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Top 5 Teacher Appreciation Gift Ideas!

Teacher Appreciation Day is a time to celebrate educators. It's an opportunity for families to show love and support for the outstanding teachers in their children’s lives.What makes a teacher's role in society one to celebrate?Teachers play such an important role impacting the minds of young children! As the National PTA explains, "Teachers provide so much to our students—inspiration, motivation and, ultimately, their futures." Educators are responsible for more then just the traditional role of instructing, but also assessing, guiding, nurturing, and role modeling. Passionate teachers are a large part of a child's support system, filling in for parents while children are at school.Parents show teachers they care.With the responsibilities and pressure we place on ourselves as teachers, it feels really good to know our efforts do not go unnoticed. The meaningful gifts I have received over the years are ones that I still remember fondly, use often or hold in a special place.Do you have a teacher that you’d like to show gratitude towards? Here are some unique and memorable gift ideas that teachers will love!

1. Handwritten Card

The most significant gift a teacher can receive cannot be bought. It is knowing we have made a difference in your child's life. Write a thoughtful note sharing a special memory from the year or how a teacher helped your child. I still adore a card from a parent I received years ago sharing the impact I had on her kiddo. Meaningful cards are truly a treasure!Teacher Appreciation Gift

2. Personalized/ Engraved Gifts

Engraved items with a personal message make a very unique gift! An engraved flower pot, coffee mug or tote bag is something teachers will use and cherish. Many companies now offer the option to personalize items so you can easily get them!Teacher Appreciation Gift

3. Gift Card to the Spa

Give a gift card to a traditional spa or foot spa for a well deserved break. No matter how they're feeling, teachers find the strength to grade papers, write lesson plans, buy supplies and deliver to the class each day. A spa gift card is a great way for teachers to take time for themselves and relax.Teacher Appreciation Gift

4. Gift that Reflects their Interest or Hobbies

After almost a full year spent with your child's teacher, you may be familiar with their interests and hobbies. Show them how much you care by getting an experience (from Groupon) or an item to compliment their hobby. Group classes are easy to find and range from yoga, to cooking, to art!Teacher Appreciation Gift 

5. Gifts for Every Day of the Week

Another way to honor your teacher is to give a gift each day of Teacher Appreciation week. Here are some ideas...Treat them to lunch$5 Coffee gift cardFavorite candy or snackFresh FlowersContainer filled with useful teacher items (Like this Create-a-Space from Learning Resources!)Teacher AppreciationTake a moment to tell a dedicated teacher that they matter. Express how they've helped your child. Share a special moment from the year that resonates with you. Say, "thank you," with a gift to show how much you value all that they do.Happy Teacher Appreciation Day!Teacher Appreciation
Top 5 Teacher Appreciation Gift Ideas! Teacher Appreciation Day is a time to celebrate educators. It's an opportunity for families to show love and support for the outstanding teachers in their children’s lives.What makes a teacher's role in society one to celebrate?Teachers play such an important role impacting the minds of young children! As the National PTA explains, "Teachers provide so much to our students—inspiration, motivation and, ultimately, their futures." Educators are responsible for more then just the traditional role of instructing, but also assessing, guiding, nurturing, and role modeling. Passionate teachers are a large part of a child's support system, filling in for parents while children are at school.Parents show teachers they care.With the responsibilities and pressure we place on ourselves as teachers, it feels really good to know our efforts do not go unnoticed. The meaningful gifts I have received over the years are ones that I still remember fondly, use often or hold in a special place.Do you have a teacher that you’d like to show gratitude towards? Here are some unique and memorable gift ideas that teachers will love!

1. Handwritten Card

The most significant gift a teacher can receive cannot be bought. It is knowing we have made a difference in your child's life. Write a thoughtful note sharing a special memory from the year or how a teacher helped your child. I still adore a card from a parent I received years ago sharing the impact I had on her kiddo. Meaningful cards are truly a treasure!Teacher Appreciation Gift

2. Personalized/ Engraved Gifts

Engraved items with a personal message make a very unique gift! An engraved flower pot, coffee mug or tote bag is something teachers will use and cherish. Many companies now offer the option to personalize items so you can easily get them!Teacher Appreciation Gift

3. Gift Card to the Spa

Give a gift card to a traditional spa or foot spa for a well deserved break. No matter how they're feeling, teachers find the strength to grade papers, write lesson plans, buy supplies and deliver to the class each day. A spa gift card is a great way for teachers to take time for themselves and relax.Teacher Appreciation Gift

