[odenata]

Seeing these other threads makes me wonder how many people do this. Frankly, I hadn't thought about doing it until seeing them.

Do you give a gift? Why or why not? Do most people at your dc's school?

 

[cosmos]

My kids go to a very small school and we live in a remote area, so I also socialize with my kids teachers. I (my kids) give them small gifts because there is a professional relationship that I appreciate and feel needs to be acknowledged.

 

[Ruthla]

The PTA does a "class gift" and asks all the parents to contribute money to it (of course this is optional.) So I voted "other" because I don't give individual gifts to the teachers, but I don't ignore them at holiday time either.

 

[jeca]

I don't think most at the school gift but we do.

 

[cedoreilly]

I don't necessarily give a gift to the teacher as much as I have the kids give a "gift to the classroom". I do it to say to the teachers, "I appreciate what you are doing and here is something to help you out."

 

[Katie Bugs Mama]

We give DD's main teacher a largish gift and then her other teachers a little something. For example, this year we're giving her classroom teacher this figurine and her French, science, art, gym, and music teachers small boxes of Trader Joe's truffles. If we have time, I'm hoping to have her make small clay ornaments to go on the packages instead of bows.

Last year, when I was the class parent, I also collected money from each family to buy the teacher a Visa gift card as a group gift. Some families weren't able to contribute anything and others gave as much as $20. The gift was from everyone, regardless of ability to pay.

 

[eepster]

Most of the schools in our area have a no gift policy. We live in a very culturally diverse area, and students and teacher belong to many different faiths. Though many people around here do celebrate either Christmas or Chanukah there are many who don't (like DH who is a Buddhist.)

 

[ChristaN]

At what point do you stop doing the gift thing? For instance, we've always done something small for the kids' homeroom teacher in elementary, but usually not for all of the "specials" teachers b/c it was too expensive with that many teachers. My oldest is in middle school this year -- 6th grade -- and has 8 teachers plus the GT coordinator who has put in a lot of time working with us. I cannot buy gifts for 9 people and I suspect that dd would be embarrassed to bring in a bunch of stuff. Do you do gifts for middle school teachers, too?

 

[Drummer's Wife]

I plan to but I don't think it's really expected

eta: and I don't think I will do so in say middle school or high school where they have multiple teachers.

 

[Heavenly]

This is my kid's first year in school so I haven't had this experience yet but this year I plan to give a gift to their main teacher (they are in a split 1/2 class so same teacher). They also have a French teacher, PE teacher, Music teacher and Art teacher but I don't think I will give gifts to all those people. We don't have a lot of money. But I do want to acknowledge the main teacher, she is amazing. My son has special needs and she really works with him to help him be successful.

 

[Llyra]

Most of the kids in DD1's preschool class last year gave really extravagant gifts to the teacher, like in the $50 and up range, and that's for each teacher when there's two in the classroom. I was shocked when I found out. I can't afford that, not even close. So I pulled DD out of school a few days early before the holidays, to avoid the issue altogether. I still haven't decided what we'll do this year.

 

[Altair]

I don't expect to get gifts, but the majority of my parents do get me a gift. I don't really have enough space to store all of the decorations/mugs/figures I end up getting, so most of those I end up having to get rid of or donate. And I get SO many bath/body type items I don't really get to use them either. Gift cards are great! I usually spend a lot buying things for the classroom, so it's nice to get some money to spend on it.

 

[SAHDS]

Yes.

Mine have always had such amazing teachers ad I know them well (I volunteer in class a ton). I figure they have my LO for 6 hours a day, teaching them and taking great care of them. For DS's class, I'm a room parent and we're collecting money for a larger gift. I haven't heard of anything from DD's class yet. If they don't collect, we'll just do a gift. I think it's nice to bring goodies to the library teacher, the PE teacher, music teacher and office staff. Plus, DS has a few specialists that work with him so I'll add them in too.

 

[straighthaircurly]

I always give a gift at some point in the year. Sometimes at the holidays or sometimes at the end of the year. One school requested that we not give a gift to the teacher directly but instead contributed a book to the school.

I generally make the gift. This year will be homemade jam and a journal that I made by doing a "scrapbook" type cover on a composition notebook. I give because I enjoy the process, not because I feel obligated. I would estimate that about 60-70% of families give gifts. I suspect this year will be lower at DS school because of the economic profile of his district.

BTW I used to be a teacher and I never expected gifts from my kids. Many gave them and I enjoyed them but I never tracked who gave and who did not. It had NO effect on how I viewed that child or family throughout the year.

 

[straighthaircurly]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChristaN At what point do you stop doing the gift thing? For instance, we've always done something small for the kids' homeroom teacher in elementary, but usually not for all of the "specials" teachers b/c it was too expensive with that many teachers. My oldest is in middle school this year -- 6th grade -- and has 8 teachers plus the GT coordinator who has put in a lot of time working with us. I cannot buy gifts for 9 people and I suspect that dd would be embarrassed to bring in a bunch of stuff. Do you do gifts for middle school teachers, too?

I would not do gifts for individual teachers. Instead I would send a card to each, thanking them for their work. Then at a different time of the year I would bring in some homemade yummies to put in the teacher's lounge with a general thank you.