A very happy teacher appreciation week to all educators! Teachers deserve far more than a week’s celebration, but setting aside this designated week gives parents and PTOs an opportunity to pool resources and volunteers and recognize teachers for all they do.
At our elementary school, we do something every day this week (schedule here). My favorite days are always You’ve Got Mail, where we ask students to write a homemade appreciation card, and a Thanks for Helping Us Grow day where students bring in seeds or potted plants. These can be planted at school or home.
There are many, many great ideas out there for celebrating teachers. Here’s a quick roundup of some I found:
Some spiffy scissors for teachers who are “A Cut Above the Rest”
A delicious chocolate bundt cake recipe with cute You Take The Cake gift tags
Beautiful handmade bookmarks . I’m not much of a seamstress, but I think I could pull these off!
“No Matter How You Spell It, Our Teachers Rock!” Show your school’s teachers that you mean it with these Scrabble-style letter tiles. Print on card stock, then cut out the letters and spell out each teacher’s name. Decorate a bulletin board with the names crisscrossing at shared letters.
PTO Today has loads of ideas in their Teacher Appreciation file share section The clever ideas include personalized stickers for highlighters and a “prescription label” for M&Ms that cures what ails teachers.
However you choose to do it, please take a moment this week to thank a teacher in your life. Simple gestures mean so much.
About the Author
Along with her background as a professor, researcher, writer, and teacher, Joanne Meier is a mom. Join Joanne as she shares her experiences raising her own young readers, and guides parents and teachers on the best practices in reading.
Publication Date
May 2, 2011