The best ways to thank your child’s teacher at the end of the school year

For a teacher, receiving a heartfelt note of gratitude means the world. Many teachers hold onto the messages they receive from parents and students and reread them year after year. A nice note or card will brighten their day and remind them how much their work is appreciated. Plus, your child will be able to practise constructing sentences and structuring a text as they write their message. Here are a few ideas to consider when creating a personalized card:

• Ask your child to think about what they liked best about their teacher this year.
• Ask your child to think of a favourite memory or the most interesting thing they learned over the school year. Encourage them to write about what they have learned and the impact it has had on them.
• Encourage your child to be creative and decorate the card and envelope, draw a portrait of their teacher, send a video (or audio) thank-you message instead of a paper card, add a small photo of themself to their card, make a plantable seed card, etc.
• Write the card message as an acrostic, poem, song lyrics, etc.
• For inspiration, check out our list of ways to say thank you.

If you and your child want to express your gratitude in another way, you can make a unique and memorable gift together. Plus, doing a parent-child craft project is a valuable opportunity to spend quality time together, develop motor skills, and express your creativity. The internet is full of ideas for DIY projects you can do with upcycled materials to reduce your impact on the environment. Here are a few examples:

• Paint a rock to give as a paperweight or decoration
• Make a picture frame out of wooden craft sticks
• Decorate a cardboard box or jar
• Make a pencil case
• Make a key ring
• Make a notebook or notepad
• Bake cookies and pack them up in a pretty container
• Make a fancy bookmark
• Decorate a wooden coat hanger for the teacher to use in their classroom
• Make a card with LED lights or an electrical circuit
• Make a card with dried flowers
• Etc.

Most teachers agree that the best gift you can give is your time. They don’t want expensive, highly personal items (jewelry, perfume, scarves, etc.) that might embarrass them or simply not suit their tastes. They will, however, very much appreciate an act of charity done in their honour or help with a task at school. Here are a few ideas to inspire you:

• Organize a cleanup day to help the teacher tidy up their classroom and clear off the walls and bulletin boards
• Find out about a cause close to the teacher’s heart and get a group together to volunteer in support of it
• Encourage your child to get a group of classmates together and volunteer to arrange the books in the classroom library by genre or alphabetical order
• Donate some of your favourite books for the classroom, along with a thank you note
• Etc.

You can always ask the teacher what they would appreciate most.

If you want to give your child’s teacher money so they can treat themself, it may be a good idea to find other parents willing to split the cost of a gift certificate or gift card. This saves everyone the headache of thinking of a gift and allows each family to contribute as much as they can. 

You could also get in touch with other parents and have your children make a thank-you gift as a group. Here are some project ideas:

• a thank-you tree with messages written by each student
• a scrapbook
• a collective video
• a big poster filled with words and drawings