(My friend Tina asked me for teacher gift suggestions, and then Laura wrote about it at Catholic Teacher Musings, so I kind of had help with this concept--
but the list is all mine.)
At this time of year, some thoughtful parents and students are looking for end-of-year teacher gift ideas. It's nice to be remembered with anything, however here are some of my all time favorites:
1) A note from the student and/or parent. I keep all of those, and I will reread each and every one someday. I have a special box reserved for such written expressions. They are the best!
2) A gift or service to charity, and to me a letter describing it. Last year I got some great ones, from Judah, Melanie and Chasen. See, I do remember.
(International Justice Mission, Peyton's Fund, and Hesed House.)
3) Gift cards to bookstores, restaurants, or in my case--Crate and Barrel--those always bring a, "Yee ha," albeit a silent one.
4) Annuals for my yard.
5) Things for the classroom, bean bag chairs, books, stickers, or games for rainy day recess. No, they may not seem like gifts to me, but since I spend my own money on such things, they really are!
6) The longest lasting gift I got was from my first class, a tall director's chair personalized by each one of them (and there were 29 that year). I sit it in to read aloud every day. My kids are always fascinated at the signatures of those who came before them.
7) When one resourceful mom takes up a collection, a small amount from each family, that can make for a special gift. That same year I received a gift certificate to downtown Naperville good for great stores and lots of restaurants.
8) Note paper. Alec gave me a pad of paper so thick and groovy that I had it all of last year and well into this year. On the last sheet, I sent another thank you to his mom (let's face it, moms do most of the picking).
9) Chocolate.
Need I say more?
10) I once had a mom joke she was going to give me a case of diet Pepsi, and you know what? That would have been okay! (Diet Dew would be too!) Simple pleasures!
11) Another mom and son gave me three bottles of Bath and Body Works hand soap. At first I found it curious, but it was really practical, and it lasted forever, so I wound up loving it!
12) My friend Annemarie has been known to give her kids' teachers scratch off lottery tickets. I did this when Mac was in H.S. and he got the funniest thank you notes in return. Quite the bang for each buck.
13) Added Thursday, 5/21, after showering...salon quality shampoo and conditioner. Two parents have presented me with "curly" products. Thoughtful and practical, gotta love it!
This year, a few weeks back, a super generous mom had me fill out a questionnaire asking what my hobbies were, how I planned on spending my summer days, where I like to eat out, etc. I just found that so thoughtful--it doesn't matter what she and her daughter may choose for me, that ask was a gift in itself. They want to know me, and I found that touching.
And an aside...Gifts to avoid:
Coffee mugs
Paperweights
Apple crap (anything "teacher-y)
Candles (only because one of my friends got 17 one Christmas)
Bubble bath or scented body lotion--I've pretty much an "unscented" gal, and so I usually regift this type thing to a friend or donate it to a thrift store right away. Plus, who has time to soak in a tub?
8 comments:
CASH! (Did u forget that one?)
I'm laughing here, 'cause I actually had a mom slip in my room on the last day of school and leave me a tenner.
I felt like a server who found a tip after her patrons had left.
Very strange!
Yes! I agree. Of course I feel greedy at putting any kind of requests out there, but people do ask. There is not anything I would add to your list. Ditto on the teacher junk, mugs, candles, and bath supplies. Jeremy rolls his eyes when I come home from the last day before Christmas break and the last day of school. He knows I will be armed with all of the above...and we will have to merge it into the collection.
Megan
I donate some of those kind of gifts to Little Friends, and they are delighted to have them! A way of furthering education, you know?
I hope you stashed that "tenner" in your bra! Who was it that said "for action there is an equal and opposite reaction..."
Oh, you'll appreciate this...
We started a new tradition last year. At the beginning of the school year, I give both the girls teachers $40.00--$10.00 for each month of Sept, Oct, Nov & Dec.
For their Holiday Gift, I give them the balance of $10.00 for the remainder of the school year, plus another $20.00 to do what they want with.
Considering the amount of money that I know many teachers spend out of their own pockets each year, this gift procedure has made four teachers EXTREMELY happy. $10.00/month is easily affordable, and it is going directly to the benefit of my daughters classrooms. Beats rising taxes.
One of ours is retiring at the end of this year-we're planning a special celebration and are collecting for an appropriate gift.
I'm always trying to get more families to offer this--it helps so much.
WOW! That's super generous!
And you're right, no one realized how much money we spend on our classrooms, especially at first.
Great ideas.
One of the children of one my students gave me an apple paperweight because I let him come to class with her the whole semester. He said he hoped that I'd still be teaching when he was ready for college. :-)
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