As the school year winds down, it is important to take time and thank the teachers that have helped shape our children. In addition to grading papers, having conferences, developing and teaching curriculum, they have also comforted little ones, given guidance to older ones, and been there for our kids when we are not. It is easy in the craziness of end of school year activities to overlook this, so we shared some simple ways to say thank you that don’t take a lot of time and won’t break the bank.
- Something for the Classroom. Every teacher appreciates this especially since there are so many needs for the classroom but often a limited budget. It might be worthwhile asking a group of parents to go in together to buy something larger for the classroom. Some teachers create lists of what the classroom needs including book lists and art supplies. You can even ask the teacher if there are some things that she would like for her classroom next year. We had a teacher one year who wanted a simple CD player so that she could play music while the students did their individual work.
- A special treat for the teacher. This can be a gift certificate to the coffee, movies, Target or a massage. The options are endless. We like the idea of pairing the gift card with items with a similar theme. For example, if you do a coffee gift card coupling it with a coffee tumbler maybe with a picture of the class. We did a popcorn bowl with movie treats and a gift card to Target to pick out a movie, board games, or whatever she needs. There are also lots of great printables that you can use to make this theme fun.
- A lunch in. If the school year isn’t over yet, or your student is going to be at the same school next year, create a lunch gift certificate. Teachers have such a short lunch break that even if there is food close to the school, they often cannot get to it. Make the certificate to bring lunch from their favorite restaurant and bring it to them. When I worked at a school, we had some moms that were amazing cooks and bakers and would do this on a regular basis. Even a simple salad and sandwich was welcomed by all the teachers.
- Special Frame, collage or scrapbook with class photo. We love the frames where everyone can sign the border. If the students are younger, parents might help them. While it is fun to use the school year photo, it might be fun if there was a class picture snapped on a field trip, in the classroom or “in action.” The candid ones often capture the essence of the teacher and the students. You might even want to create a collage of moments from throughout the year. We love HP Social Media Snapshot paper. It has a sticky back so it makes it easy to craft with and you can also use different apps to create fun borders and messages on it. Check out our post here on different ideas we had with photos including coasters and fun frames. You can even ask other parents to print out some of their
Make coasters for a thank you gift using photos of students
favorite photos and compile a scrapbook. We love our HP Envy printer because we can print out high quality photos at home for projects like these.
- A note from your student. If your student is old enough, have them write down a thank you note to their teacher. It can be what they enjoyed learning, a special memory or why they appreciate their teacher. For the younger students, use prompts and help them write a thank you note. In my time working with students, I have found these to be one of the most treasured things I have received, especially if it was a student that had some difficulty.
We are part of HP Smart Mom panel and were gifted a HP printer and social media snapshots paper, all are thoughts and ideas are our own.
