How To Thank A Teacher: Ideas and Helpful Ways To Say Thank You

2008 June 03 by: Scott

How To Thank A Special Teacher

The school year is coming to an end. You child’s teacher spent many extra hours putting together lesson plans, correcting papers and thinking of new innovative and creative ways to teach your child. Now, you want to thank that special teacher(s). Below are some simple,but yet meaningful ways for you and your child to say “thanks!”

You not over gift! Teachers are amazingly grateful just when you approach them to say, “thanks for being there for my child.”

Depending on your child’s age, encourage or help your child write a poem. Or, you may choose to send the poem written below.

Sonnet For An Unforgettable Teacher

(Teacher’s name),
When I began your class I think I knew
The kind of challenges you’d make me face.
You gave me motivation to pursue
The best, and to reject the commonplace.
Your thinking really opened up my mind.
With wisdom, style and grace, you made me see,
That what I’d choose to seek, I’d surely find;
You shook me out of my complacency.

I thank you now for everything you’ve done;
What you have taught me I will not outgrow.
Your kind attention touched my mind and heart;
In many ways that you will never know.

I will remember you my whole life through;
I wish that all my teachers were like you.

Specific Gift Ideas:

Gift cards to bookstores, music stores, restaurants, coffee shops, Target, Meijer or a local teachers’ store.

A book for the school library or classroom. Parents can select books they know their children enjoy, ask teachers what is needed in the classroom or solicit ideas from the school librarian. The book can be inscribed with the names of both the student and the teacher. The book will be a constant reminder of the gift and joys of reading.

Music videos and CDs for music teachers.

Boxes of tissues for the classroom.

Age-appropriate games, books or toys that are especially good for when the weather is not so great and a teacher has to keep the kids busy during indoor recess.
A lemonade pitcher filled with chocolate chip cookies.

A financial donation in the teacher’s name to a charity.

Movie vouchers or a movie rental gift certificate with a few bags of microwave popcorn.

A box of blank note cards.

Flowers to plant in a teacher’s garden.

A gift certificate for spa services such as manicures, pedicures or massages. This is an especially good gift when several parents take up a collection.

Write a note

Think of the 3 S’s as three keys to a good thank-you note: Specific, sincere, simple.

Be specific in terms of who it is addressed to and what you are thanking the person for. Instead of saying to a teacher “Thanks for being nice,” recall a specific act of kindness.

Keep your gift and thank you simple.