2, 4, 6, 8 who do we appreciate?

Have an awesome teacher that you looooooove & want to celebrate? This is the week to do it! My kids have been extremely blessed with awesome teachers & I plan to let them know how much we love them. I'm thinking the gift has to be sparkly & have some kind of an apple on it since we all know how much teachers love apples...

                                          

Ha! Just kidding :) Let's bypass the apple crap & get your teacher something she really wants. What, you might ask, is that? Well, I can tell you what she doesn't want...ahem, see above. I took the liberty of speaking for my profession & made a list of gifts your child's teacher would probably rather not get.

What not to give: (not because they're bad gifts, just because your teacher probably already has a stock pile of them... think Doomsday Preppers)

coffee mugs

ornaments

lotion

anything with an apple on it

clothing

anything ceramic

picture frames

stuffed animals, especially used ones

anything you wouldn't want to own and/or display in your own home or workplace

What your teacher would love:

a gift card to a favorite restaurant

a nice, handwritten note of appreciation from you

a gift card toa favorite store

a lovely drawing from your child

a gift card for a fun project at home

favorite snacks

gift cards in general :)

See a pattern?

Now, I'm not saying that teachers are greedy or unappreciative. Any teacher worth her salt will plaster a genuine smile on her face and readily accept any gift your precious child bestows upon us. It's who we are. BUT, if you want to know that teachers really want, I must say, no one has turned down a gift card- like ever.

Why gift cards? Don't teachers make enough money to spend themselves? They have June, July & August off to supplement their salary.

I could barely type that without choking. Seriously? Teachers, as a general rule, are selfless. Meaning that they do a job that they love that pays next to nothing because the rewards they give & get are priceless. I guarantee your child's teacher spends little of her salary on shopping and/or fun. (I count shopping as fun!) She probably spends a chunk of it on classroom supplies. If she has a family, the bulk of her salary goes to taking care of her own children & paying out the nose for childcare. At the end of the day, your child's teacher probably has very little to spend on herself. Gift cards are an awesome way to appreciate your teacher. Do a little leg work & find out what she really likes. If you ask her, I bet she'll tell you. 

As for June, July & August, your child's teacher is probably spending a chunk of her summer on professional development. There are always multiple seminars to attend to better your teaching strategies & many teachers take advantage of this. Many teachers also tutor during those summer months. When I was a new teacher, I nannied everyday in the summer. I know very few teachers that take their entire summer off to just spend their gift cards. 

What about a personalized gift? My child would love to spend hours painting pottery for his teacher. Wouldn't she love that?

Yes, yes she would; which makes the guilt tremendous when you have to dispose of it. The harsh truth is that teachers receive multitudes of these priceless treasures yearly & at some point, you just can't keep everything. I get that everything your child makes is near & dear to your heart- I have 4 little people that make me priceless treasures all the time. If your teacher has her own children, she too has priceless treasures being made for her at home. You can't compete with that; if your teacher has to choose between art created by her children or art created by her students, you know which one will win. Save the ceramics for Grandma, she will love them forever & ever.

EEK! I've given my child's teacher a gift from the Do Not give list above. Is my child blacklisted?

Hee, hee. Nah, of course not. We aren't cruel & heartless. We know what your child probably had nothing to do with the gift. We also know that you probably truly thought we'd enjoy it. Look, everybody gets stuff they don't want all the time. I just thought I'd give you an inside scoop on the way to your teacher's heart. We absolutely appreciate the thought & effort that went into your gift. And unless it was truly heinous, we probably didn't share it with our friends. If you did give, say, something ridiculous- like a school bus cookie jar- then it may or may not be a running joke that gets passed back & forth among us.... hey, everybody likes to have a little fun sometimes. Even your stuffy teacher in her apple sweater. 

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Teachers, share with me your favorite gifts! I'm always looking for new ideas!