National Teacher Appreciation Week is Monday, May 7 – Friday, May 11, 2012.
Sagepoint has some ideas to help PTA and PTO groups and classroom parents fill Teacher Appreciation Week with celebration & fun activities; we want to make activity-planning easier for you. Check out our ideas below, and be sure to click one of the example signups. Try out the free, time-saving organizing tools at www.sagepoint.com.
TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK IDEAS
TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK IDEAS FOR THE WHOLE SCHOOL
SONIC FOUNTAIN DRINK HAPPY HOUR: In the morning, take Sonic drink orders from teachers and have them delivered to their classrooms in the afternoon. Sonic offers a half-price drink happy hour from 2-4 pm. If you have Sonic or another fountain-drink restaurant in your area you can have a fun & memorable day with this idea. You’ll need several volunteers & drink-carriers for this idea, and you’ll also want to contact the restaurant manager in advance to let them know you are coming in. They may have ideas on how to make everything run smoothly.
Click here to see an example of a drink signup sheet using Sagepoint.
Surprise the teachers at your school by organizing a private car wash just for them!
CAR WASH: Collect the teacher’s keys and treat them to a car wash right in the school parking lot. You can use your own parent volunteers, but contact some local car washes in the area to see if they would be interested in donating some supplies and coupons for future car washes. Leave the coupons on the dashboard along with a hanging air freshener and a little thank you note. Contact your local newspapers & tv stations to see if they would be interested in covering the story, further extending the excitement of the event.
“FUTURE TEACHER” WALL OF FAME: Ask teachers to bring in a school photo from when they were in the grade they are teaching (ex. 2nd Grade teacher brings in a school photo from when he/she was in 2nd Grade). Don’t forget to include teachers in specialized areas. You may even have part of the wall for “FUTURE SCHOOL NURSE”, “FUTURE PRINCIPAL”, etc. Prepare a bulletin board in a main hallway. Post their photos along with their current name, name or nickname in school, name and location of the their former school, favorite subject, and favorite moment in school. Kids, parents, and teachers will LOVE this. You may want to leave the wall up until the end of the school year.
CATERED BREAKFAST OR LUNCHEON: Ask local businesses if they would donate a catered breakfast or luncheon just for the teachers and staff. Maybe several businesses could collaborate to make the event a success.
THEMED POTLUCK: Ask parent volunteers to participate in decorating, donating foods, serving and cleanup. Also consider asking for parent volunteers to supervise classrooms to allow the teachers to eat all together. Use this time to invite any special guests to speak, or coordinate a special presentation to the teachers. Don’t forget to have themed music to go along with some of the ideas below.
SOME THEME IDEAS:
- We LOVE Our SOUPER Teachers (Soups, Salads, and Decadent Desserts)
- Mahalo, Kumu! (Thank You, Teacher!) Luau (Hawaiian-themed feast, great to coincide with Hawaiian shirt day)
- Gracias to our Volunteers, Con Queso (Mexican Food Fiesta, With Cheese!)
- Thank You, Teachers, WITH ALL OUR HEARTS (various sandwiches, finger foods, and desserts….all heart-shaped by using cookie cutters)
- Our Teachers TAKE THE CAKE (major dessert extravaganza)
- Our Teachers Are The Ice CREAM OF THE CROP (Ice Cream Sundae Bar)
Click here to see an example of a POTLUCK ONLINE SIGNUP using Sagepoint.
TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK IDEAS FOR THE INDIVIDUAL CLASSROOM
A WALL OF APPRECIATION: Cover a wall space or classroom door with butcher paper and decorate it with notes of thanks from the children and from parents. Make a floral bouquet by painting green stems on the paper and having each note written on a flower-shaped paper. To add dimension, place a real bow made from pretty ribbon around the bunched up stems. For a male (or female) teacher, use an underwater theme with different tropical fish and coral for the notes, or, if you know a favorite hobby of the teacher, base it on that hobby.
“HAND-PRINTS” T-SHIRT: If you are crafty, visit a hobby shop to pick up a colorful t-shirt, a fabric marker, rhinestones, rhinestone application glue, and non-toxic fabric paints. Have the classroom children place their palm in a plate of paint, and neatly help them form a hand print on the shirt. Be sure to pre-plan so there is room on the shirt for all hands(use those shoulders and sleeves, too). After paint is dry, use a fabric marker to print each child’s name near their hand print. Finish by gluing rhinestone bling randomly around the shirt. Create both a keepsake and a really fun t-shirt for the teacher to wear.
GIFT CARD TREE OR BOOK: Coordinate the classroom parents to purchase $5-10 gift cards from local restaurants, coffee shops, car washes, dry cleaners, bookstores, gas stations, teaching supply stores, or even Amazon.com where you can get just about anything. Arrange the gift cards onto a small tree, or insert onto pages of a homemade book decorated by the students. What a treat!
Click here to see an example of a GIFT CARD ONLINE SIGNUP using Sagepoint.
Start with a colorful basket the teacher will love to reuse in the classroom.
GIFT BASKET: It’s so exciting to explore through a gift basket to see what surprises are in there. Choose a great basket and a theme near and dear to the teacher’s heart and pack it with goodies. Some theme ideas are: Classroom Supplies, Spa/Salon products with a gift certificate for a service, Book Worm, or Tea Time.
Click here to see an example of a GIFT BASKET ONLINE SIGNUP using Sagepoint.
When you are planning your celebration activities, be sure to include:
- Teachers who teach all grades in the areas of physical education, art, music, theatre arts, special education, accelerated programs, teacher’s aides and other support staff.
- The school nurse (Wednesday, May 9 is National School Nurse Day).
Happy Organizing!
