It's Always Autumn

creative tutorials for everyday life

  • Holidays
  • Holidays
    • back to school
    • birthdays
    • Christmas
    • Easter
    • Halloween
    • July 4th
    • Mother’s Day/Father’s Day
    • teacher appreciation
    • Thanksgiving
    • Valentine’s
  • Crafts
  • Crafts
    • crafts + DIY
    • handmade gifts
    • photo crafts
    • kid crafts + activities
  • Recipes
  • Recipes
    • bread
    • dessert
    • main dish
    • side dish
  • Sewing
  • Sewing
    • free sewing patterns
    • sewing for women
    • sewing for kids
    • how to sew
    • gifts
  • Photography
  • Photography
    • beginning photography tips
    • posing tips
    • photo editing tips
  • Tips
  • Tips
    • parenting tips
    • travel tips
    • books I love
  • FAQ

holidays teacher appreciation
April 29, 2019

The VERY BEST teacher appreciation gift idea

In today’s post: Looking for a teacher appreciation gift your kid’s teacher will really appreciate? This inexpensive idea is the very best gift you can give a teacher!

It’s fun to browse Pinterest looking for cute teacher gifts for teacher appreciation week, but the cute ideas aren’t always practical and the cost can get prohibitive. There’s one gift I’ve found that is MORE appreciated by teachers than anything else, and the good news is that it doesn’t cost a thing. Many teachers will tell you that the best gift they’ve ever received is a thank you note from you and your child. So write your child’s teacher a note, and then go one step further to make it the best teacher appreciation gift ever: write a short letter to the school principal telling him or her just how amazing your child’s teacher is. This way the teacher feels appreciated AND her boss knows she’s doing a great job.

what a fantastic idea! the best cheap, easy teacher gift ever: a letter to the school principal telling why your child's teacher is amazing. I'm going to do this! The post has some good ideas for things to include in the letter.

I’ll admit, I don’t write letters to the principal every year. But when one of my children has had a teacher that went the extra mile to help him, I want that teacher’s boss to know, and I want my appreciation reflected in that teacher’s employment file. Writing a letter takes less time than finding a cute printable, and it might have a positive impact on the teacher’s career – that’s going to last longer than any treat or trinket I could give.

The first time I had the idea to write a letter like this I wasn’t quite sure what to say. “This teacher is awesome” didn’t seem like it would cut it. So I spent a few minutes brainstorming the things I most appreciated about my son’s teacher and jotted them down. Then it was easy to write a few short paragraphs describing why I thought this teacher was awesome. I delivered a copy of the letter to the principal, and included a copy in a thank you note I wrote to the teacher so she’d be able to read what I had written as well. Turns out the principal was so impressed by the letter that she read it to the entire school staff at their end of year meeting.

To help you know where to start if you want to write a letter to the principal, I’ve included some prompts below. Try to include specific details (I appreciated the effort he made to find books that were appealing to my reluctant reader) instead of generalities (he’s just great). If there were struggles, mention the ways in which the teacher helped. Remember, your letter doesn’t need to be long. Two paragraphs with a few sentences each are plenty to convey the reasons you especially appreciate this teacher.

what a fantastic idea! the best cheap, easy teacher gift ever: a letter to the school principal telling why your child's teacher is amazing. I'm going to do this! The post has some good ideas for things to include in the letter.

Prompts:

  • Ask your child why she liked her teacher and what projects or assignments she liked best.
  • What did the teacher do to connect with your child? (praised artwork, suggested books to read, asked child to be a special helper, set effective limits and consequences, etc.)
  • How did the teacher make learning fun? (games used to teach multiplication, songs to learn geography, special activities based around books the class is reading, class performances, etc)
  • How did the teacher help your child when he or she struggled? (one-on-one reading time, peer tutoring, encouragement, personalized attention or discipline plan)
  • What classroom management skills did the teacher display? (keeping the students quiet and on task, helping the students stay organized, using parent helpers effectively)
  • What personality traits make him a great teacher? (calm, friendly, encouraging, inspiring, caring, excited about teaching, able to convey a love of learning)
  • What did she do that showed a willingness to help? (extra time spent after class, personal contributions to class library, etc.)
  • How did the teacher communicate with you? (responsive to concerns, quick to reply to emails, willing to involve parent in decisions regarding discipline)

Use these prompts to jot down a few things you noticed and appreciated about your child’s teacher this year, then put them together in a short letter to the principal. It’s quick, easy, cheap (free!), and just might turn out to be the best gift your child’s teacher has ever received.

And if you want to include something fun as well, check out these 20 ideas for cute AND practical teacher appreciation gifts or these fun ways to give gift cards to teachers.

