It's that time of year again folks - the one where you show your appreciation to the person or people who have put their heart and soul into helping your child to develop and grow within a school or nursery setting....
Now, before you jump on the high horse with cries of "but it's their job! Why should they be rewarded for it??" (Yes I have heard this many times, which is why I'm addressing it straight away), let me remind you of a few things:
- You are not rewarding them, you are thanking them
- Teachers don't do their job to make a fortune they do it to make a difference - which is a good job really as the pay isn't great
- The funding for schools and nurseries is shocking - you'd be hard pressed to find a teacher who hasn't spend hundreds of pounds of their own money buying resources so that our children can have a better learning experience.
- You'll probably pay a cleaner more per hour to clean your house than you'll pay a practitioner to look after your child
- You don't have to spend a fortune. It's the thought that counts and what you are really saying is " thank you for keeping them safe, for teaching them and for caring for them"
If you have read this far and you're wondering what kind of gifts would be nice for a Teacher (apart from the usual mugs of course!) then here are few ideas for you.....
End of Term Gift ideas for Teachers:
A gift for the stressed out Teacher:
It's no secret that most Teachers are a little frazzled and burnt out by the end of the year. Funky Pigeon have a Mindfulness and Wellbeing section on their website which has some lovely gift ideas, including these Heathcote and Ivory Lavender Field Bathing Salts. The salts are infused with real flowers including lavender, violet and wild hops and they come with a lovely little scoop - which I can absolutely assure you that any Teacher worth their salt (see what I did there??) will reuse in their classroom provision, probably the sand try, at a later stage. I'm almost certain Arthur chose this gift because he actually wants the scoop!
Obviously, I haven't opened this so I can't show you the contents with my own images so I took this little photo from the website just to show you how lovely they look....
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| Image credit Funky Pigeon |
A gift for the caring Teacher:
You know the type - the one who ignores the guidelines about 'safe hugs' by standing 'side by side' and just makes themselves emotionally available for your child when they really need a bit of extra security, a strong attachment and to feel safe in the arms of a trusted adult.
They understand the need for warmth and care with young children and probably love their own home comforts too.
This pillow from the gifts for Teachers section of the Funky Pigeon website is like a lovely little hug goodbye, with a poignant reminder of the difference they have made with their care and attention towards your child. It's also a good colour choice to fit into most homes ... although if it were mine I'd probably keep it at school as a cuddle cushion for upset children.
The messy play, maker, baker Teacher:
The best kind of Teacher as far as children are concerned. They understand that a fun and productive day at school will probably involve an extra load of washing for the parents and a good wash in the bath for the children at the end of it. They wont forsake important learning opportunities because of the risk of mess and they probably have something called 'the cupboard of doom' in their classroom which is full of crafty materials and resources that looks like a child has spent their playtime investigating.
This apron from the Teacher section of Funky Pigeon is perfect. It serves as a reminder for any 'non messy' adults who may enter as to the important work they undertake in allowing those kind of experiences AND it has some words and digraphs printed on there for children to recognise. Just don't expect it to stay clean for long.....
The quirky Teacher:
We went back to basics with this one, thinking about the age old idea of giving an apple to the teacher...frankly, I'm still patting myself on the back for this idea because I think its a little bit of genius, and which Teacher doesn't like a challenge???
This was a challenge as well - obviously I had to check all of the pieces were there and I needed the finished piece for a photo, but it took me absolutely ages!!!
You can find this apple puzzle online at Find me a gift.
The safety conscious Teacher:
Hopefully, this is all of them - because lets face it, safety kind of has to be your middle name when you are taking care of SO many children.
Its a bit of a running joke amongst most Teachers with how many 'teacher mugs' they acquire over their career. It drove my husband mad when I brought them all home, and although I loved them, there really are only so many mugs and cups you need.
This is especially true if you work with the younger age groups - you simply are not allowed to have open mugs in the classroom or playground anymore. We were all given safety travel mugs to use in my last school, but it became impossible to tell them apart and there really are enough germs flying around schools without having to share saliva with your fellow members of staff!
A gift that works alongside other gifts:
Ok, when I write 'other gifts', obviously I mean the Teacher mugs that Teachers seem to have in abundance! Why not get something to work alongside another present? This grey and pink personalised coaster is fro the Gifts for Teachers section of the Funky Pigeon website and is just one of many different coasters and other gift ideas available. This particular style does actually look more lilac/purple than grey but it is still quite cute isn't it?
So there we go, six gift ideas for the staff in your child's setting! Arthur loved choosing these for his teachers. He attends 2 different settings and so one we will be gifting with presents and another we will be adding to a collection for a larger gift!
Which is your favourite from this list??
PIN ME:
Sarah x
Disclosure: These items were sent in return for an honest review and inclusion of details within this gift guide. We chose the items ourselves and all words and opinions are our own.
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