How Do You Say Thanks to Teachers?
It’s that time of year again…the school year is nearing an end and summer break is right around the corner. Every year at this time, I rack my brain trying to come up with a unique AND affordable gift to present to my kiddo’s teachers. I struggle with finding a gift that my kid’s can participate in creating, but that is also something that their teachers will enjoy and appreciate. I have received many emails in the last few weeks from Hip2Save readers who are also trying to find ways to create a meaningful gift that won’t break the bank. Personally, I think that filling up a cute gift basket with different goodies (that I’ve snagged with coupons of course! 😉 ) makes a nice present, but that’s about where my creativity ends 🙁 . So I am asking all of you to share your ideas for how to create affordable yet meaningful gifts for teachers in the comment section below.
And for all of you teachers out there….THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! You are so valued and appreciated!!
perennials!! i am digging up some of my flowers that multiply lots and lots each year and giving those… that way their teachers can plant them and remember the kids every year… (i hope they actually put them in the ground!!!)
I am going to have my daughter help me make a mosaic flower pot for her teacher and put a flower in it. =)
This year for a gift for my son’s teacher each parent/student donated a $5 gift card (to anywhere they wanted) and then one person attached each card with a flower cutout onto a ‘stake’ and stuck it in a potted plant. The teacher loved the gift and got a nice collection of gift cards, plus it only cost each person $5! Check out the Family Fun website for instructions on how to put this together.
Do you have a link for this? I tried searching their site & so far no luck. What a cool idea though! 🙂 Thank you!
found the link for the potted plant and gift card stakes!
https://familyfun.go.com/crafts/gifts-from-the-whole-class-874514/
I think this is a great idea. you can also find those cute little “card holders” sometimes that would be a cute presentation for this. Thanks for sharing- I’m going to sugges this for my twins class 🙂
YES YES YES, as a teacher, this is a thoughtful and AWESOME idea!
PerfectI This is exactly the kind of gift I would love to receive.
LADYS FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DIDNT GET THE 6 KRAFT FIRST TASTE COUPONS THE FIRST TIME AROUND, CHECK YOUR ACCOUNT AGAIN. I JUST DID AND I GOT THEM!
Thank you soooo much!!!!
Hope you get them 2!
Former high school teacher here. . .
The best gifts are the handwritten notes that mention specifically something the child enjoyed or accomplished or offer thanks for helping with a particular struggle.
Plants are nice. A teacher with a green thumb has something nice to add to her home, a teacher without a green thumb can enjoy it for a little while anyway.
Something consumable is always nice; she can use it and doesn’t have to worry about finding a place to store it.
And about homemade goodies: we all appreciate the effort and the thought, but teachers, just like everyone else, may have to deal with food allergies, weight loss plans, specific diets for health reasons. We also can’t be sure about the conditions under which they were prepared. . . with clean hands? with cats wandering around the counters? Many teachers I’ve worked with at all levels will gush over how delicious the goodies look, and then discreetly toss them.
I am known for my canning and preserving at my school. My kids teachers ask for my apricot jam from my trees. I think it’s something you have to feel for yourself though. I only found out after trading jams with a family member in the parking lot when one jar was “stolen” from me by my son’s teacher. Normally I would completely agree with you. However, as a teacher, I always partook in the treats I received from my kids. It was never all that much, and a little cat hair never hurt anybody. I did, however, have the students share it with me. 😉
I teach 5th grade and agree… no thanks on the homemade goodies most of the time… and YES a little cat hair in my food would kill me. 🙂
I have always tried sending in some kind of plant. This year for Teacher Appreciation Week my youngest and I made some herb pots. I saved all the little butter bowls, poked some holes in the bottom. Add some good soil, Miracle Grow kind! I bought 3 packs of different kinds of herbs; this year we did basil, chives and mint. I covered the bowls with some artwork from my daughter. We paint and color alot, so I had lots of bright and colorful covers for the bowls. Using a glue gun made it easier and we even used toothpicks to make markers for each pot. They were ready in a week and the teachers loved them!
I gave up my job teaching so I could stay home and take care of my own kids. However, when I did teach elementary students, I got a variety of gifts and of course there are some better then others .
I won’t list the best or worst but one that stands out was a gift from the ‘students’. Each child gets a colorful piece of paper. (just a reg. 8 1/2 X11) Each child writes what they will miss about that teacher or grade. OR Something they will always remember that happened that year OR a Thank-You to the teacher b/c….. They can also draw a picture.
