Who spends the most time with your children besides you?  Their teachers!  Think about it.  Whether you have kids in elementary school, middle school or high school, your children are spending hours each day learning from their teachers.

National Teacher Day is coming up May 8 and it’s also getting close to the end of the school year. End of year appreciation luncheons, class parties and teacher appreciation weeks are all coming up in just a few weeks. It’s time to start preparing now.  

On Monday I contacted the assistant teacher in my son’s classroom to find out what is his teacher’s favorite restaurant or department store for a gift certificate (coffee shop, movie ticket, spa, or bookstore gift certificates are also popular).  I pulled up my trusty end of school year letter for the parents of the kids in his class asking them to donate to a class gift.  Then I stopped by Office Depot on the way home from getting my son at the bus stop to get some envelopes and paper. 

After printing all the copies I needed and with just a few licks on the envelopes, I had letters ready for each parent giving them a two week deadline to respond.  I also spoke to my son’s teacher to find out what the assistant teacher might like.  His teacher is new this year and I don’t think she’d have made it without her helper.  Truth is, assistant teachers fill in lots of gaps and deserve our thanks as well.

You can tell that my son is in elementary school since I only have to deal with two teachers and one classroom.  I like giving gift cards but it gets too expensive to do that once your child has six or more teachers in middle or high school, especially since you can’t call on a set group of other parents to chip in.  So, what do you do?  Well, there are still plenty of ideas out there, some of which are things you can make yourself at a very low cost.  

From bookmarks to reusable cups filled with candy or pencils, there are plenty of smaller gifts you can give if you have lots of teachers for whom to buy.  Those who are crafty always give the most personal gifts because they can put the teacher’s name on the gift, too, which most teachers love.

Get your child involved in the appreciation on a personal note, too. Even if you can’t afford a gift for all her teachers, you can have your daughter write out a card thanking each of them for teaching her this year. Or, if one or two teachers have especially helped your child, then get something extra special for them and have your son describe how they helped him in a letter to the teachers.

No matter what you do, your child’s teachers deserve thanks for all their efforts and will most likely appreciate whatever you do for them.