I don't know why I'm so tired tonight, but I am, and the computer screen is looking a little blurry, which is probably a signal that I ought to get some sleep already!
It seems like the right time of year to link back to the post I wrote about teacher gifts a while back. My dilemma this year is that Harper has a fair number of people who work in her classroom. When I was a teacher I always noticed which families (if they gave gifts at all) thought to include some of the teachers who are on the periphery of things; the music teacher, gym teacher, etc. Harper has a main classroom teacher, an assistant, and another assistant who travels between the two preschool classrooms. There is also a speech therapist who regularly works with her class. So all four of those women will get a little something, with the biggest/nicest gift going to her main classroom teacher since she is the one who does all the planning and most of the behind the scenes work. There may be other people who work with the children from time to time, but I think I've covered my bases. I will be sending a note of thanks to the school nurse who really helped us, especially at the beginning of the year, to make sure we had everything in place for handling Harper's peanut allergy.
I think the most important part of any teacher gift is a sincere note of thanks - especially the way things are right now I don't think any teachers are expecting any kind of extravagant gifts! It is always a little hit or miss anyway, whether you get a teacher something he or she really likes. The kind words from parents and students are what truly stand out in my mind. I like to have Harper dictate thank you notes - she doesn't need much guidance in this department anymore and I get a kick out of what she thinks to say. A couple of people sent her money for her birthday and most of those thank you notes said she was saving up to buy a horse friend for Rebound!
I'm going to head to bed before I go blind over here - don't forget to enter the holiday music giveaway, if you're interested in holiday music that is, you have two days left!
4 comments:
I truly love it when the classroom mother organizes a gift. This year, she asked us all to give $15. That will end up being a $50 Visa gift card for each of his 3 classroom teachers, and a $25 Visa gift card each for the Music, Computer, and Gym teacher. Then we are going to do a fancy card made with the kids' handprints to go with the gift cards. It is just lovely to spend only $15 and the teachers get a really substantial gift. Especially when there are so many teachers.
i love that you have harper take part in what the noets say. that way it wont be hard when she has to write them herself, she'll already have an idea as to how to do it. and i guess we never gave teachers anything 'way back when' --there was never any money for anything, let alone to go to a teacher who gets paid for their job. not that i'm saying its wrong, i think its great that you do it and i bet the teachers love having harper in their class, i just wonder how many people actually do it... curious..
I'm entering the giveaway for Christmas music! Pick me, Kelsey! My 22 week old fetus LOVES Christmas music. ;-)
Sounds like you all are enjoying this time of year. I can hardly believe that next year we'll be sharing the Holidays w/our son or daughter. How awesome!
Hope you all are well.
Nan
I love the thank you note idea. By far, I would rather have a thank you from a student or parent than a "teacher-themed" mug or some little knick knack. I know you wrote about this last year. I save thank you notes from students and parents. I read them when I'm feeling down or feeling like I'm not reaching students. Some of them still make me cry when I read them. (I teach high school.) I once had a student thank me for talking to him about his excessive drinking habits (he was a senior). He said it made him step back and think about what he was doing and where he was heading. I bet Harper's thank you notes aren't like this. But a sincere thank you letter is worth more than you ever could imagine.
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