8 Great Ways to Show Appreciation to Your Child's Teacher

Many children attending school benefit from having a dedicated and closely involved teacher. Most students appreciate those great teachers and show it by displaying an eagerness to learn more. They are also eager to share what they have learned. Many parents are impressed and excited when their children return home from school with bright smiles and stories of learning and fun. They take pride in watching their child succeed and grow. It is important for parents to become involved and take an interest in their child's academic life. When the child is raving about his or her wonderful teacher who reads the best stories or taught him or her something new, the parents should listen. It is a great opportunity for the parents to teach their child how to show gratitude and appreciation. They can also show appreciation for their child's teacher themselves. There are many ways that parents can show their child's teacher that they appreciate his or her positive impact on their child's life. By involving their child in the process, the parents are also teaching the child that it is important to show appreciation to the people that help them. Here are some great ideas to show your child's teacher that he or she is appreciated and special.

1. The best way to keep your child involved is to have them create their own card. After speaking with several teachers, they all agreed that this was the most cherished and heartfelt gift they could receive. You can include the handcrafted card with every gift on this list. You can take some construction paper or a small piece of poster board of your child's choice of color and fold it in half to create a card. Let them draw on the front or cut out shapes from different colored construction paper and glue them on. Let them get creative! After it is decorated, encourage to write their own personal note to their teacher. Give them a start if they need it and ask them why their teacher is special.

*If your little one's handwriting consists of squiggly lines that don't exactly translate to letters, you could ask them to read the letter to you and include a translation on the back of the card or on a little note accompanying it. The teacher will appreciate that piece of memorabilia.

2. Teachers are always in need of supplies and can never seem to get enough. In most cases, teachers will be given a small budget to cover classroom expenses and any additional supplies have to be at the teacher's personal expense. A great gift for a teacher is school supplies. You can fashion a very appealing school supplies themed gift basket without spending a great deal of money. You can find a cute small sized bucket or bin to place your goodies in. Your local dollar themed store or office store should carry something like this. Any container will due. Choose something that can perhaps be used to store something in the classroom like scissors, pens, papers, etc. You can fill it with any supplies you choose. Dry eraser markers and erasers are great gifts to include in your basket. You can find "sticky notes" shaped like apples or just plain ones at any office, dollar, or drug store. Stickers and goodies are always good to include as well. Teachers often give children incentives to learn by providing rewards. Think about the list of supplies you had to buy for your child upon starting the school year. Any of that material can be useful to a teacher. After you have chosen all of your goodies, you can arrange them in your container and wrap the top with a colored cellophane, add some tissue paper, or leave it as is.

3. Candles are a great gift for anyone. Chose a soft scent such as vanilla or apple cinnamon. A nice way to present the gift of candles is to accompany them with an elegantly designed pack of napkins. You can find them at dollar, department, grocery, and drug stores. This is a great gift for the holiday seasons. You can find many seasonal napkins in reds and greens with pretty designs. Two packs of napkins with the candles looks very nice together and makes a wonderful gift. You can give this gift at anytime using a napkin setting with floral or other designs instead of the holiday theme. You could also add a ribbon or put them in a basket and add your own personal final touch. Your child's teacher will definitely appreciate it.

4. A gift certificate is always a great gift for anyone if you are short of time or unsure what to get. A place like Target, Wal-Mart, or a bookstore would be a nice gesture. The amount is up to you but teachers do not expect you to go overboard so do not feel pressured about the dollar amount. The simple thought is rewarding as it is.

5. A tin of cookies, chocolates, or popcorn can make a wonderful gift. You can find them at almost any store that carries food items. These are great to give during any time of year and always appreciated.

6. A nice coffee mug or set of two is a nice way to show a teacher you care. They don't have to have #1 Teacher printed across them. You can select a plain classy style with maybe some type of design and perhaps a saucer. You can choose either tea or coffee when choosing what to accompany your tea cups or coffee mugs with. You can choose to add an assortment of flavored teas or an individual sized coffee bag to your gift. You can also get a small jar of honey to go with the tea assortment or a flavored powdered creamer for the coffee arrangement. Either way, this is a lovely gift.

*You may also choose to use a hot cocoa mix instead of tea or coffee.

7. A nice stationary or notepad is a great gift idea as well. You could find a matching pen set to compliment the paper. You could also include a nice calendar or pocket planner.

8. An often forgotten but great gift to give is a good book or CD. You can always give a good book to read or books that can be used in the classroom. You could choose a nice bookmark to go along with the book you choose. You could also give an audio CD. Holidays are a great time to gift CD's since you will be able to find plenty to choose from full of timeless holiday classics that can be shared with the classroom and listened to for years to come.

Any way that you choose to show your child's teacher that you appreciate them will be well received. The teacher will most definitely appreciate your gratitude and acknowledgement. It is nice to put a smile on someone's face who has made a difference in your life. If your child has a teacher who is making a difference in their life, make sure to let that teacher know he or she is appreciated.