How can parents, and the community at large, show their appreciation for teachers in this crazy school year of 2020? With just a few weeks to go before the much anticipated Winter Break, be sure to remember those teachers who have stepped up this year to one of the most challenging school years in their career.
I did some searching for ideas and first found this site: www.ediblearrangements.com. Teachers would absolutely love these yummy chocolate covered fruits and fresh-baked cookies. The choices are a bit pricy, but are beautifully arranged into bouquets and decorative trays. These would make great gifts for any teacher, principal, or other school employee that deserves a special treat.
If you tend to navigate to more artsy, handmade gifts, check out www.naturallife.com, and search “teacher gifts”. They sell what they call “Happy Boxes” full of all kinds of little treasures like bracelets, face coverings, stationery and stickers, etc. They also sell candles, keychains, apparel, and stocking stuffers.
A site called “Over the Moon” has some really fun gifts for teachers like the “Netflix Binge Watch” Basket, the “Book Lovers” gift basket, or the small Bundt Cake gift box in really cute packaging. You’ll have fun scrolling through this site looking for ideas.
We all know teachers also love gift cards to their favorite eateries, coffee shops, book stores, or teacher supply stores. One gift you may not think of this year is a gift card to a site that sells creative digital lesson plans. This year, teachers all over the country are searching for lesson plans they can put online for their digital classrooms. And as we know, teachers, especially new teachers, are not the highest paid professionals. They spend what they have, but have a limit to what they can purchase for their classrooms. Consider buying a gift certificate to a site like ampeduplearning.com. This site has merchandise for teachers as well as many lesson plans for every subject and grade level. Teacherspayteachers.com is another popular site for teacher lesson plans. Both sites offer digital games, escape rooms, and interactive lessons students love.
And then, of course, the most cherished gift that teachers will love and remember for years, is a handmade gift from students or creative parents. One of my favorites is a large red, stuffed apple that each of my 4th grade students signed in permanent marker more than 20 years ago. I’ve also been given hand-made ornaments, handmade photo frames, and a decorated mason jar of dry ingredients to make chicken soup. So don’t forget your favorite teachers, teacher friends, principals, and other school employees who have stepped up this year to meet the increased demands of teaching in the 2020 school year. I know it will be greatly appreciated!