Teacher Gifts

Ok, parents. As the school year wraps up, you may want to get a little "thank you!" gift for your child's teachers. It's a great idea! Teachers love a physical reminder of your gratitude. However, not all gifts are created equal. All gifts are gratefully accepted, but if you want to give the type of gift that will help them feel the most encouraged, check out this list.


What Teachers Don't Want
Coffee Mugs - While teachers love their coffee, you might be surprised how many coffee mugs they already own. Normally coffee mugs are a great generic gift, but it's likely that your teacher's cabinets are already overflowing. Skip the mug. (I will say, I once received a customized Tervis mug that I DID love. It was personalized and perfect for school. Because I'm in charge of this list, I exempt that one. ☺️)

MLM Products - If you sell make-up or micro cloths or fizzy drinks in a side hustle, good for you. It's great you can help your family in this way, but when you present them as a gift (especially with a business card), it feels like a low-key sales pitch under the guise of thanks. Skip the MLM products for teacher gifts.

Shelf Items/Decor - I know, the stuffed bear that says "You are a BEAR-y good teacher" is pretty adorable. The "Best Teacher Ever" sign made with crayons is a treasure! These things are given with so much thoughtfulness, but teachers are usually working with limited space. The knick-knacks add up quickly and they can't display one student's gift and not another! Instead of adding to the clutter, help preserve their precious shelf space.


What Teachers Might or Might Not Want
Scented Items - I personally loved candles and scented lotions, but I knew of some teachers that had sensitive noses. Make sure you know the teacher well enough before presenting something aromatic.

Alcohol - While wine can make a very thoughtful gift, I have known enough teachers that didn't or couldn't drink and the sweet sentiment was lost. If you aren't sure if the teacher enjoys liquor, it might be better to skip the spirits.

Sweet and Treats - Some teachers love homemade or purchased treats. Who doesn't love chocolate? However, when treats start coming in from teachers with 70+ students... it can be a little overwhelming.


What Teachers Do Want
Gifts Cards - Starbucks, Amazon, Target, etc. They don't take up space and contribute to that coffee treat they can't afford to indulge in too often or give a little boost at the end of a year. Gift cards might seem impersonal, but they are always a much-enjoyed item.

Useful Classroom Items - Broad, I know, but hear me out. I used the same lanyard every day and the wear and tear quickly became evident. One of the parents noticed and went and bought me a beautiful Vera Bradley lanyard to replace it. It was beautiful and meant the world that she noticed a need and acted. Nice pens seem to disappear and I always appreciated some new ones. When you look around your child's classroom, you might be astonished to know how much of it came out of the teacher's pocket. Having those things replenished was always a wonderful gift.

The #1 requested item from teachers:
A Personal Note - Most teachers go through extra years of education, long hours, bureaucratic red tape, and low pay for one thing- they love making a difference. They love your kids! The job is tiring and thankless and to have a note from a student or a parent telling them how much they meant gives them more joy than you can imagine. These are the gifts that are kept, treasured, and cried over. Take the time to write and deliver a note letting them know they made a difference. You won't believe how much it means to them.

Teachers, do you disagree with anything on my list? What items would you recategorize?

Parents, have you given anything that your child's teacher loved that I forgot to mention? Please drop any more ideas in the comments!



Keeping Students Engaged in June



You can see it coming. The end-of-the-year glaze over your student's eyes is hard to break through.

They're dreaming of summer. (And honestly, so are you!) But you would do anything to just keep their attention long enough to get through the last few lessons.

Are we professionals? Absolutely. Are we above bribery? Absolutely not.

I used to keep a bag of Dove Chocolates in my cabinet for the last month of school. (I claimed they were just for the kids... but they made a great planning hour snack!) Sometimes I kept fancy pencils or stickers or colorful pens on hand. Some small little prizes can bring your classroom's attention back!



Here's a great game you can play to keep your students attention through an end-of-the-year lesson. Tell your kids you have a few buzzwords for the day that you write on the board. (Think of words that won't slip out accidentally, like "congressional, butterfly, minion," etc.) Write them into your lecture so they are sprinkled throughout. Whenever the students hear one of the buzzwords, they have to be the first to yell out "buzzword!" or whatever word you pick and they get a prize/piece of candy/pencil, etc.

Help keep their minds engaged and ears perked up with this fun little buzzword game!

Hang in there, teachers! Summer is so close!

Need more End of the Year game ideas? Check out my activity!




Should Your Students Be Watching Speeches?





What are some good examples of informative speaking?

When I was in the classroom, I loved to show my students examples of good speeches. It helps improve your student's listening skills and helps them see what they're trying to aim for. And if you can combine that with speeches full of good information to learn, then it's even better!

If you want your students to also be writing while watching speeches, there are a lot of good resources out there. This one is my personal favorite, from TeachersPayTeachers author Laura Randazzo. Check it out!

Here are a few of my favorite speeches. You can even tell the students to watch these at home!


Title
URL
Time
The Math Behind Basketball’s Wildest Moves
12:08
A Simpler Way to Break A Bad Habit*
9:24
The Amazing Story of the Man Who Gave Us Modern Pain Relief*
13:51
*does contain one swear word

If you only have time for one, the first one is my all-time favorite and my students loved learning from it!


Let your students watch speeches! It will only make them stronger speakers themselves.

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