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It’s the time of year when many of us are bustling around to find just the right gifts for the teachers, caregivers and kids in our life. Here are some ideas I’ve come across that you may find useful:

Choice ’s 5th Annual Gifts for Literacy Geeks (opens in a new window) includes things like heavy mental onesies (opens in a new window) for all you AC/DC fans that is pretty darn cute, and a link to instructions for making a literary clock (opens in a new window) out of favorite books.

An idea for grandparents and neighbors who have young readers on their list: Consider putting together a family literacy bag! Our Snowy Day Reading Adventure Pack kit includes two books, free downloadable parent information, a hands-on craft project and bookmarks! We’ve got other Reading Adventure Packs too, and everything besides the books is available free from our website.

I always look at the Parents’ Choice Holiday Gift Guide (opens in a new window) because they review books, games, DVDs, websites and more. This year they have a new interactive Gift Finder iPhone app (opens in a new window) which makes it really easy to bring the guide along shopping!

Another handy guide, our own 2010 Holiday Buying Guide. We all know books make the best gifts, and our guide helps you learn new titles for kids 0-9.

Zahra Baig, a teacher at a Montessori School, wrote her gift ideas in Beyond Gift Cards: A Teacher’s Holiday Wish List (opens in a new window) that can be summed up by “presence, as well as presents.” Her wish list includes for parents to attend parent nights and parent-teacher conferences. “Stocking stuffers” include keeping TV watching to a minimum, packing healthier lunches and encouraging physical exercise.

Gift cards and donations to local charities as teacher gifts are common ideas around our school this year. What teacher gifts do you give? What do you like to receive?

About the Author

Joanne Meier has more than 20 years of experience in the field of education, including serving on the faculty at the University of Virginia for six years where she trained reading specialists and future classroom teachers. Dr. Meier was Reading Rockets’ research-to-practice consultant from 2002 to 2014, where she wrote the Page by Page (opens in a new window) blog — sharing best practices in supporting young readers at home and in the classroom.

Publication Date
December 9, 2010

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