Greatest Gifts For Teachers & Teacher Appreciation Week

The Greatest Gifts Inside this eBook: for Seasonal gift ideas to honor teachers throughout the school Teachers year Hands on kid-to-teacher gift suggestions that will teach kids how to have and show their appreciation A teacher approved list of the best and worst gifts A FREE VolunteerSpot eBook

VolunteerSpot Philosophy At VolunteerSpot, we believe that volunteers should be rewarded for stepping forward and sharing their time and talents with those in need. All too often, volunteering means putting up with a certain amount of hassle or frustration – whether that is late night emails, reply-all messages, reminder phone calls, or searching for a parking space. Our sponsors enable us to A sincere THANK YOU to our VolunteerSpot parents and teachers provide FREE signup sheets for sharing your ideas and helping us craft this eBook. and scheduling tools that simplify volunteering, powering Please feel free to post it on your blog or email it to whomever you your good work in schools and believe would benefit from reading it. clubs, in your congregation THANK YOU! and neighborhoods. We can’t find you a parking place, but ~ Team VolunteerSpot with VolunteerSpot, DOING GOOD just got easier!© 2011 by VolunteerSpot DOING GOOD Just Got Easier!Copyright holder is licensing this under the Creative CommonsLicense, Attribution 2.5.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/

We LOVE our Teachers!! At VolunteerSpot, we LOVE teachers! Teachers work hard all year for our children and deserve our gratitude and appreciation. Simply saying THANK YOU in an email or handwritten note is a kind recognition of their hard work and a welcomed gesture. For those of you wanting to go the extra mile, we’ve put together this eBook with Great Gift Ideas for Teachers. We’ve included low‐cost and no‐cost suggestions. We have ideas for individual student/family gifts, as well as collective classroom and school‐wide efforts. The Greatest Gifts for Teachers / VolunteerSpot , DOING GOOD j

Teacher Appreciation Throughout the School Year September: Back to School (See our ideas) page 5 November: Thanksgiving page 6 December: Winter Holidays page 7 February: Valentine’s Day page 8 May: Teacher Appreciation Week page 9 June: End of the Year page 10 The Greatest Gifts for Teachers / VolunteerSpot , DOING GOOD just got easier!

Back To School Welcome a new teacher with a basket of classroom supplies. Ask each family to donate one or two small items: pencils, markers, glue, stickers, tissues, hand sanitizer, etc. Help a teacher stock and organize his or her classroom. Ask for gift card donations from office supply stores to help with classroom supplies. Organize a reading circle and classroom helpers. Use VolunteerSpot to coordinate volunteers to help out once a month. Share your special skills and traditions. Compile a list of special skills, hobbies, or family traditions that parents can share with the class throughout the year. Put together a Wish Notebook to stay in the office or library with teacher surveys. The surveys should ask teachers to name their favorite snack, restaurant, flower, theatre, beverage, charity, author, etc. Parents can look up gift ideas all year round.The Greatest Gifts for Teachers / VolunteerSpot , DOING GOOD just got easier!

Show Thanks for ThanksgivingThankful Faces of ThanksgivingPaste a collage of the children’s faces on a traditional Thanksgiving scene and have the children present it to their teacher. Graffiti Wall of Thanks Teachers say their favorite gifts involve hearing from the students themselves. Get permission to tape a large piece of butcher paper on the wall outside of each classroom. Have the students write at least one reason they are thankful for their teacher. Artwork and tasteful graffiti should be encouraged. The Greatest Gifts for Teachers / VolunteerSpot , DOING GOOD j

Winter Holidays “Last year my class made a collective donation in my • Fill a basket with warm beverage name to my favorite local packets: powdered cider, hot chocolate, charity. It felt so good tea bags, and instant coffee pouches. knowing they were Include a note: “You warm our hearts! supported in a year I Thank you!” couldn’t afford to give much myself.“ -- 4th grade teacher, • Add a “teacher appreciation” section to Colorado Springs, CO the school newsletter. This could include quotes from students, poems, or special thanks. • Invite teachers to a “souper bowl” special lunch and serve home‐made soups from crock pots. • Ask for teacher discounts and free tickets to local holiday shows and theater productions so they can have special holiday fun with their families.The Greatest Gifts for Teachers / VolunteerSpot , DOING GOOD just got easier!

Valentines Day Ideas Make a list of all the students in the class and give copies to each student’s parents. This • Ask each child to write “I love my teacher assures that every child in because…” on a small heart cut from the class receives a construction paper. valentine and saves the teacher from having to take care of it. • Ask each student to wear a red shirt to school prior to Valentines Day, and photograph the class holding a sign reading: “We love our teacher!” • Ask each student to draw a heart and sign their name on one t‐shirt, or a poster, then present it to the teacher. • Organize Valentines Day activities for the class so that the teacher is free to take care of other things.The Greatest Gifts for Teachers / VolunteerSpot , DOING GOOD just got easier!

