My son will be graduating to kindergarten in September and he has been enrolled in an awesome preschool/daycare for the past 2 yrs. I want to give something special to all of the teachers to show my appreciation, dedication,, hardwork and for all of their communication and love, caring for my son whilst being there. I have always shown my gratituude to the school with little gestures, and presents for the school; however, what would be appropriate and cost efficient to give to about 10-12 teachers that have helped he and me in helping to teach my son values, skills, etc.... I know they are making a wonderful book of all of his accomplishments ( as I have seen from past pre-kindergarteners). I am tentatively planning to make a photo of all of the teachers and my son and frame it but would coffee cards be good too? I would like some ideas because I really love all of these teachers and if I had it my way....I would keep him there forever~unrealistic of course :) thanks.
Some teachers do not want the handwritten note, basket of stickers, or the photo--but rather a $5 McDonald's gift card.
They do not get paid over the summer and that lunch would really make a summer day for them.
It's very nice of you to want to thank all those teachers. That's a lot of people to give gifts to! As an on-and-off teacher over the years, wife of a former teacher, and the daughter of two teachers, I can say first off that no matter how much your kid LOVES these teachers and how much they LOVE him, most people don't want some kind of memorialized picture of themselves with a student. Of course I don't know your relationship with these teachers, and perhaps they really would love that and it would mean a lot to them... I mean, it's a nice idea, could be cost effective, but the fact is that (let's use the kindergarten teacher as an example) these people have probably 15-30 students every year that pass through their classrooms, and if everyone gives them some kind of photo gift or book of quotes about teachers or "best teacher" plaque, something is getting thrown away eventually. A note is a nice way to tell them they are special to you, and then give them something they actually can use. Of course 10 people is a lot so you can't give something amazing, but my point is that teachers accumulate a lot of stuff over the years. Maybe you can give $5 Starbucks giftcards with your thank you note? :)
I ordered the "I like for Women" book, had my daughter tell me what she likes about each teacher and wrote that on the inscription page. You almost have to order it from their website to get it, so it's not something you'll see everywhere. I discovered it from a groupon deal, which made it more affordable. There are other deals on occasion if you look on-line.
What really counts, is a handwritten card, of how you have appreciated them and for what they have done for your son. Not a generic "thanks" type of card, but a handwritten from the heart, type card.
And sure, each one to each person, should be different, because they may show their card to the others.
I have done that, for both of my kids' Preschool Teachers and Director.
It takes a lot of time to write each one, but each Teacher and Director, greatly appreciated it.
Gifts are great, but a handwritten card, really speaks volumes.
Or, a thoughtful poem, that is framed. Something they can display in the classroom or at school. Thereby, it is for all the Teachers/Director. From your family.
gift cards are great if you know what they each would like. all i could come up with for my son's pre-k teacher was mcdonalds, and to me that just didn't seem enough.
i wanted to do a "bouquet" of goodies - i saw it on pinterest! (great ideas for teacher gifts on there btw). the bottom was a case or 6 pack of soda, then they basically did like a wedding cake shaped sculpture of candies, snacks, etc. i don't know how else to explain it but it was awesome. with so many teachers it might be more cost effective to do one gift like that rather than individual ones.
My favorite pinterest teacher gift, is the flower pot that says "Thanks for helping me grow"
My friend is a teacher and she told me once that she likes gift cards the best, even a five dollar one, maybe Starbucks, or a food place. Good luck with your choice.
I get the female teachers note cards from expressionary.com. Look for the cards that are on clearance and they are usually much less plus you can find discount coupons on top of that. The teachers love them and they don't cost much. You can personalize them too with the teacher's name or initials. They also have labels and note pads. If not notecards, I would get the teachers gift cards to Target or Barnes and Noble. Coffee cards are good too if you know they like coffee. Hope this helps!
For teachers appreciation week we picked out a potted flower from Lowes ($5.00 each). I figured they could either plant them in their yard or in a pot. They were sooo happy with them. I also included this: http://www.skiptomylou.org/2011/04/08/teacher-appreciatio...
When my son left his preschool and also when he left kinder, I went to Michaels and got the color it yourself plant pot and had my son color it. Then I went to the dollar store and got flower seeds and a little shovel. I then traced my son's hand on construction paper, cut it out and put it on a popscicle stick and wrote on it "Thank you for helping me grow". I then put everything in the pot and the hand looked like a flower and then the seeds and shovel were around it. It was inexpensive and I knew both of his teachers were big garden lovers. I'll probably do the same for his 1st grade teacher this year.
Good luck,
H.
I blogged about this a while, it's still my answer!
http://heyyougetreal.com/momblog/teacher-gifts/
B.
