PreK 4 class gift - for the kids?

[Anonymous]

The room mom for my daughter's PreK4 class emailed asking for ideas about class gifts for the end of the year. I thought she meant for the teachers, but she meant for the kids. This is a PreK-12 private school, not sure if that matters. I've never heard of this before and I went to a PreK-12 private school (albeit in a different state). What do people do for this? I'm thinking the money is better spent on giving the teachers a gift but apparently this is a thing? Any ideas?

[Anonymous]

This is ridiculous. The teacher can give the kids a book or something small. The parents give the teacher a gift.

[Anonymous]

It's not a thing. That's absurd. Parents can give the teachers a gift.

[Anonymous]

Is it a classroom gift to remain in the class for future years to use? If so then, magna tiles, blocks or books.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it a classroom gift to remain in the class for future years to use? If so then, magna tiles, blocks or books.

This - because the PreK 4 class "leaves" something to the next PreK 4 class, and so on - but make sure this is a TRADITION at your private school. If it's just a "give each kid a gift at the end of the year" then WHY?

At the end of our school year (we are a preschool only, so PreK 4 is our oldest classroom, they leave us for kindergarten) we do an "end of year gift" for each child to remember the year which is small and meaningful based on their year's experience (ocean animals because they studied ocean, for example) and paid for by the school. Not the parents.

If the parents want to give a gift to the teachers, that's great, that's where the money should go to. If there is a tradition that each graduating class "leaves something behind as a trace of their year and a gift to the next year's kids" then that's fine, but make sure it's happening in every room, not just some over-excited room mother for this year only!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it a classroom gift to remain in the class for future years to use? If so then, magna tiles, blocks or books.

OP here. No, it's for the kids who will be leaving PreK4 for K next year. I could at least get behind something for the classroom, but this just seems silly.

[Anonymous]

You should write back to the mom and clarify. I bet she misunderstood. Because there's no way parents want to give money to buy a present for each kid, that's just silly.

[Anonymous]

Ha, she sounds confused.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should write back to the mom and clarify. I bet she misunderstood. Because there's no way parents want to give money to buy a present for each kid, that's just silly.

I did! I asked what they had done last year and she said some sort of beach bucket thing, like for a summer theme. Each kid got one. I'm just going to increase my gift to the teachers and let her pay for this idea if she wants to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should write back to the mom and clarify. I bet she misunderstood. Because there's no way parents want to give money to buy a present for each kid, that's just silly.

I did! I asked what they had done last year and she said some sort of beach bucket thing, like for a summer theme. Each kid got one. I'm just going to increase my gift to the teachers and let her pay for this idea if she wants to.

That does sound weird, and that's definitely not a thing that is normal around here. But I'd do what you do, just give my gift to the teachers and let her do whatever.

At our preschool, the parents pitched in for a gift for the teachers. The teachers often gave each kid a little farewell present (and usually it was ocean themed -- beach bucket & shovel and then a trinket or two), but that was out of the school's budget, not from parent donations.