Teacher Appreciation Week (Part 1)

Now, I'm going to be completely honest here. It wasn't till Little P started going to school that I even heard that there was a 'Teacher Appreciation Week', let alone knew what to give. I know growing up we didn't have that (but then we didn't have National Talk Like a Pirate Day either - arrrr). And since this is the first year that Little P has been in school full time, I figured I should put my butt into gear and get something together for her teacher.

When I decided I was going to make something rather than buy something, I asked a friend of mine who is a teacher (albeit of 6th graders, but a teacher is a teacher right?) what it was that she would like. And her immediate response was this 'No candles'. Apparently, every year she gets a least half a dozen scented candles (all suspiciously from Bath and Body Works). And while I have no doubt that she loves getting them she has gotten to the point where the amount of candles that are in her house would be considered close to hoarding. She doesn't have the heart to re-gift them, they did, after all come from her students, but there is no way she is even going to use them all. So in a box on a shelf they sit.

What I did find out is that she loves, absolutely loves, getting handmade gifts from her students. Whether it's a 'best teacher' mug (and I will point out that the mug in question is misspelt - 'techer'. I was assured that this was due to the fact that there was limited room on the mug, not her skill at teaching spelling), or a photo frame that is covered in pictures of lilies (her favorite flower) she proudly displays them in her classroom. She did also mention that supplies, while kind of ordinary, are always appreciated, as are gift cards to places like Target where they can stock up on supplies. Or just pay attention to what they have in their room. Teachers always display a little of their personality in their rooms... a little observation can go a long way to finding the right gift.

So with that in mind, I jumped on Pinterest looking for ideas (check out my Teachers Appreciation Board). After hours spent trying to decide what to make - and trust me, I wanted to do a bunch of them, I eventually went with making my version of a 'supply box'. Quick, easy and able to be personalized.

And I'll show you what I did in Part 2, next week.

Till next time, show some love for the ones helping to mould our little ones.

K