very ill) but I have to say that I’ve probably done just about everything in terms of teacher gifts. Although, I’ve never bought a mug! :slight_smile: Usually, I would buy books for the classroom in the early grades. Every teacher for the primary grades always has a classroom collection of books for the kids to borrow, or to read aloud, so that always worked well. I sometimes also gave gift certificates to a local bookstore, which helped the teacher, the kids, as well as supporting the bookstore. I’m big on books. :slight_smile: At Christmas, I always would include a container of my assorted holiday baking, because I know how busy teachers are at that time of year and I know they enjoyed that. I’d also always take in a large tray full of baking for the staff room in that last week of school before Christmas. I spent about 20 hours a week volunteering in that school so I always wanted to thank all of the teachers and staff for having such a wonderful school for my kids and for the volunteers. We did do the teacher appreciation events but that was always at the end of the year so I liked doing something special around Christmas. </p>

<p>p.s. EK, good for you in donating the Sherman Alexie books. He’s a great writer.</p>

6

<p>I think the communal basket building project is lovely, but I can see that it might work best in a small school.</p>

<p>In our local public elementary school, some of the parents started getting a little ostentatious with the teacher gifts. The parents association came up with a plan that the home room parents would collect voluntary donations (say up to $5) from parents of kids in a class and then pool that for a gift certificate for the teacher.</p>

<p>Once when I served as a home room mom I wrote a poem summarizing many of the special things the teacher had done with the class over the year. I typed it up on an 8 1/2" x 11" paper, then had all the kids sign their names around the border of the poem and put it in a frame. That, I felt, personalized the gift. </p>

<p>We pretty much stopped doing gifts in middle and high school. Sometimes at the end of the school year I would make home-made jam and put it in special decorated jars and have my child write a note to go with it to give to teachers. </p>

<p>However, when my D was graduating from the high school I spent a good amount of time writing a “thank you” letter to the district superintendent. I devoted a paragraph to each of the teachers in her high school career who had made a difference to her, or were simply excellent teachers. I also wrote about the guidance counselor, etc. I sent a copy of the letter to the principal and hope each of the teachers mentioned eventually got a copy. </p>

<p>I figured administrators so often heard from parents who had complaints, and I wanted to take the time to recognize people who were doing their jobs well.</p>

<p>In earlier grades I had sometimes done such a letter for a particular teacher at the end of the school year. I always sent the letter to the supervisor rather than directly to the teacher. </p>

<p>I figure (and I have worked as a teacher myself) that things teachers can use up are always appreciated and not much money – cookies baked from a special recipe, the homemade jam, some special notecards (I found some with Shakespeare quotes for an English teacher).</p>

<p>I still believe that it is the thought that counts and an appreciative note is always appropriate.</p>

7

<p>We stopped individual teacher gifts after elementary school. However, when the kids were in middle school and high school I would take in a tin of popcorn, plate of cookies, crock of spiced cider, or something a couple times a year and leave in teacher’s lounge with a note “in appreciation” from M family.</p>

<p>After senior years, the kids wrote individual thank you notes to teachers that made an impression. Several who received these notes commented to me later that notes from the students were the best thank you’s they could receive.</p>

<p>One friend of mine choses a charity for a donation and sends in honor of her kids’ teachers that year.</p>

8

<p>EK, good for you in donating the Sherman Alexie books. He’s a great writer.
actually I can’t take any credit- its what the teacher asked for at parent night ( I do agree he is a great writer- he even lives in my neighborhood- he is a character and a half!)
We have some great supports at her school-
Not only does the PTA have a nationally recognized newsletter- but one of the parents donates her time to write Ellens Notes- an email communication that sometimes comes out everyday- asking for help either for teachers or for classrooms & reminders for other supports/chaperones etc.</p>

<p>Many parents aren’t able to help- but you never know- sometimes all thats needed is an old VCR or some food for the SPED room</p>

<p>The district in its efforts to support student health- has canceled contracts with the companies that operate the candy and pop machines- so the money that formerly went to ASB to help run sports- has dropped by about 80%.
ONe comprehensive high school, has canceled their spring sports teams.
For this school, that is a major, major deal & will really be a hardship for the kids.
Anyway- I think my point was that the district also canceled the Costco accounts- so the school really needs parents to bring in supplies like printer paper & bottled water ( dont’ ask how much Seattle schools has spent trying to get its water drinkable & some in schools that are less than 10 years old)
I actually like doing a Costco run- because sometimes all I am getting is a couple things that are a lot cheaper than anywhere else & by throwing in a couple cases of something for the school, Im probably not spending that much, but at least getting more out of my time spent waiting in line :)</p>

<p>( speaking of writers- I am so excited- I have talked to the wife of the winner of the recent National Book Award-Tim Egan- because our daughters were on the same high school sports team- he is such a great writer I have several of his books from way back & have just ordered The Worst Hard Time & am going to order another to donate to the school auction * aannd* I am going to ask him to autograph it to make it more of a donation * and sneak in mine to be signed as well* ) :o</p>

