Question for TEACHERS, looking for good honest input on gift receiving.

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   holyjeans30posted 11 years ago

   Question for TEACHERS, looking for good honest input on gift receiving.
   
   CALLING ALL TEACHERS: I'm doing a lot of searching for ideas for teacher gifts for Christmas time. I'm looking for input from teachers. Here are a few questions if you wouldn't mind commenting and helping me out. I'm planning on writing a post on this as well. HONEST answers lol.
   
   1. What is the best present you have ever received from a student?
   2. What is the one gift you've received too many of.
   3. What are a few things that really come in handy in the classroom.

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   Tina Trueloveposted 11 years ago

   One of the most unique gifts I ever received was an Oak Tree.  My students and parents knew we had just built and moved into a new home.  The entire class chipped in and purchased a very small Oak Tree.  We have lived here just over ten years now and the tree, now getting pretty large, is a constant reminder of that sweet class.  One student once gave me a Gardenia Bush which is still planted and thriving beside my front porch.  I probably have too many cutsy "teacher containers" that are intended to sit around the classroom and hold pens, crayons, and things like that . . . although I always loved receiving those kinds of gifts.  One thing I could use more of right now would be larger storage containers for storing games, playground equipment such as balls and jump-ropes.  You could purchase several larger containers and paint cute little designs on them or use the newer sticky paper materials that can feed through paper die cut machines such as a Cricut.  I'm sure any teacher could use large storage containers or anything that might make her/his classroom more organized and feel "more like home." 
   Oh, just another thought or two:  One parent in our school is an artist.  She is known for painting small book shelves, rocking chairs, and stools for teachers.  She also paints student "faces" on the items so the teacher will always remember which class presented her with that gift. 
   Sorry for the lengthy answer . . . but I hope it helps!

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      holyjeans30posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Lengthy is no problem.  Some really great and different ideas. Gets my gears going, thank you.

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   Heather63posted 11 years ago

   When I taught nursery school, one of my favorite presents was homemade christmas ornaments. I still smile when I come across them as I decorate. I don't usually put them on the tree (my own kids' ornaments take up the space!) but I find a way to display them other places. I got too many mugs and dry cookie mix jars - nice idea, but too much of a good thing. A gift certificate, either for classroom supplies or for coffee, can always come in handy.

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      holyjeans30posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I love the Christmas ornament idea.  Very cute.  I've had several say gift cards or gift certificates, and I had never thought of using those.  I can definitely see why they would come in handy.  Thank you so much for the ideas.

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   Garifaliaposted 11 years ago

   Honestly the best gift for me is everytime they write at the bottom of their notebook how much they love me---girls of course and from boys it's the extra effort they put in to improve.
   
   1. But material gifts, I've had a few nice ones like candles, a pair of heart-shaped earrings and a beaded necklace made by my student. The best of these was a set of silver earrings and broach from my Proficiency class.
   2. I have no answer here.
   3. pencils, pens, erasers and sharpeners for the kids. Interesting sory books, fun classic comic books and student oriented magazines.

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      holyjeans30posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I hope the boys don't tell you they love you lol. That's great.  These are all great answers.  I'm getting such great feedback, thank you.

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      Garifaliaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      If the boys did ever say that, would it be such a bad thing? Only the very young ones would do so and it would honour any of us, wouldn't it?

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      holyjeans30posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Oh no there is nothing wrong with it, especially from the younger ones.   I think it's special.  I had a couple of teachers I loved when I was a child.  Only a very couple really made a huge impression on me.

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      Garifaliaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, I agree not everyone makes a great impression. Good luck with your project.

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   Billie Paglioloposted 11 years ago

   One of my favorite gifts was an embroidered picture dipicting the flight of Cambodian families during Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge regieme given to me by one of the most delightful college students I've ever tutored. Her family had fled Cambodia during that time in history and she and her mother embroidered the poignant cultural piece, so it feels quite special. This artwork is hanging on the wall adjacent to the room where I'm typing right now!  It's traveled from the East Coast to the West Coast with me and I cherish it. Cards from students themselves or from parents giving specific examples of how I may have impacted their lives are precious to me.  Anything lasting that is home-made is wonderful - if it's not too large and (in my case) if it's not food!  (Some adult student once gave me a HUGE  Christmas doll pillow that she crocheted.  It took up 1/4 of the couch and I couldn't keep it in my travels.  Besides, it felt as if overly generous and that didn't feel comfortable. Finally, as cheesy as those apple ornaments might be, I do love them - especially the wooden ones with the date.  All in all, it's the gift given from sincere appreciation and one that we keep to look back and see that perhaps we did matter.  I'm looking forward to your hub, holyjeans; it's a great idea!

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      holyjeans30posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      You're the first person I've heard say they enjoyed those little apple ornaments lol.  And here I thought they were just busy work.  I love the idea of handmade crafts like your Cambodian one.  Shows you that a lot of heart went into it.  Thank you.

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   Rosyel Sawaliposted 11 years ago

   Mugs! I've got too many of them LOL ^_^ I like presents that double as educational materials I can use in class. Or simply document organizers like an accordion file folder -- that's truly useful. Of course, this was from my days as a regular classroom teacher ^_^ I mostly do only freelance tutorial these days.

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      holyjeans30posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Accordian files are a great idea.....you could spruce one up and personalize it.  Nice idea thank you.

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