End of the Year Gift for Teacher - Lake Villa,IL

I always do a gift card for my kids' teachers. I usually give $25 to Barnes & Noble. I think B&N, Target and Amazon are great, unless you know of a specific, local place that the teacher loves. I usually write a nice note and have my child write/draw a card, too.

My preschooler gave her teachers each a candle and Starbucks gift card. My first grader is making a fire bowl and giving her teacher a Starbucks gift card. They also write thank you notes.

I considered suggesting buying a book for the classroom but my girls already knew what they wanted to get. I leave it up to them within reason.

I think a thank you card written by the child is a good expression of thanks and gratitude. I used to spend a lot of money on gifts, but no longer do.. not because someone isn't worth it, but rather because I am on a tight budget. I also think that in this day of email and texting.. long forgotten are proper handwritten thank you notes.. To me, those go a long way... I'd stick with a nice thank you card..

Teacher Gifts (from a retired teacher)
Open letter to ALL parents from your child’s teacher.
It is that time of year again, time to “thank the teacher”. What to do, what to do?
First know it is not necessary to get me anything. This is my job and I love what I do.
But if you must…
As a retired teacher I can tell you I have received a LOT of gifts over the years.
I have more “world’s greatest teacher” mugs, and cups, ornaments and pens then I could ever use.
I have plenty of “home-made” pictures, scrapbook pages and “hand written” stories.
Now yes, they are wonderful and come from the heart, but where can I put them all? I can’t leave them in my classroom, that gets cleaned out every year. I don’t have the storage in my home and it breaks my heart to have to “recycle them”.
And treats and home-made goodies, yes, I love them, but they don’t love me. They add extra sugar and calories to my already challenged eating habits.

SO WHAT CAN YOU DO FOR ME?

OPEN gift certificates are great, maybe a mall or VISA gift card. You may think you know where I shop or what I like but what if I want something different? What if I have secret hobbies or skills that I have never shared with my students or parents? That way I can buy the coffee, the clothes, the books or anything else I may want. I get to decide!

How about the promise of volunteering in my classroom or on a field trip?
What about all those stickers and pencils and “prizes” I give away…I buy them all out of my own money, I’d LOVE a basket of “those goodies”.

Parents, imagine that I have 30 kids… that’s 30 presents!! Imagine what wonderful things you could do me for me and my classroom and the future children that will be coming into my room and experiencing the same joy your own child did.

Thanks for listening.

I hate when people criticize gifts. I think it's rude. But as the daughter in law of a teacher, please, please, please do not give lotion, soaps, baskets, pens, candles, mugs, apple themed things, or anything else trinkety. Teachers get bombarded with these things and they often get passed on to daughters in law or donated without being used because it's too much. Gifts are completely unnecessary. This question has been discussed here often and my MIL confirms, the most appreciated gift is a handwritten note expressing gratitude. And if you choose to give a gift card, the best is something generic you're sure they will like. My MIL doesn't drink coffee. She has passed along Starbucks gift cards and while I like coffee, I can't even walk into the place the coffee smells so bad to me. We give our teachers gift cards for a discount book store - they can get something for themselves or they can use it for their classroom - my MIL spent thousands out of pocket on her room every year, so every little bit helps.

Teacher have enough lotions, candles, notepads, mugs and more they could stock up a store with it all, especially teachers who have been in the profession for years.

Personal thank you notes from children and parents are a great way to express gratitude.

A lot of classes here, in elementary, will pool money together and have a class gift such as a money tree, gift card tree, a picture made by the students with thumbprints, quilt, and more.

In higher levels not so many gifts are given. My daughter had a teacher in 11th grade for algebra and he was fantastic. He never failed to come to class with some sort of drink from Sonic. So at the end of the year, she went to Sonic and got a gift card and put it in a large Sonic cup. He thought she was bringing him a drink and he loved the giftcard. It was something he truly could and would use. Also, many teachers spend money from their personal pocket to get the classroom in order, have plenty of supplies and snacks for those children who forget the snacks at home.

We have also done movie gifts cards so the teacher could go to the movie with a friend and have treats on us.

It is so nice to recognize teachers at the end of the year with a nice letter or card of appreciation from both the child and the parents. My kids still talk about some of the teachers they had years ago and when they get together with their old friends at reunions they still all remember the ones that made a difference. We used to send notes and also attach a gift certificate to Target (that says THANK YOU). Also over the course of the year, if the kids or I observed something about that teacher we would try to add a small gift. We had one teacher that loved Kit Kat bars and another that visited Sonic every morning before class so we also got something for them there. We had one teacher that had a treasure chest of things for the students to pick a prize for special things or accomplishments. After seeing the type and quality of the items, I used to buy stuff and replenish her supply which she greatly appreciated.

