My DD's first grade teacher has gone way above and beyond the call of duty for my DD and her classmates this year. I want to say thank you to her and let her know how much I appreciate all she has done.

This is what I know about her: she loves to shop, she likes the color red, she collects crystal (but I don't know anything specific), she likes lighthouses, her two dogs and her DH mean the world to her, she and DH ride a Harley and snowmobiles, that's all I can think of right now.

She has let me come into her room every day this year to volunteer and we have formed a nice friendship. I want her to know how wonderful my DD and I think she is.

By Paulas on Saturday, June 4, 2005 - 10:30 pm:

As a teacher, I know how much money we spend on school stuff for our own classrooms. I'm sure teachers everywhere do the same. What about a gift certificate to a teachers store? If there isn't one handy, call scholastic (scholastic.com) and get her a certificate for there. This plus a card telling her how fortunate your daughter has been to have her for a teacher would be a nice gesture.

By Marcia on Saturday, June 4, 2005 - 10:34 pm:

One year my kids have phenominal teachers, and I made them scrapbooks of the year. I inlcluded pics of things that went on all year, as well as poems about teachers. They both loved their books!

By Karen~moderator on Sunday, June 5, 2005 - 07:06 am:

I think either of those ideas is great. We had a situation when Jen was in 1st grade. I loved her teacher and it truly was so beneficial to Jen. However, money was very tight, and I wrote her a long letter in a beautiful card, and she called me crying and told me she had never received such a letter from a parent and that was the kind of thing that reinfoced her decision to teach. She truly appreciated it. I have to add I didn't send a gift because I honestly couldn't afford it at the time. But my point is, either of those two suggestions, with a heartfelt letter would be great.

By Marcia on Sunday, June 5, 2005 - 10:30 am:

Karen, the letter is a super idea, and something the teacher can keep forever! A couple of years ago my kids all had wonderful people teaching and supporting them. I have 5 kids, at the time 4 in the same school, and 3 of them had special ed support in place as well. I wrote a letter that went to all of them, and had a paragraph about each one. I printed it for all of them, but I emailed it to the principal. She's not very supportive, and I wanted it to be acknowledged that they were amazing people. Every one of them thanked me immensely.

By Lauram on Sunday, June 5, 2005 - 01:54 pm:

Ditto the part about sending a letter to the principal.

By Bellajoe on Sunday, June 5, 2005 - 05:31 pm:

A nice letter telling her how much she meant to you this year and how appreciative you are to her would be very nice and I am sure she will be touched you took the time to do that for her. A nice bouquet of flowers is always nice to receive!

I never know what to get a teacher and I assume they get a lot of gifts from students through the years. I wanted to give my kid's teachers something they will like but don't have to store in their houses. So i got them bouquets of flowers. They were not expensive ( i got them at the grocery store) but they were very pretty. The teachers loved them! They both said that they love fresh flowers. We got a note from the teacher yesterday. She said her family is still enjoying the flowers (we gave them to her 2 weeks ago) , they are on the kitchen table in a vase.

So there is a nice idea for you.

By Bea on Sunday, June 5, 2005 - 11:59 pm:

Swarovski Crystal makes a beautiful lighthouse. You could include a note telling her how she was a beacon for your child and how much you appreciate her.

By Paulas on Tuesday, June 7, 2005 - 12:03 pm:

What Karen said about the letter is so true. This year I had a parent whose father died and husband left her and the kids. It was a very tough year for them. She wrote me a note in a card during National Teacher's Week that said that her daughter was lucky to have a mentor like me and thanked me for being there during such a difficult time. I will keep that card FOREVER. It made me cry and like Karen said, reaffirmed my decision to become a teacher.