This can be something you send home with each child to work on OR you can go to the classroom and give the teacher a break while you have the kids work on this. (make sure you let the teacher know you are coming)
THEN put it together with a cover. Most schools have a binder machine that is free for you to use to make this ONE book.
This is a great keepsake of memories that the teacher will always remember!
You can get more creative with this and add pictures of the kids with each of their pages but that is just extra. This is CHEAP IF NOT FREE and is a great gift to say thank-you from the kids!
I actually have a few of these so if you want pictures or more ideas let me know.
Any gift or card that says Thank-You to a teacher is appreciated.
I think using the Target gift cards that we get for free for buying other products ( like this week the Kashi by 5 get $5) make great gifts. You can put $10 or $20 worth on one of the special occasion cards or even the Thank You cards Target has displayed all over the store and near the registers. This doesn’t cost anything and everyone loves Target.
As a teacher, I would love this gift. : )
I always give my childrens teachers a gift from Tervis Tumbler. If you guys are not familiar with the product head on over to their website, they have really cute things.They sell insulated cups and coffee mugs. I usually find out what their favorite color is and then order the 20oz tall cup with their name on it.You can even get lids and straws to go with them. Every teacher I have ever given this to raves about how much they love it. You can also purchase these at Bed Bath and Beyond with a 20% off coupon. However, I like to make it more personable by special ordering it with their name. I was a preschool teacher for several years and I recieved plenty of candles and body products, I know its the thought that counts but wouldn’t you rather them ENJOY the gift instead of giving it away because they already have too much of the same??Hope this helps!
Tervis Tumbler……the best!!!!!
This year I am giving teachers little first aid kits (free at Target with coupon!). I am decorating the outside with scrapbook paper and adding a tag that will read “Have a SAFE and FUN summer!” Then inside I am putting a card that will read “In recognition of you dedication to children, a donation has been made to Children’s Memorial Hospital in your honor” We recently had a little boy in our community pass away from an inoperable brain tumor, and he was a patient at Children’s. This gift is also in his honor.
For Teacher’s Appreciation Week, I brought my son’s teacher a plant with a handmade stake in it that read “It is not so much what is poured into a student, but what is planted by the teacher that really counts”. Last year I gave a plant to his preschool teachers with a note glued to a ruler that read “Thanks for helping me grow this year!” The ruler was then stuck in the plant.
Which first aid kits were free at Target? or did you make your own kits from the free things you got at Target?
Johnson & Johnson Travel Size First Aid Kits. Read Collin’s Target Sales
What an awesome idea. How creative?!?!?!
Some of the best gifts I have recieved from being a teacher were the homemade gifts. I loved the drawn pictures of things we did together and what the child enjoyed. I also loved getting potted plants. Flowers are beautiful, but when its potted, I got to enjoy it for so much longer. Also you could just get a 5.00 gift card to her favorite coffee shop, ice cream place, lunch time favorite. Even though its not much cost wise we appreciate it. Teachers don’t get paid nearly enough! (This is from the teacher perspective and greatful parent perspective.)
As an elementary teacher we get plenty of candles & Bath & Body Works. Of course gift cards are nice and you know will get used, even just $5 to Starbucks, ice cream place, Sonic, etc. If the teacher has a house and nice plant is good. I also enjoyed those food mixes (brownies, cookies, soups, etc) that come in a jar. I have received small scrap books with each child’s picture and a note from them. Those are nice.
If you go with a gift basket idea, do a theme. (Beach, gardening, 1st aid, end of the year relaxing/ destressing basket, cook out, scrapbooking, etc.) Those are always fun. Kids can help put them together and draw pictures that go with the theme.
I agree with the gift basket ideas! Think about all the Dove chocolate, Hersheys, and body washes and lotions we stock up on. Any teacher would love to unwind using the more expensive body washes and yummy chocolates! At least I would 🙂
As a former preschool/Kindergarten teacher, I will definately say that a thank you note is the best gift a child (or parent) can write and give! Also, the $5 giftcards are a great idea that doesn’t cost much, but is a nice treat (especially like to starbucks, sonic,ect!)
Gift baskets are great! Fill them with hand sanitizer, post it notes, sharpies, etc. etc. This stuff always gets used quickly!!
