As most of you know, I was a teacher before deciding to take some time off to raise my daughter. I loved my job, and fully intend on getting back to the classroom someday. However, in the meantime, I want to make sure my daughter’s teachers know how appreciated they are by our family.
Most teachers don’t do it for the money! And if they do it for the money, I want to know what district they are working for 😉 I loved teaching because I felt like I was making a difference. When I was finally able to help a child understand something that they had been struggling with for a while, their accomplishment was also my accomplishment. I loved being creative and getting to teach students through alternative teaching styles and helping them to become better communicators. Some days in the classroom felt magical when everything fell into place!
Yet, that is NOT how everyday goes! There are days where your lessons fall apart, students have behavior problems, or you literally get puked on! Yes, these are the realities of being in the classroom. So besides loving your job most of the time, and feeling like you are making a difference, what else makes a teacher happy?
Random surprises!
I always loved when parents would send in a little note of appreciation or gift to show that they recognized the time you spent with their child. Now I am not saying teachers are looking for an expensive gift or an over the top gesture. Just something little that shows you recognize their efforts and appreciate their dedication.
This week I sent my daughter’s teacher and the assistant in the class a small pumpkin spice candle with a note attached saying “Thanks for helping me FALL in love with learning”. I got the candles from Target for $3 each. This was just a small token of appreciation, but my daughter’s teacher told me it made her day! Below I will attach the gift tags that I created if you want to so something similar for your child’s teacher!
Have you ever thought to send a small gift to a teacher on a random day? Most of us know when Teacher Appreciation Week is, but I love little gifts just because!