4. Gift that Reflects their Interest or Hobbies

After almost a full year spent with your child's teacher, you may be familiar with their interests and hobbies. Show them how much you care by getting an experience (from Groupon) or an item to compliment their hobby. Group classes are easy to find and range from yoga, to cooking, to art!Teacher Appreciation Gift 

5. Gifts for Every Day of the Week

Another way to honor your teacher is to give a gift each day of Teacher Appreciation week. Here are some ideas...Treat them to lunch$5 Coffee gift cardFavorite candy or snackFresh FlowersContainer filled with useful teacher items (Like this Create-a-Space from Learning Resources!)Teacher AppreciationTake a moment to tell a dedicated teacher that they matter. Express how they've helped your child. Share a special moment from the year that resonates with you. Say, "thank you," with a gift to show how much you value all that they do.Happy Teacher Appreciation Day!Teacher Appreciation
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Color by Number Spring Flower Printable!

Enjoy this fun color by number page while learning the parts of a flower!

Want to learn more about flowers?

Color by Number Spring Flower Printable!

Enjoy this fun color by number page while learning the parts of a flower!

Want to learn more about flowers?

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5 Reasons why Coding is Important for Young Minds
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Botley Lesson Plan

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Discover the possibilities Botley brings to your early coding curriculum.  Aligned to CSTA standards, these printable classroom activities will help your little learners discover coding without any screens or apps. Just power on Botley, and you’re ready to go!

Click here to download your botley classroom coding lesson plan

This Botley lesson plan will help students compare weights, distances and forces of an object. The lesson plan also teaches students how to record and graph the data from their coding experiments.
Botley Lesson Plan

Join our email list for more free activities!

Discover the possibilities Botley brings to your early coding curriculum.  Aligned to CSTA standards, these printable classroom activities will help your little learners discover coding without any screens or apps. Just power on Botley, and you’re ready to go!

Click here to download your botley classroom coding lesson plan

This Botley lesson plan will help students compare weights, distances and forces of an object. The lesson plan also teaches students how to record and graph the data from their coding experiments.
READ MORE

St. Patrick's Day STEM Classroom Activities

Seasonal STEM is a great way to introduce your students to the engineering process in a fun way. St. Patrick’s day leprechaun mischief and rainbow science activities are some of the absolute best to capture the interest of your kiddos and engage them in hands-on STEM experiences. Whether you’re doing STEM at home or school, check out a few of my favorites below that work for nearly every grade level, and with minimal expense and effort to implement!

Rainbow Round-Up:

Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day means rainbow fun galore! Set the stage and build background knowledge by exploring colors, light, and color mixing. These color paddles and color mixing lenses by Learning Resources are perfect for rainbow play and exploration. Let your students experiment with shining light through individual colors and also play with color mixing by overlapping primary color paddles to make secondary colors. After that warm-up, transition from color mixing to into rainbow fun with one of my favorite, simple activities for this time of year. The best milk color changing experiment I have found is from Spangler Science (here). Watch the video and follow the detailed, yet simple instructions to have your littles mixing colors like St. Patrick’s Day experts! My students loved this activity so much, as did their parents during our family STEM night. 

Leprechaun Tracks Green Goo:

In my classroom and at home with my own son, we always talk about how leprechauns leave tracks and a trail wherever they go. Sometimes I use a footprint stamp and washable green ink to stamp out his path and the kids LOVE it! Kick this up a notch by then having your children/students create Leprechaun GOO! We all know slime/goo is all the rage, and so if you can’t been them...join them. Watch this step-by-step instructional video from Steve Spangler Science (what I used in my classroom) to see how to create your own green goo that the kiddos will love. 

 

TEACHER TESTED TIPS:

 
  1. Purchase dollar store plastic tablecloths to cover your experiment surfaces.
  2. Have students wear oversized shirts or smocks while making the goo.
  3. Provide plastic food service gloves to protect hands from goop and food coloring.
  4. Use foil baking/roasting pans to prevent messy splatters during mixing.

Lucky Charms Screen-Free Coding:

Check out this amazing, yet simple St. Patrick’s Day screen-free coding activity from early childhood STEM guru, Brooke Brown, of Teach Oustide the Box. For just $2.00, this simple St. Patrick’s Day themed introduction to block-style coding is perfect for Kindergarten through third graders as they learn the basics of “unplugged” programming without computers. After completing activities such as these on paper, they can apply similar block coding strategies to coding websites and apps for kids such as code.org and Kodable, and eventually to more advanced languages of coding. To allow students to be most successful, please MODEL and clearly discuss directions for this activity before they complete it with partners. Grab some Lucky Charms and get ready to go for the (leprechaun) gold!
 

