Teacher Gifts

This is the last week of school for all three of my children.  My sons are finishing up 8th grade and 10th grade and my daughter is completing her 5th grade year.  The boys are past the stage of wanting to get gifts for their teachers, partly because they don't have the same teacher all year.  My daughter did have the same teachers all year and she wanted to get them each a little gift. 

She came up with her own gift ideas.  She put careful thought into what each of her teachers likes and then I gave her a little budget with which to work.  She made a list of the teachers' names, what she wanted to get them, and where we needed to go to get the gifts.

First on her list was Mr. Reiland, her math teacher.  She told me that when he introduced himself to his students at the beginning of the year, he said that if they ever wanted to get him a gift, he LOVES M&Ms.  So.....we got him M&Ms.

The next teacher on her list was Mr. Branitski, her gym teacher.  He too is a fan of M&Ms but and he also likes ICE (sparkling water) so we got him one of each.

Mr. Larson, her homeroom teacher, brought in donuts every other Friday morning to share with his students.  Hannah wanted to get him donuts of his own.  We found a cute little bakery in Anoka, MN called Swedish Crown Bakery that bakes their donuts.  She picked out two donuts for him.  They are cake donuts sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar.  She said she was going to write a note that said he could share with his wife.

Mrs. Anderle, her science teacher, likes chocolate.  We stopped at Truffles & Tortes in Anoka, MN and got her a Chocolate Nirvana Truffle.  I'm sure she'll love it.

Lastly, is Ms. Cathey, her English teacher.  My daughter shares this teacher's love of books so she wanted to get her a gift having something to do with reading.  We got her a book mark (with the quote:  "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams."  -Henry David Thoreau), a Barnes & Noble gift card and a Ghirardelli chocolate bar.  My daughter said the chocolate bar was for her to enjoy while reading the book she got from Barnes & Noble.

She packaged each gift in a colored gift bag and wrote a personal note for each of them.  She will share her treats with her teachers tomorrow and she is so excited!  I've met each of these teachers and based on what I know, I'm sure they will appreciate her thoughtfulness.

"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge."  -Albert Einstein