Ultimately, a teacher is not expecting anything as a gift, but it is always nice to feel appreciated!!
I’m a teacher, and I like thank you notes and gift cards.
But for a more creative approach, if your teacher has to buy her own teaching supplies and isn’t reimbursed for it (like I’m not), giving her supplies would be awesome! I would love to get a very small basket full of staples, highlighters, red ink pens, and chalk/dry erase marker. Just basically anything she uses to teach with and goes through frequently!
What a great idea. I love Hip2save and the readers ideas!!!
As a teacher, I love cute stickers and stamps!
This has been SUPER popular this year:
I am a Tastefully Simple Consultant–if you haven’t heard of us before, we sell unique & gourmet foods that require no more than 2 ingredients per product! What I have been doing with my neighbors & friends who need teacher gifts is this:
They host a party with me & then get items for FREE based on their party total. Then I have super cute poems that go along with different themes for our products, I give them them the poem, they print it on cute paper & have their child sign their name. Some of them have then had their child either draw a picture too or based on the child’s age, have them tell the parent some of their favorite memories from the school year. The parent then types it up & puts it on that same cute paper of the poem.
When it is all said & done, their gift is basically FREE other than the tax & shipping on the products & what it cost to get the cute paper!
The teachers love these gifts too because all the products are super yummy, easy, & good and work well with a busy schedule.
If anyone is interested in getting any of these products either by hosting a party or buying some of them separately & getting the poems from me, you can contact me thru email at: kharvey-tastefullys@comcast.net
P.S. The best part is that I have people do this all thru the year–As a welcome back to school year gift, Holiday present, Teacher Appreciation week, end of the school year, etc. They have even done it for bridal showers, etc. The best part is when you get the items totally for FREE from hosting the party! How smart & money conscious is that?!!
I love Tastefully Simple more than anyone can imagine! I need to find a hostess in my area!!
Yes! Beer bread rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks Donna & Tami! I think their stuff rocks too and that is why I started selling it in the first place! Donna-I sent you an email thru your blog–Can’t wait to hear back from you!
Tami-Do you have a Consultant that you use already? Otherwise if you send me an email to the one I listed in my post, I would love to share some of the benefits of having a taste-testing party or catalog party & give you my information if you would like to place an order.
Thanks again to both of you! 🙂
I’ll ditto what other former teachers have suggested–a simple thank you card. It means so much more than a mug, candy, or flowers ever will. 🙂
As a former teacher who is also married to an elementary teacher, I have to say the best gifts are gift cards. Even just for $5-10. We have dozens of mugs from students. I hate to get rid of things that were gifts, but at some point you have to. The gifts of “stuff” accumulate over the years.
A sentimental note with a practical gift card is the best way to go! Besides, teachers make squat PLUS they’re now facing salary cuts. So it is nice to be able to go out using gift cards after a long school year. 🙂
As a wife of an elementary school teacher, I agree. My husband loves gift cards to places like Target, Starbucks or Borders. Notes are nice and he (okay, the whole family) always loves baked goods, too! ( :
I work as a custodian for a large school district. I see many teachers throw away gifts that are hand made or just cheap things from drug stores. I know for a fact teachers love air freshners for their class rooms and smelly soaps from like bath and body works. Also gift cards are also really nice gifts. If you think about it teachers probably recieve a ton of gifts and if they kept every hand made thing or useless thing to them they would have way too much stuff!
That makes me sad to know they throw away hand made gifts.
I’m a teacher too. It is sad but necessary to throw out some things your students give you. Multipy 25-30 students by the number of years a teacher has been teaching, and that is a lot of stuff! It is impossible to keep all that without being a major packrat. I agree with the gift cards suggestion.
Awesome Ideas – I will keep this list for year’s to come. Thanks! We are finishing our first year of preschool and the moms are all contributing for one gift to the teacher. She enjoys camping with her family, so we have put together a beach bag, with sunscreen, insect repellent and the like along with a gift card to Target. Even if your teacher is not camper, a little summer beach bag is fun and usable along with the bonus gift card.
I will be using so many of the posted ideas for elementary ahead. Love hearing from the teachers – Thanks so much!
Fisher Price has cards you can print out (for younger kids) and have your child color. We printed a thank you card. I also wrote a thank you note to the teacher myself and got her some flowers (most Walmarts in GA have a dozen roses for $10). My son’s teacher loved it!