LIFE-SIZED TIP:

Use the Reversable Graph It Mat by Learning Resources and sorting manipulatives, clipart, or paper cutouts to create your own super-sized version of this screen-free coding activity. You might want to use this as a warm-up and then transition to the activity above from Teach Outside the Box.

Leprechaun Trap STEM Challenge:

Perhaps the most common spring holiday STEM Challenge is to have your students/children create a leprechaun trap using the engineering design process. This is a great activity to leave open-ended to allow for maximum maker-creativity and end products. If you would like some amazing inspiration, check out the plethora of ideas on this post to get you started. From trap design to clever bait, you’ll have plenty to choose from to get you started. The best part? Almost everything you need can be found around the house. If you want to supercharge your leprechaun trap construction, try weaving this gears set by Learning Resources into your engineering design plan and process. They will add a level of complexity and fun to your con-TRAP-tions! 
Luck-o-the-Irish to you as you enjoy exploring these awesome seasonal hands-on STEM activities with your own little leprechauns!
 
St. Patrick's Day STEM Classroom Activities!
St. Patrick's Day STEM Classroom Activities
Seasonal STEM is a great way to introduce your students to the engineering process in a fun way. St. Patrick’s day leprechaun mischief and rainbow science activities are some of the absolute best to capture the interest of your kiddos and engage them in hands-on STEM experiences. Whether you’re doing STEM at home or school, check out a few of my favorites below that work for nearly every grade level, and with minimal expense and effort to implement!

Rainbow Round-Up:

Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day means rainbow fun galore! Set the stage and build background knowledge by exploring colors, light, and color mixing. These color paddles and color mixing lenses by Learning Resources are perfect for rainbow play and exploration. Let your students experiment with shining light through individual colors and also play with color mixing by overlapping primary color paddles to make secondary colors. After that warm-up, transition from color mixing to into rainbow fun with one of my favorite, simple activities for this time of year. The best milk color changing experiment I have found is from Spangler Science (here). Watch the video and follow the detailed, yet simple instructions to have your littles mixing colors like St. Patrick’s Day experts! My students loved this activity so much, as did their parents during our family STEM night. 

Leprechaun Tracks Green Goo:

In my classroom and at home with my own son, we always talk about how leprechauns leave tracks and a trail wherever they go. Sometimes I use a footprint stamp and washable green ink to stamp out his path and the kids LOVE it! Kick this up a notch by then having your children/students create Leprechaun GOO! We all know slime/goo is all the rage, and so if you can’t been them...join them. Watch this step-by-step instructional video from Steve Spangler Science (what I used in my classroom) to see how to create your own green goo that the kiddos will love. 

 

TEACHER TESTED TIPS:

 
  1. Purchase dollar store plastic tablecloths to cover your experiment surfaces.
  2. Have students wear oversized shirts or smocks while making the goo.
  3. Provide plastic food service gloves to protect hands from goop and food coloring.
  4. Use foil baking/roasting pans to prevent messy splatters during mixing.

Lucky Charms Screen-Free Coding:

Check out this amazing, yet simple St. Patrick’s Day screen-free coding activity from early childhood STEM guru, Brooke Brown, of Teach Oustide the Box. For just $2.00, this simple St. Patrick’s Day themed introduction to block-style coding is perfect for Kindergarten through third graders as they learn the basics of “unplugged” programming without computers. After completing activities such as these on paper, they can apply similar block coding strategies to coding websites and apps for kids such as code.org and Kodable, and eventually to more advanced languages of coding. To allow students to be most successful, please MODEL and clearly discuss directions for this activity before they complete it with partners. Grab some Lucky Charms and get ready to go for the (leprechaun) gold!
 

LIFE-SIZED TIP:

Use the Reversable Graph It Mat by Learning Resources and sorting manipulatives, clipart, or paper cutouts to create your own super-sized version of this screen-free coding activity. You might want to use this as a warm-up and then transition to the activity above from Teach Outside the Box.

Leprechaun Trap STEM Challenge:

Perhaps the most common spring holiday STEM Challenge is to have your students/children create a leprechaun trap using the engineering design process. This is a great activity to leave open-ended to allow for maximum maker-creativity and end products. If you would like some amazing inspiration, check out the plethora of ideas on this post to get you started. From trap design to clever bait, you’ll have plenty to choose from to get you started. The best part? Almost everything you need can be found around the house. If you want to supercharge your leprechaun trap construction, try weaving this gears set by Learning Resources into your engineering design plan and process. They will add a level of complexity and fun to your con-TRAP-tions! 
Luck-o-the-Irish to you as you enjoy exploring these awesome seasonal hands-on STEM activities with your own little leprechauns!
 
St. Patrick's Day STEM Classroom Activities!
READ MORE