Holiday Gifts for Teachers

Some of us get so wrapped up with all the excitement of Christmas we may forget about the teachers in our children's lives. There is nothing more rewarding to a teacher than a great gift from one of their students. Here are some great gifts you and your child can give that special teacher in their life.

What I've Learned Collage:
Step One: Help your child write a list of things that particular teacher has taught them. For example: How to multiply, How to count in Spanish, What the capital of the states are, etc...

Step Two: Search in magazines, newspapers, and on the internet for pictures that describe the things your child has on the their list. For example: a picture of the a multiplication problem, a picture of the United States, etc... Cut out the pictures you have found.

Step Three: Cut a piece of poster paper to an 11 by 13 inch size.

Step Four: At the top of the poster paper have your child write the title of the project: "What I Learned From (insert teacher's name)" Leave a blank space at the bottom of the poster paper for the next step. After the title is written, begin gluing the pictures you and your child selected. Beside each picture, let your child write what lesson they learned that goes with that particular picture. You can also add other pictures onto the collage that may remind your child of that teacher.

Step Five: At the bottom of the collage, glue a small picture of your child. Have you child sign their name beside the picture. They can also choose to write a short thank you note to that teacher.

Step Six. Mount the collage into a picture frame.

Add creativity to the project by allowing your child to use different colors of marker, crayons, pens or color pencils. Outline the pictures with glitter. Frame the picture with construction paper. Let you child draw pictures throughout the collage.

Classroom Recipe Book:
Assemble all the mothers of children that are in your child's classroom. Ask them to help you create this project. Ask the mothers to bring a copy of their favorite recipes hand written by their child. Ask the mothers to glue a picture of their child at the top of the page. Assemble all the pages together inside a decorative photo album. Allow all the participates to sign their names and write a special message on the inside covers of the book.

Teacher's Basket:
Assemble a gift basket filled with items that can be used in the classroom. Suggestions of items: construction paper, pencils, markers, printer paper, colored pencils, highlighters, snack foods, paper clips, glue, handy wipes, kleenex, erasers, etc..If your budget allows, include a gift card to an office supply store. I gave one of these baskets to my son's fifth grade teacher. He was very excited to see all the useful goodies that I had included in the basket.

Ask the other parents to participate in a book drive. Call other parents from your child's class. Ask them to donate new and used books for your child's class. Gather all the books before Christmas vacation. Wrap the books with Christmas paper. Select Christmas cards for the children to sign and place inside the gift box with the book. This is a great gift that will help the teacher, the school, and the students in the future.

If your closet is filled with old board games and cards that are never used, consider gifting them to your child's teacher to use in the classroom. This is a great way to clean out your clutter and donate it to a useful cause. Make sure all the game pieces and cards are still in the boxes and that the board games are in good condition.

Ask a few other parents to help you with the cost of purchasing a gift card for a Spa Day. Check local Spa's in your area for prices of massages, manicures, pedicures, facials, etc. Wrap a soft bath robe and slippers in a package. Place the gift card inside a Christmas card signed by all the students and parents that contributed.

The suggestions listed above are all wonderful ideas to help show your appreciation to a special teacher in you child's life. Remember teachers love gifts that are useful. If necessary ask the teacher for a list of things they may need in their classroom.