Teacher Appreciation Week is NEXT WEEK! Parents and guardians, this blog post is for you! Before I get started with the list of 10 FREE & CHEAP ways to show a teacher appreciation, allow me to provide one key (read: helpful, game-changing) suggestion:
Combine resources.
Parents, combine your resources. Your time, your money, your effort. Combine it. This allows for the biggest bang for your buck. Let’s look at the numbers:
Let’s say your child is one of 20 students in a classroom. If each parent is willing to contribute anywhere between $1-$10, that means you have at a minimum, $20 to shower your child’s teacher with love (and a maximum of $200)! This doesn’t even include the time or talents you can pull together from all of the parents to show acts of appreciation for your child’s teacher. What an impact you can make!
So, my first suggestion is to combine your resources. Request a parent/guardian list from your child’s teacher, and reach out with the idea of doing a group effort/gift. If other parents are on board, start brainstorming ways you can use your resources to love on your children’s teacher.
Alright, let’s get to the list:
10 FREE & CHEAP ways to show your child’s teacher appreciation:
1. Decorate classroom. Buy some simple decorations (you can even go with a theme, like tropical vacation), and decorate the teacher’s entire classroom, or simply decorate their classroom decor. You can even include sweet affirmations from students (past and present).
2. Teach a lesson/activity. Have a flexible schedule? Offer to come occupy your child’s teacher’s classroom for 30 minutes, so that the teacher can sit in the corner and grade papers, take a bathroom break that’s not rushed, enjoy a long lunch, or maybe take a power nap in the supply closet. 🙂 You could also simply come in to be a mystery reader. You can even have the teacher suggest or pick out a book and have it ready. All you need to do is show up and engage his/her students for a half-hour.
3. Offer to do paperwork. This can include making copies, prepping supplies for future lessons, or organizing graded papers. Send an email to your child’s teacher and let them know that you’d love to give an hour of your time to do administrative tasks. They’ll easily be able to come up with a list of things for you to knock out. And this can be done during school hours, before, or after. Just check with the teacher!
4. Order lunch. Not able to break away from work or other demands of the day? No problem. Order lunch from a local spot and have it delivered via a service like DoorDash.
5. Deliver flowers and a card. This can be done at any time! Attach a hand-written note of kindness to a bouquet of flowers, or a nice, low-maintenance plant. This will add some fresh beauty to any teacher’s classroom!
6. Bring coffee. Know your child’s teacher’s favorite coffee order? Grab it on your way to school drop off and deliver it with a smile. This is also a great thing to do in the afternoon. Everyone loves a good, caffeinated afternoon pick-me-up.
7. Gift office supplies. No one loves a good set of pens quite like a teacher. Make a gift basket with some fun, practical office supplies that every teacher needs (and usually buys with their own money).
8. Create an affirmation poster from students. You can either coordinate with parents of other children in the class or let this be the activity you do with the children when you volunteer your time (see idea#1).
9. Gift one of their favorite goodies. Show up with their favorite candy, snack, soda, a gift card to their favorite retail location, etc. Don’t know your child’s teacher’s favorites? Use one of the sheets linked here.
10. Start an online fundraiser. Teachers are always spending their own money on their students/classrooms. Even if your child’s teacher doesn’t need any more supplies for this year, she can always use the funds next year. Send the fundraiser details to coworkers, friends, family, etc., and see how much you can raise!
Now, remember my first suggestion up at the top? What if you could do ALL of these things for your child’s teacher during Teacher Appreciation Week?! That teacher would feel so loved and appreciated, and that’s what this coming week is all about!
Parents & guardians, I encourage you to really go the extra mile for the teachers in your life this year. They are so deserving of it!