The first year, I sent an email to the other kindergarten teacher asking what stores my daughter's teacher liked. So I knew where she'd use a gift card. Last year, I gave a gift card to Target. I carry around gift cards that I have received as I forget about them so this year, I gave cash. She was very thankful. I do give a small gift card (sonic or target) to the teachers she sees once or twice a week (gym, music, art, etc).

I also went into her classroom one day and worked with the kids on a project for the teacher. I took a picture of each kid and then each kid drew and or wrote down what their favorite thing was about the teacher or 2nd grade. I then made a slide show set to music. She LOVED it and cried. Many of the students also cried when she showed it to them.

I also write a note and so does my daughter.

I am sure teachers are thankful for anything that they get but how many candles and lotions and such can they possibly use?

I always wrote a thank you note, Our daughter always drew a picture and wrote a note on it.

Here in town, there is a very old theater that has a "Classic Summer Movie" scheduled for each week. They sell packs of tickets for a discount, I used to purchase these and give a pair of tickets to her teachers and the Principal, and Librarian. These were the people our daughter was usually closest to.

We now also have a drive in Theater here in town, if our daughter were in school, I would totally give the younger teachers tickets to visit the drive in.

We also have a fabulous locally owned Book Store, so a gift card to there was always appreciated.

I was a PTA President at 2 of our daughters schools and when I would ask teachers what they loved best for a gift, they honestly said, they loved the notes from the parents and the students.

When my kids were elementary aged, usually the class mom/dad took up a collection from anybody who wanted to contribute and bought a nice gift card from the class.
As someone who works in an elementary school, I think that a gift card is a wonderful idea - Dunkin, Starbucks, whatever restaurant is near school where teachers might get takeout from. Or a book for the classroom library is often appreciated.
So glad to hear that your son had a wonderful teacher this year.

My pattern has been to give Barnes and Noble gift cards for Christmas and ice cream gift cards at the end of the year. I really think gift cards are just fine and definitely appreciated.

Last year my son had an amazing speech teacher who was not returning. I did make a basket for her with items she might be able to use at her next job - hand sanitizer, lotion, kleenex, baby wipes, pencils, etc. Truthfully, I just went to Walgreens and picked up a bunch of things I thought would be cute and helpful. But I did put it in a basket!

I don't think it's something anyone should feel obligated to do. But as a former teacher, I do know how tough it can be and how under appreciated they can feel sometimes. A note or thank you card from your son would be wonderful - with our without a giftcard, it will be appreciated.

I give a card with cash. I have yet to meet a person that doesn't like cash and I can't bring myself to spend up to $5 for the "privilege" of having a Visa GC.

My grand loves to help in the garden - so her teacher will likely be getting one of the sunflower plants that she helped w/planting. We'll pot it up all pretty and let her take it in.

Yuck to the idea of an email. :( Email is just so generic and informal. If any note is sent to someone to show appreciation, it should be handwritten. I honestly wouldn't be worried about the past, some teachers will just stand out more over the years. Nothing wrong with that. Depending on how much you want to spend, but last year we did a coffee mug from starbucks with a gift card for a free coffee of the teachers choice. I think we also did a spa/pedicure gift certificate one year too! The main thing is whatever the $$, it's important for her to just know how she positively effected your child. That in itself is a huge reward.

Our son's class is doing a group gift (from those who want to) to the teacher in the form of a gift certificate to a local nursery; she loves working in her garden. So far, we have always done an end-of-year thank you to his preschool teachers and K teacher, because I really value all of the extra work they do way above and beyond.

For what it's worth, I've seen the gamut from bouquets of flowers, gift cards for restaurants or the theater or bookstore/coffee shops-- wherever the teacher indulges in a hobby (last year it was the fabric store), homemade granola, socks, handwarmers in winter... you name it. I would avoid, however, anything with a scent (lotions, perfume) or anything too personal.

I once had a preschool family of mine give me cans of tuna for Christmas. Please, don't do that! Otherwise, anything thoughtful goes. And the notes, I've kept. Those and the handmade gifts are very dear to me.

