Home Teacher Appreciation Day

[NovemberBride]

Teacher Appreciation Day is coming up on May 4th and I am trying to decide what to do for the teachers at my DD''s daycare. There are 6 or 7 teachers in her room (4 at a time, but they work in shifts throughout the day so that the teacher there at 7 am is not also there at 6 pm). I was thinking of getting $25 gift cards to Target as well as bring in some kind of treat, but wanted to hear from other moms as to what is customary or appropriate since I am new to this. I know gift cards are impersonal, but I really don''t know them that well to choose a more personal gift and I figure they would rather have that than 50 teacher coffee mugs or paper pads.

 

[lili]

The parents in DD''s daycare pooled together and got each teacher a box of chocolate and giftcards.

 

[packrat]

Last year London gave her Preschool teachers bath lotions and washes. This year her Kindergarten teacher got a teacher picture frame. (and then I saw in Dear Abby or someplace a teacher wrote in w/suggestions *not* to give: bath stuff and picture frames etc. ha! For Teacher Appreciation Day (which I only heard about a couple weeks ago!) London is giving her a magnet from Etsy made from a recycled tin can lid that has an old timey picture of a not very amused woman behind a desk and it says "You can''t scare me-I teach". I don''t think there''s anything wrong w/gift cards, fwiw!

 

[swingirl]

Is this now customary? 6-7 daycare providers at $25 each? I always thought "teacher appreciation" was for credentialed teachers K-12. Our school PTA puts on a luncheon but I never imagined that it has become a gift-giving day. Oh well, times have changed. I am glad this wasn''t customary years ago. With a couple kids in school, six teachers each, it could get expensive.

 

[Lanie]

I''m a teacher and gift cards are The Best! I always love getting them. Target, barnes and noble, or even better, spa finder gift cards!

 

[NovemberBride]

Swingirl,

I am not sure if it''s customary and it''s certainly not required, but all of the moms I know do something for daycare providers for teacher appreciation day. I am happy to do it, these women take excellent care of my daughter and knowing that she is in good hands allows me to go to work everyday without worrying about my daughter''s wellbeing. $25 per teacher is a comfortable amount for me to spend, but I am sure many parents spend much less and the gifts are just as appreciated.

 

[Haven]

Date: 4/20/2010 8:15:36 PM
Author: Lanie
I''m a teacher and gift cards are The Best! I always love getting them. Target, barnes and noble, or even better, spa finder gift cards!

Agreed! I''m a teacher, too, and I love gift cards.

The best gifts I ever got were from the children of artists. My favorite is a journal that a student''s mom made--she pressed the paper herself, bound the book, and created the cover. It was amazing. I was also given some amazing blown glass pieces from a student whose father was, you guessed it, a glass artist.

Other than super cool unique gifts, gift cards are the best. Chocolate never hurts, either.

With so many teachers, I''d probably give an edible gift of chocolate or homemade baked goods. The expense can really pile up with gift cards.

 

[PinkTower]

I am a teacher, and our handbook states that teachers are not to be given gifts. For teacher appreciation day, we are given a luncheon and usually a photo/scrapbook with notes from the children. I think that while $25 per teacher might be manageable for some parents, it might not be for others.
Still, I always give little gifts to my own children''s teachers. I usually give Starbucks gift cards.

 

[Kay]

For Teacher Appreciation Day and Christmas I give DD''s day care teachers each a $25 Target gift card. Last Christmas, I ended up buying them for 8 teachers because DD "graduated" from the infant room to the 1 year old room at the end of October. Her care givers in the infant room took great care of her for her first ten months at day care, so I wanted to give them something even though DD was no longer in their room. I also felt I needed to give gifts to her new teachers, especially since I am sometimes a few minutes late picking her up.