What Teachers Really Want for Teacher Appreciation

I’ve recently been looking at teacher appreciation ideas, and the consensus when you ask teachers what they really want as a teacher appreciation gift, they say gift cards.

It makes sense, because any teacher who has been teaching for very long probably has more than their fill of teacher related art and gifts, and gifts of junk food aren’t always appreciated (and with dietary restrictions might not even be something the teacher can eat).

If you can find out their favorite coffee shop or even just give them a gift card to Target or Wal-mart so they can choose to buy something special for themselves where they are already shopping, it’s sure to be appreciated.

That said, you don’t have to just hand them a gift card. You can make it a little more fun with a creative presentation, such as making an origami envelope (here’s a tutorial from Origami Spirit) or another kind of gift card holder like these from Make and Takes. Add some drama by putting it in an origami gift box; find instructions at The Spruce.

You could also have your child make some art to present to the teacher related to something they did in class or just a thank you for being a great teacher.

Another great thing you can do is not just give a gift card but include a note of thanks, sharing what it has meant for your child to have that teacher. A written note is great, but it’s also wonderful to send an email and copy their direct supervisor, especially if you have specific praise about how that teacher went above and beyond for your kid.

These are easy things to do last-minute for teacher appreciation or the last day of school, which is great because who needs more to do this time of year?

[Photo: Make and Takes.]

Next Plan Idea:

Teacher Appreciation Themes for Your School

We don’t really have any travel to speak of planned this summer, and my daughter is old enough that any lengthy time in the car is usually spent with an audiobook or watching videos. But I remember the struggle of keeping little kids entertained on long trips, especially if you don’t want them on a screen the whole time.

I recently saw this post from Creating Really Awesome Fun Things, which is a roundup of 26 road trip games, ideas and activities that kids can do. From stringing beads onto pipe cleaners to felt busy boards, travel journals and using a pizza box to contain colors, trains (or cars) and more, there are lots of fun and easy ideas here.

I’m a big fan of printable road trip activities, and even have a whole post all about printables for road trips. I used to always do some kind of license plate game, a map, mazes and I-spy style scavenger hunts, which are fun for everyone in the car to play along with. (You can also find some patriotic road trip mazes here.) If your road trip includes a camping trip, check out these camping themed printable games and activities.

Productive Pete has a super cute map of the United States (pictured above) that kids can use in lots of different ways while on the road. They can color the states you travel through, or all the states they’ve ever visited, or use it to give the license plate game an extra challenge as they try to find each state on the map. You can quiz older kids on the state capitols, which you might need to brush up on yourself (guilty!).

Do you have particular games or activities that you always have on hand when you are doing a road trip with kids? I would love to hear about them!

[Photo: Productive Pete.]

Next Plan Idea:

Have you read?

Leave a Reply Cancel reply