9

<p>Gift certificates to restaurants.</p>

10

<p>EK: you could try looking for books for your D’s teachers at Half-Price Books. I have found amazing deals there. (I’m from Seattle area also.) Many of the books are unused and not too expensive. There are also nice boxes of notecards, calenders, and lovely blank books, better quality and much cheaper than anywhere else. I think you could find something nice for $5 each.</p>

<p>I didn’t do any gifts after elementary school. My D wrote end-of-year notes to her favorite teachers, and I also wrote notes to special teachers. I don’t think you have to give any gift–a sincere note of appreciation is always welcome.</p>

11

<p>I am actually pretty lazy & order the books from Powells online- because then I can get lots of copies ( they have several branches) & if you order $50, they will ship for free & you don’t pay sales tax either ;)</p>

<p>1/2 price book is a good suggestion- but its hit or miss whether you will find what you need- and if I take my H with me- he spends twice as much as what I might have saved if I bought new! lol</p>

<p>I think a box of thank you cards is nice too-
I think I will probably just get some really nice cards & write a note of my appreciation- ( and give a copy to the principal if it is classroom related)
and probably give something to one or two teachers who have really been great at communication.
I suppose I should also send a note to the district- ( not a gift ROFLAO) but since I think the principal is amazing- I want him to be recognized- although the way the district usually recognizes amazing principals is to transfer them to a school that is in deep doodoo- so perhaps I should keep it quiet?</p>

12

<p>I’m a teacher…so here’s my response from both the “parent” and “teacher” points of view (my opinions, of course). As a parent, we gave gifts to teachers through 6th grade (end of elementary school). AFTER both kids graduated from high school, we also gave something to the teachers who were really their mentors. In our kids’ cases those were the music folks, and in both cases it was a gift card to a restaurant we knew they liked. Now the “teacher” hat…I would prefer that you NOT give me a personal gift at all. After 32 years of teaching, I have more mugs, pin, etc. than most boutiques, and truthfully, I do not use them. Our school, last year, asked the teachers what they wanted, and we agreed that donations for book purchases for our school library in our names would be the best choice. If (and I mean IF) you want to spend money on someone like me…please make a donation to our school library in my name. The other thing I truly cherish is notes written by parents and/or students.</p>

13

<p>I remember that I got WAAAAAY too many mugs when I was a teacher too.</p>

<p>I like combining forces with other parents, to get a really nice sized gift certificate. We solicited donations for DS’s band director last year, who is a most loved individual at school, and got over $1000. It made a lovely gift card. :)</p>

<p>Sure beats a mug.</p>

14

<p>Give what the teachers want most. Support.</p>

<p>We gave what we had the most of;
Prunes.</p>

15

<p>My DIL is a middle school teacher and would most like materials for classroom, books for the library or something for the school off of the school “wish list”. She said she would appreciate gift cards to AC Moore or Office Depot type stores as she spends a good bit of her own money at these stores to buy things for the classroom.</p>

16

<p>Never did teacher gifts after elementary school either. I don’t know anybody here who does but our h.s has over 2700 kids. </p>

<p>As a preschool teacher, I would say don’t buy anything that says “teacher” on it. Like others have said, stuff for the classroom is good. Gift cards are great too. Even if they are small ones, everybody loves them. I love going to the movies and am always thrilled if a child gives me a “movie money” card. That makes it a cheap date for DH,lol. </p>

<p>Another inexpensive gift that is nice is a box of pretty notecards. That’s something I never buy for myself but got two boxes from children last Christmas and have really used them over the course of the year.</p>

17

<p>I would say about 25% of my students in 6th grade give me small gifts at the winter holidays. About 10% of my 8th grade students do so. Mostly they give gift cards to restaurants or coffee places or, best yet, book stores. I do get a lot of soaps and lotions which are always nice. Last year we gave gift cards to Barnes and Noble to all six of our D’s 10th grade teachers at Christmas. She made elaborate cards with gold paper, a hot glue gun and a bunch of fancy paper and sequins and such. We made the cards together one afternoon and she wrote personal messages to each teacher. It was a fun activity.</p>

<p>I think small gifts around the holidays are nice signs of appreciation from families and equally so are cards or letters from students. It reinforces that what we do is relational and is valued.</p>

18

<p>I have written scores of notes to teachers over the years, to express my appreciation and gratitude for all they have done for my children. I know that as a teacher, I loved those notes,a nd still have some from 25 years ago.</p>

<p>I think coffee or book store cards are really nice too.</p>

19

<p>We gave homemade cookies and fudge, sometimes a barnes & noble giftcard. I still give fudge every year to son’s 1st grade teacher, and he is a junior in college. She told me she loves the thank you notes as much as my fudge.</p>

20

<p>My mother was a teacher, and has always been big on sending letters and notes. She received a very large box of nice stationary in a beautiful lavender box when she taught junior high school. It is the only gift that I remember her raving about. I know that she enjoyed that box of stationary for quite a few years!</p>