Teacher Appreciation WeekSelect a day during the week and ask each Arrange for a special treat in the teacher’s child and their parents to present their lounge – a dessert bar, special lunch, or teacher with one flower on that day. baked goods.Teachers will go home with a beautiful bouquet to remind them of how much they Post signs around the school expressing are appreciated. your appreciation.Ask your local newspaper to donate one portion of a page to thank the teachers of Setup a carwash and have older kids your school for all they do. provide the service to the teachers during recess. Ask local businesses to donate one free meal, manicure, haircut, or personal service, then give each teacher a ticket, and hold a raffle! National Teacher Appreciation Week is held during the first full week of May each year. The Greatest Gifts for Teachers / VolunteerSpot , DOING GOOD ju

End of the Year Appreciation• Host a “teachers tailgate party” in June. Use Please visit our blog VolunteerSpot to coordinate the event. (http://blog.volunteersp ot.com) for more volunteering• Compile a photo album for the teacher using photos suggestions and to share your project ideas taken throughout the year. and stories.• Help the kids produce a “what I’ll remember about this year” video for their classroom teacher.• Compile a collection of quotes about teachers from students and famous people.• Create a summer fun basket filled with books, magazines, sunscreen, a beach towel and hat, etc.• Have the class decorate a large flower pot and fill it with a beautiful plant. Add a note ‐ ‘Thanks for helping us grow this year!’ The Greatest Gifts for Teachers / VolunteerSpot , DOING GOOD ju

Gifts for long-time or retiring teachersCreate a video or timeline containing clips from newspapers or magazines about events that were happening in the world, each year while the teacher has been in service, as well as photos of the teacher and her former students. Frame a photo of their first class and their last class together. (Most schools keep archived copies of yearbooks.)Locate past students. Ask them to write notes or come and speak about the teacher and how (s)he impacted their lives. The Greatest Gifts for Teachers / VolunteerSpot , DOING GOOD ju

Gift Ideas for Middle and High School TeachersBookmark your appreciation. Have your child design a simple bookmark on a computer using a graphics or word processing program. The bookmark should have a clever message that expresses gratitude and appreciation for each of their teachers and/or subjects. Be sure the student artist is identified on the back of the bookmark so that the teacher will always remember who made it for them. Print several on one page, then laminate them if possible. A poem of remembrance. Have your student write an original poem for each of their teachers that reminds them of something interesting or funny that happened in their class that year. A “Commit‐Mint” Card. Have your student make a simple card with the phrase “Thank you for your commit‐mint” on it. Then tape a small roll of mint flavored candy to it. There are other candy puns that can also be used. The Greatest Gifts for Teachers / VolunteerSpot , DOING GOOD ju

Teacher gifts are Collective Giftsappreciated because of of Time and Treatsthe thought behind them.Sometimes organizing VolunteerSpot’s free and easy online scheduler makes it easy to these activities can seem coordinate a group gift from class parents or the broader PTA overwhelming, so they community. Each parent signs up to contribute a little bit of time or effort, and collectively the teachers get a HUGELY rewarding just don’t happen. experience. Paperwork Parent: Take turns making copies and grading papers to give the teacher a free evening.With just a few simpleclicks, VolunteerSpot can Recess or Lunch Monitor: Parents create a supervision schedule and give their child’s teacher well‐deserved quiet time help you organize just several days a week.about any teacherappreciation event – and Meals Circle: Create a meals calendar with each family volunteering to bring lunch or dinner once a week. it’s free! Classroom Helpers: Signup to read, help with science Just log on to experiments, and tutor kids needing extra help.www.Volunteerspot.com Breakroom Treats: Parents signup to drop off homemade baked to get started! goods, special coffee and other tasty treats throughout the year. The Greatest Gifts for Teachers / VolunteerSpot , DOING GOOD ju

Teacher Gift Survey Results Most Favorite Gifts Least Favorite Gifts • A personal note from students • Coffee mugs Teachers always appreciate the • Classroom supplies • Candles thought behind the gifts they receive, but • Restaurant and retail gift cards • Candy the gifts listed here are the ones teachers • Movie tickets • Lotion most often receive that they say are the • The best way to find out what • Bath salts least useful. teacher might want is to ASK! “The best gift ever was a handwritten letter (on crinkled notebook paper) from a little girl. The note said all kinds of things about how she knows I love her and the class because I am caring and helpful, etc...it was perfect. Neither money nor chocolate could ever top that..” -- 3rd grade teacherThe Greatest Gifts for Teachers / VolunteerSpot ,MN Minneapolis, DOING GOOD just got easier!

Simplify ALL Parent VolunteeringHelping parents, teachers and volunteer leaders coordinate activities and events simply and easily all year round! • Soccer Snacks • Scout Campouts • Walk‐a‐Thons & Fun Runs • Swim Meets • Sports Tournaments • Vacation Bible School • Girl Scout Cookie Booths • Neighborhood Clean ups • Coat, food and toy drives Volunteers signup on‐the‐go, from their smartphones! and more . . . Class The Greatest Gifts for Teachers / VolunteerSpot , DOING GOOD just got easier!

Additional ResourcesClick here for Sample Class Parent Letters: www.budurl.com/BTSSampleLettersSee our other free eBooks with ideas andbest‐practices for: • School Carnivals • Teacher Gifts • Family‐Friendly Volunteering • Fundraising with Kids • Bake Sales • Talent Shows and more . . . www.VolunteerSpot.com/ebooks Class Parent The Greatest Gifts for Teachers / VolunteerSpot , DOING GOOD just got easier!

We love to hear what you have to say! If you: Liked this eBook Thank Shared this eBook with a friend Used some of the ideas in this You! eBook, or came up with some of your own Thank you for downloading this FREE Love volunteering eBook from VolunteerSpot. Want to be more involved with your kids’ school We take the hassle out of volunteering and make it point-and- Want your kids to be involved click simple to schedule all your with sharing, caring, and volunteer activities with our FREE benefiting others powerful real time calendar sign up tool. …And much more, Be sure to visit our blog to post your comments and read what other volunteers have to say!© 2011 by VolunteerSpot DOING GOOD Just Got Easier!Copyright holder is licensing this under the Creative Commons License, Attribution 2.5. http://blog.volunteerspot.comhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/

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Greatest Gifts For Teachers & Teacher Appreciation Week

by VolunteerSpot on Mar 02, 2009

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Greatest Gifts For Teachers & Teacher Appreciation Week — Presentation Transcript