holiday gift for preschool teacher?

[Taradactyl3]

My 3 year old goes to two day a week co-op preschool at my church. Since it's co-op I help out every 5 weeks or so. I want to give a gift to his teacher but I keep reading mixed ideas. Some say give gift cards, some say food, some say homemade gifts. What have you guys had success with?

T

[blizzard_babe]

I can only reply as a teacher... THIS teacher would appreciate a six-pack of good beer and a new copy of the fifth Harry Potter #5 (mine has mysteriously gone missing). Well, not the beer so much this year, since I'm all pregnant and stuff (and I'm joking anyway since bringing beer to school is inappropriate in so many ways...). But my point is... find something that matches the teacher's interests.

It's like buying a gift for anyone else, really. A "good idea" for one person is totally different than a "good idea" for the teacher in the next classroom. Does she come in every morning with a big mug of coffee? Maybe a bag of really good whole bean coffee or a gift certificate/card to a local coffee shop. Does she knit in her free time? Run? Sew? Have dogs? Like Thai food? Homemade, gift card, food, etc... they're all equally great options if they match the personality/interests of the person you're buying for.

[MomInCalifornia]

When I was teaching I always was so appreciative of the gift cards parents gave me at the holidays.

Since my salary all went to basic nessesities it was really nice to be able to spluge on fancy coffee, a nice restaurant, a manicure etc.

If you know the teacher is a coffee drinker a gift card to Starbucks, Pete's or a great local shop would be appreciated and can be useful in even smaller ammounts.

No matter what you end up giving, a nice card is always great. Having parents tell me what their children loved about school, or how they had seen their child grow, or what they appreciated about me was such a wonderful treat. If you love the teacher, let him or her know! Even better, let the director know too!

Now, since I am no longer teaching and have a child also at a co-op preschool here is what I'm doing...

I emailed the other families and mentioned that if anyone would like to contribute to a group gift for the teachers, I would be happy to organize it. People love this idea because a little bit from each family can go a long way. We don't set ammounts or anything, people can contribute what ever they want and anyone can sign the card. No pressure on anyone. All the money collected gets split equally betwen the teacing staff and we purchase gift cards for each of them to their favorite places.

[greeny]

I think we're going to get gift cards for dd's teachers. I'd love to find something specific to each teacher, but the truth is that I don't know them well enough, and I'd like to get them something they can use (like a Border's gift card, that anyone can enjoy no matter what her interests).

[RufusBeans]

I buying the preschool teachers each a gas card. I would love to do something more specific, but I don't know if they like coffee or if they are diabetic or whatever.

[Evan&Anna's_Mom]

I always do book store gift cards. If they don't like books, they can always do music or movies or even just the coffee bar. And really, what teacher doesn't like to read, and might like something more interesting than preschool picture books?

[jackaroosmom]

I still have all of the cards that parents took the time to write and show their appreciation. Those heartfelt words mean so much! And after teaching for 15 years, I only have maybe 10 of them! Most parents don't take the time.

I always enjoyed Starbucks gift cards too!

FYI -I never enjoyed getting Apple for the Teacher themed gifts!:

[jackaroosmom]

One more thing. Once, the parents got together and pulled money to send me to the spa! I could choose a facial or massage. I really felt appreciated that year!

[`guest`]

I am doing gift cards, I figure most teachers aren't millionaires, so they can buy themselves something nice. Once I got my son's teacher whom I adored a really nice orchid plant.

I always write cards thanking them and appreciating them. Teaching is a challengin job which takes a special kind of person, IMO.

[Hannahsmummy]

Originally Posted by blizzard_babe

It's like buying a gift for anyone else, really. A "good idea" for one person is totally different than a "good idea" for the teacher in the next classroom. Does she come in every morning with a big mug of coffee? Maybe a bag of really good whole bean coffee or a gift certificate/card to a local coffee shop. Does she knit in her free time? Run? Sew? Have dogs? Like Thai food? Homemade, gift card, food, etc... they're all equally great options if they match the personality/interests of the person you're buying for.

I totally agree with this. It's like buying a gift for any other person, get something appropriate to the person. Though I can appreciate that many parents don't get to know the teacher that well. We are going to give our kinde teacher some nice tea and have my daughter paint a mug to go along with it.

Originally Posted by jackaroosmom

I still have all of the cards that parents took the time to write and show their appreciation. Those heartfelt words mean so much! And after teaching for 15 years, I only have maybe 10 of them! Most parents don't take the time.

Wow! Is that true? I would have thought it was a given that a parent would write a nice note of appreciation.

[splotchy1]

Curious how much you have all done on gift cards. My son has a main teacher, 3 assistant teachers, and two speech therapists. i'd like to do something for them all, but that's a lot of money on gift cards. I want to do Border's Gift Crds, but can't decide on an amount!

[Maluhia]

I'd split the amounts based on how much time each week each teacher spends with your child - the most to the teacher he sees the most and down the line from there.

Mine has a teacher and an assistant - they are both wonderful and there all the time so they will get equal gifts from me. Being in Hawaii with insane gas prices the gas card thing might work out great!

[chinaKat]

DD and I planted paperwhite bulbs for her preschool teachers, they ought to be blooming right about the time we give them as gifts...