I get a bag of chocolate (Lindt, or Ghiardelhi squares) from the pharmacy, slap on a photo of my kid and a bit of ribbon and call it done. I might write thank you on a card, and have him trace it too. We'll see how that goes.

My mom used to buy a case of wine, and have us draw on paper bags, and would wrap them with twine as teacher gifts.

Best,
F. B.

I gave coffee for Christmas gifts (even if she didn't drink it, she could serve it to guests). I gave grocery store gift cards for end of year, and not the expensive specialty stores, either. A store that I knew she could buy food her family ate. And yes, a nice card and sometimes something my son made, with a picture of my son in the card, or if I had one with them together, I used it.

We had a phenomenal 1st grade teacher. The kind that went all out and went the extra mile. Very craft-sy. So I got her a $75 craft store gift card so she could keep it up at less out of pocket expense. I always gave her my excess art stuff too.
Otherwise? A nice note & a $10 gas/grocery card.

I usually got a gift card - movies, coffee shop, nail salon, etc. But one of my son's teachers stopped me in the grocery store one day with tears in her eyes - because I had sent her a heartfelt note (along with a gift card) thanking her for the way she was with my son that year. He was struggling with taking his ADHD medication, with speech therapy and raeding help - but she recognized his intelligence and really pushed and prodded him. She was on eof his favorite teachers and I wanted her to know how special she was. She told me that those notes are the things teachers hang on to through the years. That they get only a few of them over the years - but that they're liek precious gems.

SO - if your child's teacher is wonderful - by all means let her know in a note (that year I also sent a note to the principal and the district superintendant) - but I'd also include soem kind of gift.

Usually the parent groups (PTA, room parents) organize something so everyone can contribute according to their ability (financial situation, how many kids they have in the school system, etc.) which shares the burden and gives the teacher a larger gift she can use more readily. Usually someone in the group is familiar with the teacher and knows her likes/dislikes.

From my experience as a teacher, the small trinkets are a problem because we get so many of them, feel the need to display them/use them, etc. We definitely don't need any more stuff that says "World's Best Teacher". While any gesture is appreciated, it can be hard for a teacher to drive all over to use up every Dunkin' Donuts card or shop in every department store for which she got a $10 or $25 gift certificate. Remember that almost all teachers have a second job because they don't get paid enough, so if they get too many gift cards which they kind of have to add to, it's a problem. So, if you give $20 at a restaurant, the teacher has to fork over the additional money to go out with a friend or a spouse, so it actually costs her in the long run. I got a $10 gift card to a delicious ice cream place, but it was the other direction and near the school, but 15 miles from my home. I couldn't very well go during the school day, and after school I was doing lesson plans and grading tests. To go during the summer with my husband meant driving 15 miles each way and having to add to the gift certificate just to get a nice dish of ice cream. It was a lovely gesture by the family but it was more of a hardship to me, so I wound up giving it away.

A small package of little things like tea or designer cookies or coffee samples means there's something the teacher is likely to enjoy, and it shows thoughtfulness in putting together a cute little basket or gift bag. So if you don't want to give cash/gift card, do that.

A thank you note is lovely, and if it's from the child (at least if the child "dictates" part of it while a parent writes it down) is truly lovely. No matter what silly thing you child says, write it down. If he says "Mrs. Smith smells good" or "Ms. Jones likes my stegosaurus picture", put that in there. Your child is learning to express gratitude, which is the point of this. Let your child help wrap something (no matter how bad it looks!) or bake something so he participates. Kids don't understand gift cards or even "adult" gifts like coffee, and there's no thought involved from their point of view.

Going forward, if you can get the room parents involved in this, it's much easier to do a larger, joint gift.

Teachers are not monolithic. I want gifts. I don't care how cheap or trinkety (lol).

As a Dance Teacher I wash costumes year round, provide transportation, and buy accessories and trinkets with my own dime...

A note to the principal does not replace a gift.

I love it when the class parent collects, pools the money and gives one big gift card. I think it's most appreciated.

At the end of the year, an email goes out to all the parents about pitching in for a group gift. This year they will get her a beach bag and beach towel along with a gift certificate.

Since it sounds like your school is not doing this yet, perhaps you can start it. Do you have a list of all the parents email address?

We do Christmas gifts and Teacher Appreciation week gifts. So at the end of the year they will get a nice note. I can't do it all 3 years. My oldest is going into middle school, and I will let her pick a teacher or two to gift, but I won't be able to do all of them...especially when all 3 kids are in middle/high.

Honestly, my kdis teachers have always seemed to like the notes best as well.