End Of The Year Teacher Gifts

Over the course of my time as a Mom to school age kids, I have done many varied things to show our appreciation to their teachers at the end of the year. I am going to share some of those ideas here.

Perhaps my favorite gift was the one we made the year Emily was in 4th grade and Katherine was in 2nd. I had two pocket size photo albums (Creative Memories Mini Picfolios to be exact) that held wallet size pictures. I had the kids make a book that we called, “What I Learned In Mrs._________ Class This Year.” They wrote their words on cut to size pieces of card stock and we slipped them in the book. We ended the book with a wallet size school picture from that year. Some of the things they wrote were related to academics (“I learned how to add double digit numbers!”) and some were more like life lessons (“I learned about how to be a good citizen.”) The teachers loved it! Emily’s teacher specifically, sent home a really nice thank you note a couple of weeks in to summer. I remember how cool Emily thought it was to get mail from her teacher over the summer.

Periodically throughout the year, I send in supplies with the kids to stock the classrooms…pencils, glue, crayons in the younger years, tissue, wipes, paper towel etc. I have done this as an end of the year thing as well…to restock the teachers/classroom for next year. This year, I am going to be a little more creative about it and send in bunches of pencils attached with a note that says, “You’ve got the “write” stuff! Thank you for all you do!” You can get packs of 20 pencils at Ocean State Job Lot for as little as $1, so it’s inexpensive enough to get multiple boxes, to make sure the teachers start the year off well stocked. I love giving the teachers something I know they will use (or their students will use) and with the way the budget has looked over the past couple of years and into the future, I just don’t think you can go wrong with supplies.

This year, for all of Julia’s teachers and specialists, I want to do a little more than I might usually. This has been a remarkable year of growth for her, and it’s due in no small part to the help and attention she receives at school. As many of you know, I “dabble” in photography a bit. I have been busy making note cards with some of my scenic pictures…pictures of flowers in bloom for the spring, the beach for the summer, colored leaves for the fall, and a white ,snow covered landscape for the winter. I am putting together a seasonal package, with note cards from each season included. I have little cellophane bags that I will wrap them in, with a pack of flower seeds attached on the outside that will have a tag that says, “Thank you for helping Julia grow!”

For the bus drivers I plan on giving a car freshener with a note that says, “Thank you for bringing my child to and from school safely!” Simple, but effective.

In years past, I have sent the kids in with homemade baked goods, and, I have also gone the “gift card” route. I have done Dunkin Donuts, Borders, and Target in the past. I like these ideas, but I also like making it a bit more personal.

Of course, with each of these ideas, I attach a personal note of thanks from myself, and in most instances the kids. Nothing warms the heart more than a note from a student showing appreciation for all they have learned!