Meaningful Teacher Appreciation
EVERY DAY is teacher appreciation day! Here’s the inside scoop on teacher appreciation gifts with meaning and impact.
The best teacher appreciation gifts are from the heart! I have a bulletin board and refrigerator covered in cards and pictures from students and families. These appreciations are constant reminds of my WHY and the power of my HOW as an educator and creator of Learn Play Grow.
This video summarizes ideas and adds a few more!
If creativity is your (or your child's) thing:
Film a video of you and your child sharing what you love most about your teacher.
Create an appreciation collage with pictures of your child and family with the teacher and words from notes home or conference reports that inspired you.
If impact and promotion is your thing:
Send a letter of appreciation to your teacher's supervisor, school administrators, or district officials. Feeling seen, heard, and appreciated matters!
Offer to sponsor attendance at a conference (registration and travel expenses) so your child's teacher can keep on learning.
If shopping is your thing:
Generic gift cards that give teachers the freedom to spend on what they need or gift cards to specific places you know your teacher loves are great.
Support businesses owned by teachers or that support education in your community.
A note of caution: We cannot make up for egregiously low salaries and exponentially unrealistic expectations of teachers with Starbucks gift cards. I know they are easy to get, but are they meaningful to receive? As someone who does not drink coffee, I still have Starbucks gift cards in my car for the occasional hot chocolate or to pay it forward to someone else. Appreciation is about what's meaningful to RECEIVE, so think about (or better yet ask!) what would be meaningful for the teacher. They deserve it! Here’s a story and song about one of my favorite teacher appreciation gifts.
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