6/5/14

I can SEE the finish line.....(aka If you insist on giving the teacher something....here are some thoughts...)

It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes or bags! You KNOW what I’m talking about – the end of the school year!

I’ve had many requests from friends out there for suggestions for end of the year teacher gifts, and since I’ve been teacher for a FEW  years (26 or more…cough, cough) I just might be an expert in this area.

First, I want to make it clear that teachers DO NOT expect gifts. I really, really mean that. We appreciate your support all year long with homework, snacks, field trip chaperoning, etc., and we all feel that we receive “gifts” all year long. I am not just blowing smoke here.

However, if you ARE looking for either teacher gifts, or student teacher gifts, here are my TOP TEN!!!

1. An Amazon gift card for books for the classroom!!! Any teacher would be thrilled with this!! 
2. A book to the school library in your teacher’s name. Too cool to even elaborate on.
3. A plant for the school garden. (If they have one!)
4. Is there a craft store in your area? A gift card to a Michael’s or something like that is great. We always need items for projects- and this way the kids benefit as well!
5. Barnes and Nobles. Enough said.
6. There are cool scissors at craft stores that cut in a variety of shapes- not just straight lines! Teachers love these- but might not use their classroom money for them. They also come in a cool carousel. They are great when the kids make cards, have free time or in writer’s workshop.
7. If you are buying for a new teacher, here are some MUST HAVE BOOKS: Morning Meeting; The First Six Weeks of School; Classroom Spaces that Work; Off to a Great Start. All of these resources are from Responsive Classroom and can be found at Barnes and Nobles, or at www.responsiveclassroom.org .
8. If you want to buy a humorous book for ANY teacher, buy Thirty Two Third Graders and One Class Bunny by Philip Done. It is HYSTERICAL. I read it over and over and over. I laugh every time. Or, you can wait for a couple of weeks when my "The Book of Frank" will be coming out as an e-book. (I'm working on it, people. WORKING on it. Planning on pushing PUBLISH on Sunday.....)
9.A really cool whistle. Or bell. Or sound maker.
10. A gift card to STARBUCKS. (Okay, maybe that’s just me.)
11. Games for the classroom (age appropriate, or course.) We use games throughout the year, and of course pieces go missing, boxes get broken, etc. Teachers will probably NOT throw stuff out, and will keep using it, unless forced to use a NEW ONE if it’s given to them. (hint hint.)



Crap, is that more than ten? You people KNOW I can’t count. Hope it helps! Otherwise, give her a bottle of wine. Teacher DO enjoy that….

5 comments:

Brian Miller said...

a perk that high school teachers do not get...not too many teacher gifts...i usually get some tastes from the home ec class ...which is not a bad perk...ha

Kara said...

Our school year was over a few weeks ago, so I've already done gifts. This year the kids decided to give their teachers gift cards to Chipotle. I know enough teachers to know that mugs and candy are thoughtful, but not really what teachers want!

Anonymous said...

My daughter's teacher is retiring and she knows that the teacher likes to hike, etc., so she got her a really nice water bottle.

Scope said...

A membership to a "Wine of the Month Club"?

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