Teachers are there for children through the great moments of success and through the difficult moments of learning something new. They truly help to shape who children become.
This week, their important role moves to the spotlight for Teacher Appreciation Week. Take some time this week to recognize the teachers who make your school or childcare center a great place for kids with these top 10 ideas for how to recognize teachers.
- Bring in breakfast or a special treat just for teachers. Host a special breakfast where teachers still get paid for their time but get to relax and enjoy socializing with their coworkers in a calmer setting before their classroom fills with the delightful voices of children.
- Write a thank you note to teachers you see going above and beyond in the classroom. This is an activity you can do all year to recognize the efforts of your teaching staff. These thank you notes can be from moments of de-escalating a tantrum, creating a splendid craft or helping a child through a difficult lesson. Watch for u201cnoteworthyu201d moments and provide the reassurance to your teachers that theyu2019re doing a great job.
- Get potted plants for all the teachers at your school. Potted plants are great this time of year as they can really be enjoyed in the spring and will thrive with all the sunlight. Consider purchasing a perennial that teachers can plant in their garden and be reminded of their classroom for years to come.
- Provide seated chair messages for your teachers. Your administration team might have to take over some circle time activities throughout the day to ensure your full teaching staff gets a turn in the message chair, but this is a great way to pamper your team at your school or daycare center. Often, seated chair messages can be scheduled in 15-minute increments to allow time to relax without racking up a huge bill or making you need to adjust schedules immensely to accommodate.
- Take a moment to tell your teachers that you know they are what makes your school special. The magic doesn’t happen in the administration office, but in the classroom each and every day. Sometimes words of affirmation are all it takes.
- Purchase personalized stationary for your teachers. This could be sticky notes or a tablet with their name on it and recognition for their hard work. If personalizing each one individually costs too much, go for a motivational phrase or thank you message that applies to all your teachers so you can order them in bulk.
- Publicly recognize your teachers for the world to see with the hashtags #TeacherAppreciationWeek and #ThankATeacher on social media. This brings greater awareness to the week of recognition, so parents and students can chime in with what makes that teacher special and why they appreciate that teacher.
- Purchase new equipment for the staff lounge. This could be a new microwave or one-cup coffee maker with coffee, tea and hot chocolate provided so a teacher can have a pick-me-up whenever they need it throughout the year. The whole staff will benefit from a group gift like this and it further builds camaraderie in the office.
- Make time to visit each classroom regularly. This is another task you can do all year. Make it a point to visit every classroom at least once a week. It’s difficult to reward outstanding teachers if you donu2019t see their work in action.
- Invite parents to also recognize teachers. You can accept kind words from parents all week long and then present teachers with a card that includes all the kudos parents gave them throughout the week on Friday to say thanks. If your childcare center has childcare management software like iCare Software, encourage parents to message teachers this week to say thanks for that they do.
No matter what you do to recognize teachers, be sure that it genuinely shows your appreciation for the role they play in raising amazing children.