We also did "Recipee Day--Because you are the recipee for our kids success" and asked families to send in a hand written favorite family recipee. It was cute...I also wrote an editorial for the local paper asking for everyone to celebrate "Teacher Thank You Thursday" and send in a thank you note to their child's teacher for the difference they made.
I offer Pie day for the teachers and staff the day before Thanksgiving. I asked volunteers to bake. It took some pushing but I managed to get 40 pies baked. The teachers and staff were thrilled because some took them directly to their in - laws etc the next day!
In th start of the year we have the teachers fill out a teacher profile ex: favorite color, candy bar, movie, hobbies, restaurant, soda, birthday. Our home room mother arranges with parents in the classroom a week that they would like to pamper their teacher. We stress that these things need not be expensive and it does not need to be every day of that week. We suggest a thankyou note and a special treat. Teachers love the idea of receiving a small token of appreciation each week. We also have a yardstick drive in which we tape quarters to the sticks. The proceeds all go to teachers to use for classroom needs.
At our school of 355 students for K-8, one of our parent volunteers started the Mom of the Month Club. Every month, a Mom or a couple of Moms working together bring in treats for the teachers and staff. We have 9 Mom of the Month days (new mom every month) ranging from muffins to chips & salsa to fresh baked chocolate cookies. It's a great way to tell the teachers thanks for all you do. And it fits with our Mom of the Month volunteers because they can pick which day is treat day.
luvmikyds04 - we did something similar in elementary with each month sponsored by one grade. We had 6 grades (K-5) and 8 or 9 months to cover. But a few months were handled diffently like December and May, so each grade only had one month.
Unfortunately, there's a real trend towards less parent involvement (at least at our school) as the kids get older, so we'd assign the more lavish events to Kinder and First and the lesser ones to 5th.
This method worked out really well as it gave us a targeted group from whom to solicit and the same folks weren't being hit up each month.
We provide a teacher appreciation lunch every month. Each class is only responsible for one lunch during the school year. Depending on the number of classes you have, some lunches would be provided by 2-3 classes together (spreading the food donations out nicely). We coordinate this through the room parents - letting them know what their month is at the beginning of the school year.
The themes are predetermined based on how well the menus worked in previous years - now we pretty much have the themes set & the same each year. The items on the food list are still determined by the room parent & sent out to the parents. They sign up for the items & bring them in on the specified day. Several of those parents set the food up & have it ready just before the first lunch starts, then come back to clean up after the last teacher is done. When done in a group like that, each parent only spends $2-$5 on an item to contribute to the lunch. If you want more detail, (LUVMY-- PLEASE ELABORATE HERE ON THE BOARDS -- ed.)
The teachers absolutely love this & they really get excited when it is that day of the month! There's always leftovers & they get a couple days of extra meals too.
Also, the parents that volunteer to decorate really do a great job of creating a nice atmosphere in the teachers lounge relating to the theme of the food, or the time of year - so it is an extra special time. Example: Mexican Food Theme - someone brought in a candy filled pinata that we hung from the lights, the tables were covered in tablecloths and festive music was played. Deli Lunch - someone did red & white checkered tableclothes, candles around the room & soothing music.
This is inexpensive when spread across many parents, and doesn't require every parent to contribute either.