I’m making a photobook for our teacher. I’ve asked other parents to submit pictures. With all the great photobook deals out there, this is cheap or possibly free! It doesn’t take up much space, and I plan to include messages from the children. It allows parents who cannot afford to purchase a gift to still included in the “thank you.” Like so many others, I will include a $5 gift card. I’m not sure we can possibly show our teacher how much we appreciate her!
We also do a small gift card for our bus driver. I can’t tell you HOW thankful I am for her getting my children to and from school everyday!
I am planning on making some “Thank You” cards with all my scrapbook supplies. I bought a large box of white cards with envelopes (50 of them) for $4 at Joanns and I have 3 teachers to make them for. I bought a cute $1 Thank You stamp and I have a lot of school themed paper. I will probably cut everything out and then have my 5 year old help me glue and my 9 year old can help stamp. Tie it up with a ribbon and add a nice note!
We always get the small houseplants at Ikea (around $1.50), and one of the plain white ceramic pots at Ikea (around $1.50). I have the kids paint the pots, and they put the plants inside for a very cheap but lasting gift :o)
Check with your local “Books From Birth” Program, if you live in a state that participates in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. You can honor a teach by purchasing a year’s worth of books for a child for just under $15.00. This is what we did for our pre-school teachers this year. Here is the link for Middle Tennessee: https://www.vanderbiltchildrens.org/interior.php?mid=2735#honorthyteacher
My Mom is a first grade teacher. I know they appreciate stickers and things they can use for the classroom, like extra supplies and tissues. Gift cards for stores that specialize in educational supplies are always appreciated and needed.
I didn’t read all the comments so someone else may have mentioned this. We bought flowerpots for my kids to paint for their teachers. My daughter picked out a daisy to put in hers and my son picked some other flowers out for his two teachers. I think the teachers will appreciate the handpainted pots and enjoy the flower.
Colin…you should do what I am doing this year! I found drink dispensers on clearance at Walmart that I am filling with a container of Country Time lemonade and of course….LEMONS!:)
love IT!!!
As a teacher, I’ve always hated getting the many apple covered coffee mugs and apple related knick-knacks that everyone finds so cute. Just because I’m a teacher, I’m not required to like all things apple! Teachers are people just like everyone else. We like candy and gift cards and useful gifts!
I make bath bombs and am making a batch for my son’s teachers and principal. I try to stay away from “food” type items because I happen to notice that many of the faculty have diets they are trying to stay away from “treats”. My sister, who is a teacher, gets kind of tired of the “apple-themed” motif..though she appreciates the thought.
I taught preschool and I try to be very careful with my gifts. One year i didn’t have a lot of money to spend on my son’s preschool teacher so I repurposed a nice picture frame that i had, and my son drew a picture of him and his teacher and a little sunshine and the class turtle, and I scanned that into the computer and shrunk it down and printed it on bright yellow paper, I typed on a little dictated sentance > Mrs so and so i loved the book you read us about the silly bear, i loved singing christmas songs with you, i loved going on our feidl trip etc. I will miss you! and
then i had him watercolor with lots of vibrant colors and just fill a whole page, that was the Matting and I put the yellow paper with his drawing on top and put the whole thing in a frame, She never thanked me but If i had gotten it I would have Loved it!
Ok my first idea was a mosiac pot. But I saw someone already suggested that. I’ve used this for teacher gifts and Christmas gifts. I went to a local tile place and got some awesome colored tiles really cheap. Then I bought the pots at Home Depot. The girls enjoyed gluing different designs on the pots after I’d broken the tile pieces. Then I grouted the pots. You can add bulbs or plants if you like. I made a cute poem at Christmas with bulbs that bloomed a few months later.
Another great idea I’ve done is to make a cute, small scrapbook of different memories throughout the year. I left empty spaces for her to add her own pics later.
A handwritten card along with some handmade flowers from the kids….. There are so many gifts that people give to teachers but what they will most cherish and remember forever are the heartfelt words of how much they are appreciated and handmade gifts from the children!
