Teacher Appreciation Week Celebration
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Teacher Appreciation Week is coming very soon. This year, we’ll celebrate from the week of May 3rd to May 7th. I feel that celebrating this week with the teachers is more important than any other year. This has been a terrible year, full of fear, frustration, insecurities, and many other emotions that the pandemic has brought us.
Many teachers have been working extremely hard, trying to reach their students online or using a hybrid format, having to wear masks, which make your breathing harder and make it difficult to see if you wear glasses, but more importantly, going the extra mile trying to reach those students that have difficulties learning without direct contact with their teachers, that don’t have the technology to support their learning or the knowledge to use it.
How can a parent, a co-worker, or a director express his or her gratitude to those human beings that are so dedicated and full of love for their students?
Being a preschool director, I have seen how hard my teachers have worked this year. We never closed the school, but I will not lie when I say it’s been extremely difficult and scary, especially because we mainly serve direct responders at a big hospital, where hundreds of COVID-19 patients have been treated and died.
Because of this, I want to address preschool teachers and parents directly and share some gift ideas I have used in the past, plus new free printables I just created, hoping they’ll help you celebrate this important week and maybe make your job a little easier.
Gift Ideas
Teacher’s Planning Books
I know there are hundreds of planning books out there; nevertheless, I wanted to create two unique ones as a gift for these special educators during the Teacher Appreciation Celebration. You can print them out and put the sheets in a binder or use a spiral to bind them together.
You can find more complete and sophisticated Teacher’s Planners HERE.
Binder Covers
If you are anything like me, you will want your binders to look pretty. With that in mind, I’ve created eight really pretty, feminine binder covers with spines. Print your favorites and use them as you wish.
Teacher’s Appreciation “Thank You” Tree
Since we are not allowing adults inside the classroom as part of the COVID-19 protocol we have put in place, we decided to make a giant “thank you” tree in our school’s lobby and offer parents construction paper leaves where they can write a “thank you” note to their child’s teacher and place it on the tree. At the end of the week, I’m going to make a laminated collage for each teacher with her notes.
Another related idea is the one I did two years ago. I made a banner that said “Our Teachers Are Awesome Because…” and put it in the front lobby. Then I made a collage with the teachers’ pictures of each classroom, laminated them, and placed them under the banner. I offered parents different colors of sticky notes so they could write little messages to their children’s teachers. It came out really nice. At the end of the week, I made printed sheets titled “An Awesome Teacher,” added a picture of each teacher and her messages, laminated each sheet, and gave them to the teachers. They loved it!
To make it easier, I created three different FREE versions of the banner. You can find the link under the pictures. One is blank so you can print it in any color you want; the second version is in bright colors, and the last version uses Spring color patterns. Print your favorite set on cardstock, punch two small holes in each tag, add a ribbon, and hang it.
Celebration Schedule
Every year, I create a special activity schedule to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week and encourage parent participation. This is this year’s schedule. Maybe you will find an idea you can use.
Teacher’s Planner
For teachers who prefer a simpler planner, I created one that might be useful. Print as many copies of the pages as you might need or want and put them in a binder, or use a spiral to bind them together.
“Thank You” Poem
Last year I created a printable for my teachers as part of the presents I got for them. I printed different ones for each of them and framed them. Then I wrapped them in pretty paper with a big bow and gave them to them. They loved the printables, and those frames are still hanging in some of the classrooms or home offices.
Today, I want to bring them back as a gift to you. If your teacher is teaching remotely and you cannot reach them, you can email it to your child’s teacher as a “thank you” note for their hard work.
The poem comes in two versions, English and Spanish, for your convenience. Unfortunately, since I only have female preschool teachers, the Spanish version is for female teachers only (I know, I’m not trying to discriminate. I promise I will translate them for male teachers too). Click the link to the version you want to download.
Inspirational Message
The year before last, I also created a printable with an inspirational message that I read somewhere. I use 19 different backgrounds, thinking that a teacher can change them every month and holiday for a refreshing look.
This year, I wanted to bring it back and share it with you. Just click the link below and print your favorites. You can print them on cardstock and laminate them to preserve them, but I suggest framing them. That way, you can easily change them whenever you want a fresh look.
Mini Fairy Garden
This is another little gift I have made for my teachers. One year I made these mini fairy gardens in a wine glass. Since I like to personalize my gifts, I asked each teacher for their favorite color, and I covered half of each wine glass with glitter in that color. Then I used the glass as the pot for my mini fairy garden. Unfortunately, it’s been a few years since I did it, and I don’t have pictures, but I have a wine glass I did the same way, and I took a couple of pictures to give you an idea of what these pretty glasses look like.
The only thing left to do is to plant the little fairy garden inside. If you don’t know how to do it, you can find instructions on how to make fairy gardens HERE.
Fairy gardens are very easy to make and fairly inexpensive if you make them small. The best part is that everybody likes them, so you won’t be wrong if you use them as a gift. These are some ideas you can use.
If you want something simpler, you can give your teachers a succulent planted in a mini terracotta pot. You can paint the pot any color you want and add a little bow with a silk ribbon, just like the ones below. You can find the instructions on how to make them HERE.
The final touch for any of these mini gardens is to add a little tag with a message and your child’s name, like one of these. They are FREE for you. Just click on the link below and choose your favorite one.
Ribbon Decorated Soap
After so many years in Education, I have to come up with different ideas every year. One of those years, I decided to ask each of my teachers what their bathroom color was, and I made ribbon-decorated soaps for each of them, as decoration for their bathrooms, just like this one:
They can be a little pricey, but I feel it’s worth it since they are different and you cannot find them anywhere. You can find the instructions on how to make them HERE.
A Final Note
To my staff and all the teachers out there, I want to tell you how much I appreciate your hard work and dedication during this past year. You have worked so hard without complaining and being terrified by this terrible virus.
We have seen how many hundreds of people have come to our hospital, and how many of them have not been able to come out alive, yet you continued giving your all to our little preschoolers, so full of love. I cannot be more proud of you all.
My last gift for you is a collection of FREE quotes for teachers. You make a difference every day, one child at a time. Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!
Parents, please take a moment to show your child’s teacher your appreciation, even if it’s just with a “Thank You” note. They deserve it, and sometimes we forget that they also need to hear how much we appreciate them, just as they do with your children. Please give them some love.
I sincerely hope that this coming year is a different and better one and that these ideas bring a little smile to all teachers. I hope you enjoy your special week.
Be happy, safe, and creative. I wish you well.
Love,
P.S. I would love for you to tell me if you like any of these ideas or if you think I should modify them. Also, if you need something more specific for your classroom, please let me know. I would love to help in any way I can.
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