My daughter is "graduating" preschool and I want to get her teacher something to say "thank you" from my daughter. This is not the only teach there, but is the last one she'll have before going to Kindergarten. I thought about having my daughter make her something, but maybe that's just cheezy...so do you have any suggestions on what we can do for her or get her to say "thank you"?
I know this won't sound personal, but I LOVE when students get me gift certificates--Starbucks or Barnes & Noble. I'm a professor, but I think everyone in education is underpaid, so gift certificates are a treat. I don't have to ask myself if I can afford that latte on the way to campus. Or I can get that book I'd always been tempted to get but haven't yet.
Just an idea :-)
S
I believe that it is inappropriate to give teachers gifts, as it tends to cause a competition frenzy among the parents, and excludes the parents that are economically unable to buy a gift.
As a preschool teacher myself, I do not accept gifts. I do accept written letters of appreciation and thank you cards, which are much more meaningful and appropriate. Also, simply taking the time to tell her thank you in person is wonderful.
Goodmorning!
I just made something really quick for my daughter's 3rd grade teacher last week. It turned out better than I expected and it would be good for any grade teacher! I asked the teacher if I could 'borrow' his class for a few minutes and I had all the kids sign (maybe you could help out the little ones) their name on a matting for a frame. I then took pics of them all doing this. I went to walgreens.com (costco also has the option too) and ordered a collage of these pics in an 8x10 to fit the matting and frame. It looked amazing! They were candid shots too so they really captured the moment!
Also another I idea that might fit the preschool age is something I did for my daughter's kindergarden teacher when she went out on her maternity leave. I got a small scrapbook... put pics of each of the kids in it. Next to each of their pics I asked them questions about taking care of a baby. I wrote the answers next to their pics. It was so cute to hear their answers of advice for their teacher to take care of her baby. Maybe you can ask them questions about their teacher and the fun they had during the school year.
I hope these ideas might help!
A.
As a former teacher (before becoming a stay-at-home mom) I loved to receive good hardback books to add to the classroom library. You could have your daughter add a nice message inside.
As a former preschool teacher, I can tell you that I still have every gift given to me by a child. No matter what you choose, she will treasure it always. My favorite gifts, however, were homemade by the child, signed by them (or a handprint)or a gift certificate to pamper myself after a long school day.
I think it would be sweet to have your daughter make something for her teacher. It would also be a nice way for her to say goodbye...then augment her gift with a gift card - teachers at every level spend a lot of their own money for class supplies, so it is nice to give something back, chances are it will go towards more class supplies.
Oh, what fun to hand on some advice. I taught preschool ( special ed preschool for Northshore School District) for 20 years. --- I loved when I got a picture of a student =- or a picture of them with me - in a pretty frame-- I loved hand-make things --- I still have a little bird house that Kellen made for me-- he's in Jr. High now- but I remember him SO well---. I loved home-made goodies - I just loved knowing that the treasures I would miss so much ( oh I HATED the last day of school--- truly- always)--- had enjoyed my being their teacher.
Blessings,
J.
aka- Old Mom
I am an elementary school teacher and my absolute favorite, most treasured "gifts" are the notes written to me by parents. To know that they took the time to write down their thoughts is priceless to me. I keep and treasure those and look back at them when I'm having a rough day.
Oh! A gift card to somewhere she likes. For instance I got the bus driver a travel mug with a free drink from her fave coffee place (saw she had a drink from there everyday). You can get a special holder or a card that says thank you.
My husband is a teacher and the students (adult) usually pull together and sign a wonderful card together and take donations to give him a gift together. Sometimes they give him a class picture of all the students and him. It is different every term depending on the class.
He really enjoys getting cards and letters of appreciation a lot. The most useful gifts for him are gift certificates, that way he gets to treat himself and living on teachers wages it's nice to be able to go to dinner somewhere or buy a shirt you like etc...
A special gift might be having your child and you make a card and take her out to dinner or treat her to a spa...
As a group you could start a retirement fund for her and people could add to it when they want to show appreciation along with a card. Private preschool teachers usually don't have anything for retirement setup.
As a former preschool teacher, I can tell you that anyone who would take that job would not consider a child made gift cheezy! I would either go with something child-made (or assisted) and personalized with a photo of her, or something for teacher to pamper herself.
How about getting her a nice pen engraved with her name on it.Things Remembered has alot of nice things that aren't too expensive that would make great gifts. ~S.
i googled this in may when my daughter had her last day of preschool for the year, and the resounding answer was something homemade, letters, and gift for the classroom.
I used to work at a daycare for nearly 10 years all together. It is a much harder job than most think. There is so much behind the sence... Paper work.. Tons of kids... Tons of parents... And most of the time the managments SUCKS... We never really get the credit we are worth.
A home made gift is nice... But something to really say thank you.... Think about the person...a note that says how much you care is also very good!
For our son's class, I volunteered to take a class picture. At their picnic, my son gave a copy to his teacher in a cute little frame along with a bouquet of flowers (costco has them for very reasonable prices). She loved it.
Last year I let my daughter pick out the gift with my help :) we went to macy's and I had a 20 dollar limit.. anyhow we had a great time.. she picked out a sterling necklace and it was on sale right around 20 dollars.. then I let my daughter pick out a card and wrap the gift.. She had so much fun telling her teacher about going to pick out her gift and how she picked it out all by herself. The teacher loved the gift.
best of luck,
Lenc
We made a frame for our daughter's preschool teacher last week. I had a recent photo of our daughter, headed to Target and picked up a great clearance frame. I picked up letter stickers and stickers our daughter liked. I put the words "Best Teacher" down the frame and then let our daughter go to town with the rest of the stickers. It turned out GREAT and I wish I had one of our own. :-) Her teacher loved it!