As a teacher, I always liked the gift cards (as mentioned by many folks above). Things that can be used up, as opposed to thing that take up space (you really can only use so many coffeemugs). Or spoily stuff like baths salt, as long as they don’t have allergies! 🙂
However as a parent and a teacher, I would suggest art supplies or interesting thematic books that might tie into the years curriculum. If a bunch of parents go in on it and have the kids help, then the kids get SOOOO excited during the year when they see their gift used. And it really makes the lesson stick (like a book on Egyptian history or an anatomy coloring book or whatever your teacher teaches – you can get these big coffeetable books from Barnes and Noble on clearance or free with coupons)
I just read SOMEWHERE where teachers filled out a survey. They like thank you notes the best and gift cards next. No flowers; they have enough to do. Nothing with teacher on it; they have enough. No body wash, lotions, candles; they have tons. =( I’m only relaying what I read somewhere.
I am thinking about making a wall hanging size quilt with plain white or muslin squares for the kids to decorate. The center of the quilt will have “Mrs. _____ Room _____ 2010” and the name of the school. The kids could do hand prints or write with fabric markers. Can be hung in the room or used as a throw,
One of the best gifts was a bookmark with a thank you note from a parent of a 5th grader that said “My child came home each day and told me about what you read aloud today. Thank you for sharing that love of reading with my child.” It still gives me that warm fuzzy feeling becuase it shows that I have done my job of sharing the love of learning with a student.
i’m a teacher, and i’d say classroom needs (pencils, paper, crayons etc) are great, and can be found for really good deals sometimes. also good are the random incidentals you might need-tissues, bandaids, things like that.
books are always always a good choice.
doing some sort of homemade relaxation thing can be nice (i’ve gotten homemade bath salts, in a decorated baby food jar)
stationary is nice (especially so you have something to write thank yous on for the nice gifts!) you can do something like buy blank cards and let the kids decorate the front
doing a plant in a planter the kids decorate is cute.
as much as we do love baked goods, it can get to be overkill on the last day!
a gift basket with a theme can be cute too-do a teacher survival one and put in hand sanitizer, and painkillers 🙂
the very best thing though is getting notes/cards/letters from kids and their families letting the teacher know how special they are. we really do love it, and when we get a good one we always love to show it off, and to save it!
some schools no longer allow homemade gifts so check before you expend your time/energy….some of the best and most memorable gifts I received:
*a picture of me and the child in a “talking” frame w/ his recorded little voice saying thank you for everything, I love you and have a happy summer. Still have it – and it STILL makes me smile.
*a pitcher filled with lemons – to make lemonade – pitcher’s can plastic – to – crystal and be purchased on sale and will be used over and over.
*donate a book (or a few) to the school library in your child’s teacher’s name (include a tag!)
*”what I love about you” or my “favorite (family) recipe collection” if you have time to get everyone to participate including pictures of each child on each page
*gift cards are ALWAYS amazing – from Walmart to the local ‘education’ store to the ice cream place
this one was observed but it was probably the best gift ever…
*a 6th grade class got a silver charm gift catalog priced $3 and up – each child chose/ordered a charm of their choice for a memory or a favorite thing and included an extra $1-$2 (so it was up to the family how much they spent and could “cover” those children who are often unable to participate) – and the home room teachers purchased the bracelet (with the extra money given) and had all the charms put on. That teacher loves her bracelet – and it has lots of memories included for that year’s “graduating” class.
hope that helped for this year and years to come!
After Christmas, Expressionary.com had a 70% sale with free shipping. I took advantage of this and 50 ordered personalized note cards for my daughters teacher for a total of $12 and 25 personalized note cards for her priniciple for $6.
As a Kindergarten teacher, I love hand written notes. I love to decipher the words. One of my favorite gifts was a child’s favorite recipe and a basket with the ingredients to make the meal. use those coupons to fill the basket or bag. Now every time I see him, I think about the delicious sun-dried pasta meal I had for dinner.
I always pushed people to give a little money towards gift cards from the whole class – costs little and it’s something all people can use.
Having taught middle school for ten years before becoming a SAHM, I would have to say that the homemade crafty type gifts were often among my favorites. I have been out of the classroom for six years now, and I still have some of those thoughtful gifts around my house. They often bring a smile to my face as I remember specific classes and students that I had taught in the past.
(: Plants were always nice, too—except that I don’t have a green thumb.
I LOVE the personalized note cards idea!!! Way to go, Gayla!!!
I have a few suggestions… Two weeks ago we attended the Lowes Build and Grow workshop. It’s a free workshop where kids can build a wood project themselves. The theme was teacher appreciation and my kids built a little wooden school house with a roof lid that opens to store supplies. We went to the Dollar Tree store near our home and bought cute little teaching supplies to fill the insides of the school houses. I also sent a picture of each of my children when they were building the houses. Although the workshop is over… teacher appreciation is always celebrated towards the end of April and it Lowes will probably do a similar themed work shop next year.
