Teacher appreciation week ideas

[SnuggleBuggles]

I would love to hear some good (and not so good!) ideas for celebrating teacher appreciation week in May. I am trying to come up with a list for our school and am researching it now. I would especially love to hear from teachers what they like. It'd be interesting to hear if there was something that didn't go over well too.

Thanks!!
Beth

[kcimato]

Our PTA gives us a luncheon one day. We all love it. It sure beat cafeteria food or lunches brought from home.

[BabyMine]

I am on the Committee this year and our theme is Hollywood. I went to Macys, Dillards, Bare Minerals, and other stores and they are donating gift baskets and goodies to give to the teachers. We raffle the baskets off during one of the days. Another mother contacted Publix (grocery store), and they are donating food for a teacher lunch.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I am on the Committee this year and out theme is Hollywood. I went to Macys, Dillards, Bare Minerals, and other stores and they are donating gift baskets and goodies to give to the teachers. We raffle the baskets off during one of the days. Another mother contacted Publix (grocery store), and they are donating food for a teacher lunch.

Cool idea! I'll put that down for next year as there is usually a pretty long turn around with corporate donations. But, I will also suggest it at this week's meeting and see if anyone has some connections.


We have a luncheon planned. We will also give all staff something. I am encouraging room parents to do something class specific too.

Beth

[Cam&Clay]

Here are a few things I've experienced over the years...


Lunch and/or breakfast
Candy treats in our mailboxes each day
Flowers brought in by the students
Special messages from the students
One of the best was when they had a massage therapist come in and give us each 10 minute massages in those massage chairs. Heaven!
Treats at lunchtime: one day we had chips & salsa and virgin margaritas, one day baked potatoes with a bar, one day make your-own-sundaes, etc.
Drawings for gift cards, gift baskets, or even "free time" provided by the principal
In my county, the students leave early on Mondays. A few times, Outback Steakhouse provided lunch to our staff for free.

[randomkid]

I am on our Parent Educator board and this is what we have planned for the week:
1. Flowers from the children - we will have buckets of flowers in the lobby and each child picks 2 (one for each teacher in the class). Each teacher will have an empty vase in the classroom. By the time all of the children have come in, the teacher will have a nice bouquet of roses to take home. Getting them wholesale.
2. Coffee and bagels for breakfast - trying to get this donated
3. Beautiful 2 layer decorated cake that one of the Moms on the board will make. Fresh fruit bowl for those watching their diets/weight.
4. Child project. We will provide each child with 2 pieces of cardstock (again, one for each teacher). They are to decorate it anyway they want and we are asking that they put a picture of themselves on each one. Each one will be placed in a sheet protector, then they will be bound and each teacher will get their own "book" of artwork from their class
5. Catered lunch from Jason's Deli - getting a discounted rate due to it being a school - couldn't swing a free lunch, unfortunately.

We may also have chair massages - that will likely be the day that we give the teachers their art "book". We are still trying to make arrangements for that and will depend on cost. I'm trying to get some services donated or steeply discounted.

I know this seems like a lot and honestly, I was trying to make the week more simple. However, I was out voted and everyone else wants to do something everyday of the week. I feel like lunch, flowers and a gift from the children would be plenty. We have to take care of all the expenses as our director is VERY against asking parents for monetary or gift contributions to the teachers. If parents wish to do this on their own, that's fine, but we are not allowed to ask for anything. We have fundraisers throughout the year to cover the cost of events like this.

[nmosur]

Giving the teachers a day off (with management approval). Parents substitute for the teachers without getting paid. This by far has been the most appreciated "gift".

[sariana]

When I was teaching, food was always appreciated!

A staff lunch is nice, or breakfast in the teachers' lounge. Once we even had lunch at a local restaurant.

Notes from the students are a great idea, too, but someone should make sure to "preview" them.

[ourbabygirl]

Wow, let me first just say thanks, on behalf of all teachers, to SnuggleBuggles and others of you who do so much to thank us teachers! You guys go way above and beyond; wish I could teach at your kids' schools!
I taught at the hs level, and we never had a parents' committee do anything for us (that would have been nice, though!), but instead our student council plans the week each year. They generally do the same thing each year, and each day is the same. One day is usually bagels and cream cheese in the teachers office before school- we basically all just grab and go since everyone's so busy & has to run to class. They put a box of theater-sized subject-related candy in our mailboxes in the main office... for world language teachers it was always Hot Tamales; math I think got DOTS (Difference of Two Squares); English I think got Oh Henry! bars; and there were other cute & creative ones for other subjects- Phy.Ed., Social Studies, etc. I always wished I taught a subject that they gave chocolate to! :wink2: Another day we got ice cream sundaes in the teachers' office during lunch time (make your own but w/fun toppings). One day they had a student-council run car wash down by one of the athletic fields, but we often had rainy weather and it wouldn't go. If it would have, though, I would have been ALL OVER that! Oh, and one year they painted a bunch of stones (to be paperweights, I guess) and wrote our names on them (Mrs. Johnson, you ROCK!)... that was kind of cute! I think that's about it.
ETA: Oh, and they also made posters saying thanks to us teachers and had them upstairs and downstairs in the teachers' office, with the kids' names.

[Karenn]

Our teachers usually get one meal/treat a day during teacher appreciation week. There's a bagel day and a soup day and a few other days that I can't remember. A favorite when I was teaching was an espresso truck that the parents hired to come to school and give the teachers free lattes before school.