Teacher Appreciation Ideas

Most schools spend one week a year showing their support and appreciation for their teachers by planning an entire week around them. Below are some great ideas of ours as well as from some of our customers to help you plan your Teacher's Appreciation Week!  Want to share your own ideas? Contact us today and we'll post your tips for others here too!

Some ideas we like:

Use a theme for each day of the week and notify parents of this. For example: Monday could be Flower Day (and paper flowers, real flowers, cards with flowers, flower-scented candles, flower decorations, etc could all be incorporated). Tuesday could be Baked Goods day (again, the
parents/students send in a homemade brownie, cookies, etc) and on through the week. To save on budget and time, the first 4 days could be used for letters, cards, pictures, etc and then Friday could be Gift Day.

Even if you don't use a theme, you could give the teachers little gifts each day (candy-filled apples, handmade goodies, pencils or tea bags with poems or appreciation sayings on them, etc)

Have the parents and PTC make a special luncheon or breakfast on day of the week. The food could be donated or even purchased with PTC money from a restaurant or caterer. Have parents volunteer to serve and clean up. One fun idea we heard of is to have each classroom make something for the luncheon (decorate tablecloths, make paper flowers and paper vases, hanging decorations).

Have volunteers Sub for your teacher for an hour for them to take a break or take an extended (out of the building) lunch.

For older children (or parent volunteers), offer the teacher's a "Girl Friday" - have onsite car washes, dry cleaning pickup, post office drop offs, etc.

If the parents really are involved and want to make an huge impact - why not "remodel" the staff lounge - paint it, hang nice curtains, add tablecloths or flowers to their tables.

Each class could work together to donate supplies for a Teacher Appreciation Gift Basket. Fill the basket full of items for the classroom - pencils, chaulk, stickers, envelopes and note cards, etc.

If the school is small and you can handle this type of thing - we have heard of some who make pre-packaged home cook meals as "take out" for the teachers and their families.

Fresh flowers make anyone's day!  Or you could use a trick we've seen work incredibly to make your own flower garden and it involves the kids! You will need a flower pot, florist styrofoam, popsicle sticks, photos, construction paper, peat moss and glue. Have each child bring in
small/wallet photos of themselves. Cut small flowers out of construction paper and attach a picture of each child to one. Then glue onto popsicle sticks. Stick these in styrofoam inside flower pot, arranged as a garden. This customer even gave us a helpful poem to use: "Teacher, Teacher, Children seeker, How does your classroom grow? With smiles and tears, Hugs
and cheers, And the sweetest girls and boys we know."  Attach this little poem to the flower pot. The teacher's will love the homemade gift and thoughtfulness!

The flower pot idea can also be used by having each child in the classroom make their own flower out of construction paper and writing a word of thanks or what their teacher means to them in the middle of the flower. Then put the flowers together in the pot as above.

Purchase a book for each classroom, or donate one book per classroom to the Library. Have the teacher's name placed inside book.

Have the children create a short play or skit about their teacher and help them prepare to present it to him/her during that week.

Have the students get involved as much as possible!  Have them surprise their teach by decorating the classroom door one day; have them make cards, write letters; have them each list 5 small things that they can do to show appreciation (clean classroom, put away supplies, help teacher clean blackboard, etc).

Have the students write poems, thank you cards, etc for their teacher and have them read on the morning announcements or placed in the teacher's mailboxes.

Walk of Fame for your Teachers! Have the front walkway lined with red carpet (or red butcher paper) and gold stars with each teacher's name on it.

Surprise the teachers with a make-over of their utilitarian bathrooms!  This can be done via volunteers over a weekend! This can be fun if painted hand prints from children are added as well!

Have the students decorate a shoe box (or small box) for the Teacher to use to store their treasured gifts/pictures and items.

Make Teacher Appreciation Certificates and have them framed.

Have the students each write a short story with their teacher as the hero/heroine and then they can share with the class.

Even getting community businesses to show appreciation by having them change their signs to Thank the teachers, so the teachers see these each day on their drive in to work and home.

A small mirror with the note, "You are looking at a very special person."

Have Volunteers bring in baked goods, snacks, candy and drinks and put them on a Snack Cart. During a study hall or free period, a few people push around the cart full of goodies to each teacher's classroom

Here are a few great places for small gifts, craft projects, etc:

Everything Elementary  

For stickers, keychains, pencils, tote bags, mugs and more!

Personalized stickers, key tags, bookmarks and more!

Don't have time to cook ?  Show them you still care with: Award winning casual party appetizers

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