Gift Ideas for Retiring Kindergarten Teacher

Gift cards are great and so are photo albums for the retiring teacher. A unique idea would be a gift card to complete a digital photo album, possibly of her far away granddaughter? They start at $39.95, so maybe the class could go in together on the gift? That is for the hard-bound variety, but there are lightweight paper ones to make as well. Let me know, as I have slide-in type photo albums in stock in a variety of sizes and price ranges from Creative Memories. www.mycmsite.com/mindynemoff

I saw someone else do this for my daughter's preschool teacher. She took a folder and bought a few gift cards and affixed the cards one per page and wrote a little clever saying to go with the gift card such as:

BRAVO (Italian Rest) for being such a great teacher
You hit the TARGET helping the children learn
There has been no one GRAETER(S) than you!
What a super teacher, you deserve an APPLE(BEES)

Stuff like that. This mother also took a picture of her son standing in front of each establishment as a little momento for the teacher. Just thought it was clever. :)
Good luck to you.

a co-worker of mine just got a cute gift from his class....it was a photo album with the saying....What will _________ be doing over the summer....... Then on each page of the book is a little note with a gift card inside. For example...Go on a long trip (a Speedway gc was attached)......go grocery shopping (Kroger gc).......get ice cream (ice cream gc)..... read (Border's gc). You could adjust it to say something like, what will _______ need for Japan?, and just try to think of places that she might need to shop at before her trip. You could also make her like a little travel bag with supplies that you know she will need, such as toothpaste, hairspray, batteries, kleenex, handi wipes, toothbrush, sunscreen, gum, etc.

A., first of all my condolences on losing your baby so tragically. I can only imagine your pain.

As for the teacher - Since you spent time in the classroom, you must have picked up on her outside interests. If she is a gardener, then a gift card to a nursery would be a lovely idea and not lame at all.

And a gift card for the bus driver would be very thoughtful, also, and not inappropriate at all.

As a former teacher, my advice is definately to go for the gift card. Teaachers get so much "teacher" stuff that they, although is much appreciated, they have no room for. I think you are certainly on the right track.

Bus drivers also rarely get recognized by parents, so I think that's a great idea!!

Blessings!

There are several ideas that might work for you. My favorite suggestion is donating a special book(s) in the teachers name to the school library, wehave also donatrd a tree with the small packet on it in the teacher's name. "in appreciation for the dedecated teaching of.." is what we put on the plate atteched to the tree.There are small compacts etc that might be useful for travel and can be engraved for the teacher.A book by her favorite author is also nice-your child can write his best wishes on the inside cover.

Definitely get the gift card for the bus driver. Since you know your child's teacher is retiring and going to travel why not get her something related to that. Maybe a book about Japans customs that would be helpful to a traveler or get her a new small bag for her personal care items and a few of those small plastic travel refill bottles. Now that she is retired maybe she will be doing a lot of traveling and that would be something she could use. Just my quick thoughts as I read your request. Good luck! Remember it truly is always the thought that counts anyway. A nice card from your child will go a long way.

Hi A.,
My daughter's first grade teacher retired last year and we made her some gifts from the class. We bought a terracota pot and all the kids signed their name with a sharpe and then at Joann's they sell a spray that you apply and it seals the pot and makes it waterproof and UV resistant, and then we planted a nice flowering plant in it. You could do a smaller one and just have your son sign his name. We made other gifts, but they took weeks and were very involved, and with only have one day, you won't have time for those:) Good luck

I sell Usborne Books. We have Kane-Miller books, and they come from different countries and each has some story line to them.

From France: My Japan -Family story from a little girl from Japan.

From Germany: A Friend- Book about friends.

From Slovenia: 1001 Stories- Follow one story from page 3, next go to page 21 etc. You bounce around and it is so cute the way the whole book flows together.

From Japan: Who's Hiding?-- Just a cute activity picture book.

These are really cute books to share with youngsters. You can order straight from my website and get the books in a week or less. If you need them before then , let me know and I can check with my supervisors to see what they have.

I do get gifts for the bus drivers and aides but nothing expensive. They love any snack or cute things.

J. R.
Usborne Books at Home, Educational Consultant
ubah.com/T2267

PM me for my phone #

I am not sure what to get a retiring teacher. Have you asked the office staff if they know what she might enjoy? If she has a flower garden, maybe you could get her a decorative stepping stone - there are nice messages out there. If she like movies, a specific gift card might be nice. We have a Purdue fan, and she gushes over anything Purdue. Office staff would know your teacher best.

As for the bus driver, I think gifts are appropriate. If you've driven with just a couple of kids in a car, imagine driving with dozens in a vehicle with acoustics like a box! One of my retired friends is a bus driver, and she loves the ornaments, magnets, ... that she's received over the years.

One easy and thoughtful thing I got from one of my kids in my pre-K class was a sweet basket of goodies with notes attached. For example, there was a pack of Hershey kisses with a label attached saying "your hugs and kisses made the days sweeter." I also recall a roll of lifesavers because "your patience was a lifesaver." a coffee cup because "you make every day start off special" and a soup bowl because I am a "souper" teacher. It was FULL of little things like this, with a gift card to Target (I "hit the bullseye with making the year great") and a movie card ("because I deserve some 'me' time") Anyway, it was a great and memorable gift, and nothing in it was really expensive or anything. The notes made the most mundane stuff, like a pack of inkpens, fun. And boy did I feel appreciated!

Gift cards from Target are best in this economy. Teachers receive all kinds of trinkets that go in a box somewhere. Give them something they can use in the economy.

I'm a HUGE book person and teacher and LOVE books. You can use them over & over & over again. For retirement, the book THE GIVING TREE might be nice. WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS by Shel Silverstein would also be nice. This is a collection of poems.

We just painted a special plate for Abbie's teacher. Her teacher would compliment them on teamwork, being a good friend, etc. was always saying, "I've got the best first grade class..." and her class would respond enthusiastically..IN AMERICA! We painted a plate (Hobby Lobby) that said, You're the best 1st grade teacher in AMERICA! Abbie painted I (heart) & U w/ XOXOXO, an A+, I painted a small penguin and the face of a frog (her two FAVORITE things they studied). I used a fan brush to do some finishing work. Her teacher LLLLLOVED it! You could tell it really meant alot to her.