Teacher Appreciation Week is a national holiday celebrated in United States which takes place in the first full week of May.
I hope you already have some plans to celebrate your teachers, but if not, use this article to generate some ideas!
It’s important to go out of your way to celebrate this in a big way at your school. Ideally, you should plan for it in advance. Get parents involved. Form a committee, whatever you need to do to make a big deal out of Teacher Appreciation week, do it.
Try to at least do something little every day for your team to let them know how much they are appreciated. Read below and pick out your favorite ideas and make a plan to spoil your team. It could include making them meals, giving them presents, asking parents to write notes of appreciation, an evening out to dinner at the end of the week, certificates of recognition, on-site chair massages….
Here’s an example plan to give you an idea of how to start:
Monday:
- Bring in Donuts for the team with a poster that says “We DONUT we would do without you! Thanks for all your hard work.”
- Team arrives to decorated hallways – team appreciation theme.
- Present the team with letters of appreciation from parents that you’ve collected prior to this week.
- Feature positive staff shout-outs on social media daily this week.
Tuesday:
- Taco Tuesday for Terrific Teachers! (Home-made or catered, it won’t matter – it’s tacos!! Yum!)
- Gift teachers fun, spirit building, branded, T-shirts (to be worn on Friday).
- Arrange a bouquet of gift cards and/or “compliments” on cut out “Flowers” in a cute pot or vase, and create a cute card that says: “Thank you for helping your students grow and blossom.”
- Feature positive staff shout-outs on social media daily this week.
Wednesday:
- On-site chair massages for staff to rotate through (provide extra staff for classroom coverage – or parent volunteers).
- Use the “Win Wednesday” theme as an excuse to pass out certificates of recognition (or mini trophies) – an individualized one for each team member.
- Ice cream sundaes in the staff lounge.
- Feature positive staff shout-outs on social media daily this week.
Thursday:
- Surprise staff with individualized mini-gifts from their “my favorite things” questionnaire they filled out at hire.
- Order lunch in from a local deli.
- The teacher snack cart visits with special snacks for the team.
- Feature positive staff shout-outs on social media daily this week.
Friday:
- Muffins/Bagels for breakfast
- Everyone wears their fun team T-shirts
- Phone call from the “big boss” (owner or regional director) to compliment and appreciate staff (Can be auto-dialer). If you are just one center, replace with purposeful
- Positive Only Classroom Visits
- The chocolate fairy visits
- Feature positive staff shout-outs on social media daily this week
- Dinner together after work (can be a potluck in the park or dishes provided by parent volunteers)
Here are a Few More Super Fun Themed Ideas:
Gift Ideas:
Tasty Ideas:
Theme Ideas:
The Pampered Teacher:
- Monday- Mani in a bag
- Tuesday- Smoothie Bar
- Wednesday- Chair massages
- Thursday- Pedi in a bag
- Friday- Catered Lunch
If You Give A:
- Monday- Teacher a cookie
- Tuesday- Teacher a donut
- Wednesday- Teacher a muffin
- Thursday- Teacher a pancake
- Friday- Teacher a cupcake
Teacher You Lift us UP:
- Monday- Wake UP to breakfast
- Tuesday- Drink UP with Starbucks
- Wednesday- Forks Up salad bar
- Thursday- Batter UP waffle bar
- Friday- Pamper UP traveling spa
These are just ideas, take what you like and make them work for you. Be sure to individualize your Teacher Appreciation week activities to fit your team and your culture. You may have more of a budget to do more extravagant things, or you may need to scale back a bit – or ask for parent donations. Just be sure to make a big deal out of Teacher Appreciation Week.
