Our school is really small and we have the greatest teachers. We do teacher appreciation breakfast once a month. Each grade is responsible for a breakfast on their assigned month. The room parent usually coordinates the menu. Our parent association provides lunches on parent-teacher conference days and usually a winter holiday lunch for their gift exchange. They love it!!
I love these ideas!! We have a a little something each day for the kids to bring in....a flower to make a class bouqet, school supply, card or note, etc. We also keep the lounge stocked with drinks and snacks and provide something every day, muffins and juice, bagels with cream cheese and fruit salad, appreciation cake, etc and we always cater a lunch one day and the teachers get extra time to enjoy with parents covering lunch/recess duty. One year the kids in each grade each had a long colored bulletin board paper and they all put on handprints and we labeled each with a saying--- thumbs up to our 1st grade teachers, round of applause, high five etc. This was done in music which all grades go to each week. We also out somethign fun in their boxes each day with a saying---kudo bar--kudos for beign a great teacher, there are just way too many to list here.
For the past couple of years, we have provided each of our teachers with $10 to go to a local shopping plaza to eat and shop. We gather volunteers to watch over the classes for a couple of hours. The teachers go in groups and spread it over 2-3 days.
Last year we purchased about 50 gifts at $10 or less. Now is a good time to purchase since you get more value with everything on clearance. We did a small gift auction for our 150 teachers and staff members. They got one ticket and got to place it in the bucket of the prize they wanted to win. Anyone who didn't win was put in a drawing for some consolation prizes. Everyone loved it.
Every year we do the lunch. Last year, we hired a 2 massage therapist with the massage chairs and offered free massages to teachers a staff for three days (three different buildings ES, MS, HS).
This year we are planning of maybe getting teachers to revisit the child in them. We are thinking about a childrens type party: the one with clowns and games and piñata and the give aways as well.
We are coordinating with the HS students to offer free car washes during that week.
We've done many that were mentioned. Here's a few we did that I didn't see mentioned...
Last year we bought autograph books (enough for all staff) from the dollar spot a local store, and had the kids sign them during their lunch period. Some wrote small notes, while others just signed their names with "You rock". All the staff members were very touched - and the kids LOVED doing it.
We also arranged for several of us volunteers to cover recess and lunch, so the teachers and staff could have the week off from that and eat together. I think that was really the hit of the week! And it cost nothing.
