For ES age, is that parent or kids give the holiday gifts to teachers?

[Anonymous]

My kid is first grader, I wonder if she is old enough to give gifts to teachers (special teachers & main teachers) directly or should I drop off gifts at school administration like last year? It has giftcard in each envelope and some comes with a small gift bags. And, I also wonder is it inappropriate for kids to give gifts to teacher directly in front of other kids?

And, if I decide to drop off teacher gifts at school administration, do you normally get something as well for the school administration staff? Last year, I felt some unfriendliness attitude when I dropped off teacher holiday gifts/teacher appreciation gifts at my kid’s school administration. I was not sure if I was too sensitive or not. And, I only received less than 50% thank you notes/email from teachers/staffs, and I occasionally wonder if they have received the gifts or misplaced somewhere…

[Anonymous]

It depends on the kid. I have a kindergartner and a 2nd grader. I sent the giftcard for the K classroom teacher with him with instructions to give it to her, but also sent an email telling her where it was in his backpack. The rest I sent with my 2nd grader after confirming with him that he was confident that he could hand them all out. He was able to do it no problem.

For non-teaching staff, my school has a pooled gift where you can pay in and it's divided evenly.

[Anonymous]

My children have given the cards directly to teachers since K but I do know some parents drop them off. You sound like you worry a lot so I'd drop them off just for your peace of mind.

[Anonymous]

I felt comfortable sending them in with my kid but we did one a day so she didn't have a whole bunch to manage at once.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is first grader, I wonder if she is old enough to give gifts to teachers (special teachers & main teachers) directly or should I drop off gifts at school administration like last year? It has giftcard in each envelope and some comes with a small gift bags. And, I also wonder is it inappropriate for kids to give gifts to teacher directly in front of other kids?

And, if I decide to drop off teacher gifts at school administration, do you normally get something as well for the school administration staff? Last year, I felt some unfriendliness attitude when I dropped off teacher holiday gifts/teacher appreciation gifts at my kid’s school administration. I was not sure if I was too sensitive or not. And, I only received less than 50% thank you notes/email from teachers/staffs, and I occasionally wonder if they have received the gifts or misplaced somewhere…

I have never failed to receive a Thank you from a teacher, so that part does concern me. Otherwise, you are really overthinking things here. Empower your child to deliver the gifts appropriately and independently. Unless your child has anxiety or adhd or some delay, they can do as the others do and drop the gift on the teachers desk in the morning.
Also I believe you had disapproval from the office for coming in person to give the gifts and not because you neglected to give the office a gift. The office is a very busy and understaffed place, especially around holidays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is first grader, I wonder if she is old enough to give gifts to teachers (special teachers & main teachers) directly or should I drop off gifts at school administration like last year? It has giftcard in each envelope and some comes with a small gift bags. And, I also wonder is it inappropriate for kids to give gifts to teacher directly in front of other kids?

And, if I decide to drop off teacher gifts at school administration, do you normally get something as well for the school administration staff? Last year, I felt some unfriendliness attitude when I dropped off teacher holiday gifts/teacher appreciation gifts at my kid’s school administration. I was not sure if I was too sensitive or not. And, I only received less than 50% thank you notes/email from teachers/staffs, and I occasionally wonder if they have received the gifts or misplaced somewhere…

I have never failed to receive a Thank you from a teacher, so that part does concern me. Otherwise, you are really overthinking things here. Empower your child to deliver the gifts appropriately and independently. Unless your child has anxiety or adhd or some delay, they can do as the others do and drop the gift on the teachers desk in the morning.
Also I believe you had disapproval from the office for coming in person to give the gifts and not because you neglected to give the office a gift. The office is a very busy and understaffed place, especially around holidays.

Interesting… so parents should not drop off gifts at the school office? Our classroom teacher often asks for snack or school supplies donation throughout the school year, and there’s no way that little kid can carry them into school. Many parents drop off supplies at the school office.

[Anonymous]

For us the holiday is from family and we send electric to main teacher. Teacher appreciation week is from student and they pass them out to main teacher and specials teachers with a note.

We don't always get a thank you from the specials teachers but always hear from the main teacher.

The office is not involved in either scenario.

[Anonymous]

So long as it's not a bottle of hooch.

[Anonymous]

We give $$$ for a class gift. No matter who contributes, as room mom I sign it for the whole class. The rich family who contributed 3x the suggested amount does not get more credit than the families who can’t afford to contribute. In order to wrap up the gift card like a present, I usually make a small package with flair pens, dry erase markers, or other small items I’ve noticed the teacher uses in the classroom.

If my kids give the teacher a gift, it’s a homemade card or picture. Something they can look at and recycle at home.

My mom was a teacher for 30 years and she was always trying to give away the surplus of candles, mugs, ornaments, etc. she received.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is first grader, I wonder if she is old enough to give gifts to teachers (special teachers & main teachers) directly or should I drop off gifts at school administration like last year? It has giftcard in each envelope and some comes with a small gift bags. And, I also wonder is it inappropriate for kids to give gifts to teacher directly in front of other kids?

And, if I decide to drop off teacher gifts at school administration, do you normally get something as well for the school administration staff? Last year, I felt some unfriendliness attitude when I dropped off teacher holiday gifts/teacher appreciation gifts at my kid’s school administration. I was not sure if I was too sensitive or not. And, I only received less than 50% thank you notes/email from teachers/staffs, and I occasionally wonder if they have received the gifts or misplaced somewhere…

I have never failed to receive a Thank you from a teacher, so that part does concern me. Otherwise, you are really overthinking things here. Empower your child to deliver the gifts appropriately and independently. Unless your child has anxiety or adhd or some delay, they can do as the others do and drop the gift on the teachers desk in the morning.
Also I believe you had disapproval from the office for coming in person to give the gifts and not because you neglected to give the office a gift. The office is a very busy and understaffed place, especially around holidays.

In many years at MCPS with three children and giving gift cards every year we only got thank yous maybe 30-40 percent of the time so I wouldn't worry about that.