As a reward during the school year, my daughter got to eat lunch with her teacher. She came home and told me that Mr. S. had Chili and Cornbread. So I decided to go with a western chili and cornbread theme. At Safeway I bought a bottle of old fashioned root beer with a picture of a cowboy on it… as well as a box of chili mix (also south western looking with a cowboy on it). I bought a bandanna at Wal-mart for $1and wrapped a bag of homemade cornbread mix (dry ingredients only) and tied it shut with jute. I made a little “wanted” note (for the fresh ingredient – eggs, milk & oil) with baking instructions for the cornbread. I found a cowboy hat at the dollar store that I placed all the ingredients in to present to her teacher with a thank you note. Her teacher loved it and was seen wearing his cowboy hat later in the day. The gift only cost a total of $7.
For both of my sons teachers, I did a pancake theme gift. Dollar Tree has some very nice Betty Crocker utensils currently. I picked up a mixing bowl with pouring spout / handle, a nice hand towel, Betty Crocker silicone double ended mixing spatula and a flat slotted turning spatula. I placed dry pancake mix in a baggie and wrapped it in some coordinating Homespun fabric that I tied shut with mixing/cooking instructions. All the supplies where in a matching red / white color. The gifts did not cost over $5-6.
I forgot to mention… the kiddos can help in several ways. They can write the notes… pick the colors / themes… and help make the dry ingredients that go in the gift packages.
As a teacher I appreciate any little thing. Just the fact that the families think about me makes me feel special. But honestly some of my favorite things are a little snack gift (drink, snacks, gum, anything to throw into a drawer) or cute little notepads with cute pens. We teacher always need something to write with and on, so why not make it cute!
I got my gifts from the dollar bins at Target. I got each teacher a garden trowel, tomato plant starter, soil pods and a flower pot. Now that I think back, I wish I had gotten my daughter to decorate the flower pot. We also included a personalized card, but the whole gift didn’t cost $5! I also saw some WONDERFUL bath sets by Dove and Caress in the clearance section of toiletries for less than $8. They were a GREAT snag, and I’m sure the teachers would love a little pampering at the end of the year.
my son-in-law teacher just received gift cards for local fast food restaurants and also for a local store that makes their school logo items – i think he really liked those gifts.
The most awesome gift my daughter’s class gave their teacher was a (series) of photographs framed to spell “TEACH”. By laying small groups of kids on the ground in the shape of each letter, every child was able to be part of the word. We found a frame with 5 4×6 spaces, and VOILA! Whenever we have school Open House, the kids have to make a stop in her room to say “hi” and see if she can find them in the picture … then she marvels on how much they’ve grown.
What perfect timing for this post! My son’s last day of preschool is tomorrow and it just hit me today, ” I need to get something to say thanks to the teachers!”. What great ideas! I was going to run to the store but ended up using some things I already had here. I printed Thank You cards from Fisher Price (https://www.fisher-price.com/us/printcards) for my son to color (as read in the comments here, thank you!). Then we made little bird feeders using pine cones, wrapped with a strand of twine (for hanging), smeared with peanut butter and rolled in bird seed. We made these one year for Mother’s Day gifts and the kids love doing it because they get a little messy and stick. They end up looking so cute and can be hung in a tree or where ever.
My daughter has 2 teachers, as well as a speech pathologist, Occupational therapist, and class aide–so I have to keep it inexpensive.
This year, I purchased bags of flower bulbs–Our park district digs up and sells them each year from the spring–so they’re the really high quality type that they use on our local Riverwalk. I only paid $1 for a dozen bulbs and I bought like 10 dozen. We put them in plastic bags with a photo of the flower blooming and planting instructions. I used some scrap floral fabric from around the house and made little fabric bags to set this inside and tied them with a ribbon. My daughter made cards where she traced her hand and made it into a flower and wrote thank you on them.
My stand-by gift is a movie voucher and a homemade card. Everyone goes to the movies over the summer, right?!
When my kids were in elm school I would take a clay pot and write Ms. SoSo 1st grade class of 2009-2010. Then let all the kids sign the pot with paint markers. Teachers that had my older boys then my daughter would ask if they were getting a pot.