Teacher Appreciation

There are many tough jobs in our world, some that require a tremendous amount of physical strength, some that use every available brain cell, and some that stretch us beyond what we think we can do, such is the case of teachers.  These dedicated people spend time working with our most prized possessions, our children.  Teachers must work with all types of personalities, moods, home situations, income levels, learning abilities, and more, making this a difficult but also very rewarding profession.

Too often, teachers are taken for granted and unfortunately, sometimes unappreciated for all the hard work they do.  After all, teachers are highly trained and educated to help mold not only children’s minds but also to deal with occasional situations that might include molestation, abuse, and poverty.  We need to applaud our teachers and one way of doing that is by giving back.

Acts of appreciation do not have to be elaborate or expensive but even small or homemade items would be welcomed more than you will ever know.  If your child has a special teacher, someone who has shown true interest in teaching a classroom or kids, then take time to let him or her know that you notice.  While parents can certainly send handwritten notes of thank you or perhaps give a dinner or theater gift certificate for Christmas, the type of appreciate the teacher would love most would be something from your child.

One option would be to sit down with your child and depending on his or her age, help in making a card.  This might include using colored paper that has been adorned.  If the teacher is male, someone who enjoys sports, then you could use small items to glue onto the card or decorate it with paintings of sports.  If the teacher is female, then you can never go wrong with flowers.  In this case, a simple note that has dried flowers glued on would make her day.

For a special occassion, you and your child could put a cookie jar together, which is a Mason type of jar filled with all the needed ingredients (minus milk and eggs) for making delicious, homemade cookies.  Simply attach a bow on top and include the recipe card.  When the teacher has a little down time, he or she can make cookies that were simply a gift of appreciation.

See Also:

Teaching Kids to Give
Teaching Children About Random Acts of Kindness