I had the opportunity to brainstorm with some of my favorite teacher friends about the good and the bad of of receiving gifts from students. You may be surprised to see what's on the list! Here's their reasoning behind everything:
Give this!
Gift Cards - always a hit! It's better to give a $5 gift card then something on the other list!
Handmade Cards from students - Teachers love to hear that they are touching a life. Special cards written from the heart are the ones they keep!
Classroom Supplies - Teachers often buy these things with their own money; ask them to create a wish list so you know what's needed!
Playground Equipment - At the end of the year, many items are lost and the kids need some new things to play with.
Bring them lunch - Teachers never get to go out for lunch. Give them a few choices and then go and pick it up. Do not plan on staying to eat with them. They'd like to eat with their friends.
Not that!
Apples - There are so many cute apple things out there for teachers. They make you think of your child's teacher. Hold yourself back, refrain, do not purchase, you can do it! They don't want it! Even a real apple can become quite a mess by the time your child gets it to school.
Stuffed Animals - need I say more?
Ceramic Figurines - sorry!
Homemade treats - This one may come as a surprise! Many factors here: 6 kids may bring in treats, the teacher is on a diet or has food allergies, and try not to be offended but, the teacher does not know how clean your kitchen is and may not trust how it was prepared. All in all, save yourself the time and energy!
Perfume and Candles - May sound like a grand idea or you've had one to regift for awhile. Certain scents are very off-putting to people.
Coffee Mugs - I know, you got a great deal at the Dollar Store! Try to refrain!
One more read: Teacher Gifts - What your teacher will never tell you!
Teachers - what other suggestions do you have?
6 comments:
Great post!! :-) shared and linked on my fb pg.
Anything with little hand prints all over it! I also am not a big fan of little keepsake books and photos. Terrible - I know! But I don't have anywhere to store it and I've been teaching for a long time!
I loved gift cards and treats!
Wonderful idea to get tips from real teachers to help those who want to show their appreciation to their favorite teachers!
Love the lunch idea - true, we never can go out because our lunch is less than 25 minutes! I enjoy contributions of books to my classroom (I teach language arts) or gift cards so I can buy books. Once I had parents get together and buy a gift card to a REALLY nice restaurant that I would never choose to pay for out of my pocket - my husband and I had a wonderful time. Kids have offered to babysit for me so my husband and I can go out - LOVE that idea, too!
Books! I like to be asked what types of books are needed in my class library. One time a mom brought me all of her son's I Can Read books that he'd finished. There were about 25 - worth $100 if I'd bought them new! It benefits the teacher and your child! Brand new teachers could also really benefit from a "Book Shower". Most first year teachers only come with about 25 books in their stash - that's only 1 per child! Can you imagine? Thrift stores are fabulous places to find books for classrooms. Garage sales are even better!
Post a Comment