 

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Print

Home » holidays » The VERY BEST teacher appreciation gift idea


12 Comments

free email series

NO FAIL CRAFTS + RECIPES

Get my favorite EASY craft and recipe ideas straight to your inbox!

« The Everyday Dress sewing pattern + tutorial
How to make an Explosion Box {cheap, unique DIY gift idea!} »

Comments

  1. Linda says

    April 24, 2015 at 7:21 am

    GREAT idea! I sure hope more people do this!

    Reply
  2. MAria says

    April 24, 2015 at 8:29 am

    I had read this someplace else. I am planning to do it for all of their teachers, past and present.

    Reply
    • Linda Altman says

      April 30, 2019 at 7:47 am

      As a teacher, I thank you! While I love getting a gift card to a nice restaurant (something that teachers can’t really afford for themselves), The letters I have received over the years are my most treasured gifts. Many parents over the years have written with kudos of appreciation and I have kept each of them, but the best one was the one that went directly to the Principal.

      Several years ago, the Principal asked me to stop by and gave me a copy of a letter from a parent. In the letter she thanked me specifically for helping her child overcome her tendency to be the “star of the show” and for teaching her how to study for a test.

      The specifics in the letter were (and are) so precious to me. Thank you for putting this out there!

      Reply
  3. Lara says

    April 24, 2015 at 2:03 pm

    That’s a great idea, however for me this year not such a great idea. While I love my daughter’s assigned teacher (he’s not taken an admin position and the class has a long term sub), I can’t stand the principal. yes I’ve written a looong letter to the principal before (or rather the head of the school) but it was not a nice one.

    Reply
  4. Kristin Bergthold says

    June 16, 2015 at 11:49 am

    I just wanted to say thanks for this idea. I’ve always written small notes to the teachers, but never to the principal (mostly because I haven’t had cause to) but this year has been amazing, and this is the perfect way to express that to them. Thanks girl!

    Reply
  5. Suzanne says

    April 29, 2018 at 12:36 pm

    Thank you for the prompts. Sometimes starting is just so hard but these get the juices flowing.

    Reply
  6. Coco Gifts says

    July 20, 2019 at 3:57 am

    When you are buying any gift for Teachers, it must reflect gratitude, love, and respect. This blog is very helpful for those who are looking for Gifts Online. It helped me a lot and thanks for share such a valuable post.

    Reply
  7. cannabis seeds says

    March 10, 2020 at 12:29 am

    Amazing idea! Thanks for post!!!

    Reply
  8. lottoalotto says

    July 7, 2020 at 5:36 am

    Amazing idea! Thanks for post!

    Reply
  9. friv 2020 says

    July 8, 2020 at 4:54 am

    I’ve read your entire information that you stocks in your article and I must say I love it. Many thanks for writing this post. I appreciate it.

    Reply
  10. southy bilsum says

    October 31, 2020 at 2:16 pm

    teachers are our second parents they love to teach us and wish that we coukd become a good person. A professional teacher always do a good careof his students. so A good gift should be given. Gift should be memorable to teacher

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. A+ Ideas for Teacher Appreciation Week says:
    April 28, 2017 at 5:26 pm

    […] your own parent letter of appreciation and sharing it with the principal. (Not sure how to start? This blog post can […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Hey, glad you’re here!

I'm Autumn, a mom of five who loves ice cream, Masterpiece Theatre, and clothes that hide the fact that I eat so much ice cream. When I was 18 I got a job at a craft store and told everyone (regularly) how much I hated crafts. Well, things change! Read More…

Find me here

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

free email series

NO FAIL CRAFTS + RECIPES

Get my favorite craft + recipe ideas straight to your inbox!

Popular Posts

101 fun activities that kids can do at home list on a colorful striped background

101 Fun + Easy Activities kids can do AT HOME

50 easy crafts and activities kids can do indoors! Perfect for cold or rainy days.

50 best indoor activities for kids: easy crafts + games

Gorgeous art projects for kids! Easy art that turns out amazing.

20 easy art projects for kids that turn out AMAZING!

How to make GORGEOUS paper flowers

How to make mini donuts! {baked cake mix donuts recipe}

Blog policy

All posts and pictures are copyrighted by Autumn Baldwin and blog content may not be reposted elsewhere. However, linking back to my content is just fine. You may use one photo as long as you link directly back to the specific post. Thank you!

Please view our Privacy Policy here.

Also, please note that this blog is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Copyright © 2021 · Divine theme by Restored 316192.168.1.1 router login

Copyright © 2021 · Divine Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

free email series

NO-FAIL CRAFTS + RECIPES

Get my favorite EASY craft + recipe ideas straight to your inbox!

x