End of Year Gifts Students, Volunteers, and Staff Will Love
The end of a school year means many things to a teacher.
Endless to-do lists, fitting in final lessons and projects with your students, getting your classroom summer vacation-ready.
The end of the year also means thank you gifts.
As teachers, we’re on the receiving end of gifts of appreciation from our students and families. We also want to give gifts to those who walked alongside us throughout the year. Especially this year.
Stressed about finding just-right gifts that are within your budget?
Don’t be. I have suggestions and resources to help.
How to give affordable end of year gifts to students, staff, and parents
Students get so excited when they get presents from their teachers. When you have a class of 20 or more students, finding a gift everyone will enjoy that won’t break the bank can be a challenge.
I’m sharing five low-cost solutions for easy gifts at the end of the year.
1. It’s O-Fish-al
This gift combines two things students love - puns and candy! Simply place chewy, fish-shaped candies in a clear bag (the kind you’d find a carnival goldfish swimming around in) and add a note that says, “It’s O-Fish-Ally Summer Vacation,” or “It’s O-Fish-Al - You’re Moving on to 5th Grade.” Easy, clever, and sure to be a hit.
To make it even easier, I’ve created these tags for you and posted them for free in The Treasury.
2. Kindness Rocks
Many of you know I feel strongly about focusing on kindness in the classroom. I have writing resources dedicated to just that.
These adorable, personalized rocks shine a light on kindness and require only a couple of supplies and a bit of creativity.
You’ll need:
Small, flat rocks - collect from outdoors or buy a bag of them from the dollar store
Acrylic paint
Paint pens
Paint the rocks and let them dry thoroughly. Then use the paint pens to write a characteristic, virtue, or word to describe each student. Write their name, your name, and the date on the back of the rock, and you’re done. A thoughtful gift showing your students you see what is special about each of them.
3. Help Create Bookworms
Celebrate the end of the year and encourage your students to keep reading over the summer. Pair a reading log with a bookmark and bag of gummy worms for yummy inspiration.
Take it one step further and add a list of books you know your students will love.
You can find a free bookmark and sample reading log in The Treasury. Looking for a reading log that will last all summer? You can find those here.
4. Remember support staff with thank you notes from students
Think about all the people without whom the school simply wouldn’t function. The office staff, school nurse, and cafeteria staff to name just a few.
And then there are those team members who teach specials or provide learning support and supplemental services.
It truly does take a village to support our students!
Have your students take time to write thank you notes to these important members of their school community. These people are often overlooked, so receiving personalized thank you notes from your class will brighten their day and remind them they are valued and appreciated.
No need to worry about the details - I’ve taken care of all of that for you.
You’re going to love the Thank you Notes for Staff resource I put together. You have so many options - black & white or color, printable or digital, and designs for specific members of your school’s support staff.
They’re colorful, fun, and sure to put a huge smile on the face of those who receive them!
5. Say thank you to parent volunteers with digital scrapbooks
Where would teachers be without parent volunteers?
You count on them to help with prepping supplies or cutting out decorations - hello, laminated products for your bulletin boards. They do what needs to be done in the classroom, whether it’s organizing lunch orders or acting as a reading buddy for a student.
The end of the year is the perfect time to show your gratitude for the many ways your parent volunteers helped things go smoothly in your classroom.
And while everyone truly does love a gift card, consider doing something more meaningful and personal.
One year I had a particularly wonderful parent volunteer who I wanted to thank in a special way. So I asked some of my students to write her notes and talk about specific ways she had helped them. I then took pictures of the notes and added pictures I had taken throughout the year of her working in our classroom and turned it all into a digital scrapbook.
I loved how it turned out and she loved receiving it.
Digital scrapbooks make great gifts. They’re also an effective way to keep resources, lesson materials, anchor charts, and more organized and paper-free. Check out this blog post where I tell you all the ways I’ve used digital scrapbooks..
Closing note...
The old saying, “It’s better to give than to receive” is true. It’s so important to show your appreciation to the important people in your life - including your school life. I hope these ideas help you give the perfect gifts to those with whom you’ve shared this school year.
Give yourself the gift of an organized classroom. Get your classroom ready for summer break and get a headstart on next year.
Check out this post where I give you six easy steps to follow that will make all the difference.
Pin these ideas for later:
Related posts:
