Miscellaneous Monday – Teacher Appreciation Week 5/2
This week (May 2-6) is National Teacher Appreciation Week with May 3rd being National Teacher Appreciation Day. I’m sure we all have teachers in our lives, either that have influenced us, live near us, or have impacted our children’s lives. I’m so thankful for my girls teachers. Rian (who’s in 1st grade & in the Spanish Immersion program) has 2 AMAZING teachers. Lola (who’s in preschool) has the sweetest teacher who’s also our neighbor. We’ve been so blessed with teachers that truly love my girls & want them to succeed. While we’re constantly telling them thank you, this week lets us show them a little more appreciation.
Take a moment this week to show appreciation for those teachers in your life! Need some ideas? Here’s just a small list of things you can do:
- Host a “Thank You Breakfast” during Teacher Appreciation Week, or during another time of the year when they least expect and most need it.
- Recognize special contributions by putting “Cookie Coupons” in teachers’ mailboxes. Arrange with the cafeteria for teachers to redeem those coupons for a special treat.
- Create a giant teacher thank-you card for display in the school community. Place markers by the card so community members can add their words of thanks.
- Ask each teacher what his or her favorite book is and buy a copy for or have a copy donated to the school library. Include in each book the name of the teacher who chose the book.
- Have the students in each class (or just your child) create their own posters thanking their teacher. Take a picture of each student holding his or her sign. Then, put together small photo albums of the thank-you messages for the teachers.
- Present certificates of appreciation to all teachers, as well as to substitute teachers, aides, and other support staff.
- Ask teachers to fill out a survey regarding their favorite books, colors, flowers, restaurants, coffee shops, etc. Use that knowledge when giving gifts. For example, present each teacher with his or her favorite book, signed by each of his or her students; give each teacher a small bouquet of his or her favorite flower.
- Have community centers, businesses, and families hang signs and banners that give thanks to teachers. Place additional thank-you messages on community and school marquees.
- Work with students to develop a list of five nice things they can do for their teachers. Have each student pledge to do one thing each day during Teacher Appreciation Week. Be sure to help students identify realistic things they can do.
- Provide doughnuts in the morning — for no special reason at all other than to say “Thank you.”
- Be on the lookout for special gifts that relate to teachers’ special interests. Dollar stores and other budget outlets can be great places to find those kinds of things–for example, a small birdhouse for a teacher who loves birding, a picture frame for a teacher with school-age children, a book of crossword puzzles for the puzzle fan on your staff.
- For a reasonable cost, you can purchase “From the Desk of” notepads or sticky notes for teachers.
- Giftcards! Our teachers all love gift cards! We’ve given some for nearby restaurants so they can get lunch during the week, local stores like Target, or to get a mani/pedi. We have local soda bars around & those are favorites for many of our teachers. Include the gift card in a cute mug & you’re all set!
- I found this darling Pinterest Board that’s filled with creative ideas!
With all of these ideas, you might need some printables, signs, or wordart. There are some great school-themed products in the Sweet Shoppe that would be perfect for gifts. Here’s just a small sampling:
And don’t forget the hybrid printables:
Hopefully this gives you some ideas to show your teachers how much you appreciate them. If you don’t have teachers currently, take this opportunity to scrap about your favorite teachers or those school photos you still have! Link up any layouts or ideas in the comments below! I’d love to see them and be further inspired by you. Have a great week Sweet Shoppers!
