Teacher appreciation week and how much to give

[Anonymous]

Hi, I know this comes up every year, but I thought I would still ask.

How much does everyone give / or would you give in this scenario at my daughter's preschool:

1 head teacher
1 assistant teacher

4-5 after school teachers

For Christmas I gave $50 to both teachers and $25 to the after school but I'm not sure if this is average.

I was thinking about doing $25-40 for the teachers and $20 for after school since money is a little tighter, but not sure if that is too low! I'm also contributing food and other items for the week activities.

Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

I have the same question as well, should I give same/more/less giftcard to teacher in daycare compared to christmas time?

And, we have a full time teacher last christmas become part time teacher (because she needs to take care of 2 classes this year for the ratio), does that mean I should give her less compared to christmas because she spend 50% of the time in my DC's class this year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have the same question as well, should I give same/more/less giftcard to teacher in daycare compared to christmas time?

And, we have a full time teacher last christmas become part time teacher (because she needs to take care of 2 classes this year for the ratio), does that mean I should give her less compared to christmas because she spend 50% of the time in my DC's class this year?

OP here... I would give less to the full time now part time teacher. I always give more (but equal amounts) to the main teachers since they spend the most time with your kid!

I hope more people chime in.

[Anonymous]

Teacher here. Write me a note for TAW, saying thank you and anything specific you appreciate. That means more than a gift card, honestly. If you want to give money, any amount is fine. Most gift cards I get are $5-20.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here. Write me a note for TAW, saying thank you and anything specific you appreciate. That means more than a gift card, honestly. If you want to give money, any amount is fine. Most gift cards I get are $5-20.

Thanks for responding! Are you a daycare or private preschool teacher though? I feel like that matters since if an elementary or highschool teacher, it probably seems like bribing if you give more than $20 or so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have the same question as well, should I give same/more/less giftcard to teacher in daycare compared to christmas time?

And, we have a full time teacher last christmas become part time teacher (because she needs to take care of 2 classes this year for the ratio), does that mean I should give her less compared to christmas because she spend 50% of the time in my DC's class this year?

OP here... I would give less to the full time now part time teacher. I always give more (but equal amounts) to the main teachers since they spend the most time with your kid!

I hope more people chime in.

PP here, that's helpful. May I ask if your child's daycare doing TAW or not? My DC's daycare is doing it, they send note that asking kid to bring in a stem of flower (I don't know where can get a stem of flower, probably I will buy a bunch just pull out one for each teacher), desserts (maybe chocolate?), pictures, and card etc for the week. So, just want to ask is it considered uncommon for parent giving giftcard/cash (thinking maybe $100 for main teacher) if we are already participating in TAW bringing in items every day? I don't know the culture here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here. Write me a note for TAW, saying thank you and anything specific you appreciate. That means more than a gift card, honestly. If you want to give money, any amount is fine. Most gift cards I get are $5-20.

so if I give a teacher a $50 gift certificate will it be seen as excessive? Brown nosing?

I'm very grateful to the teachers who helped with my child in-crisis this year. I'm fortunate to be in a position to give generously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have the same question as well, should I give same/more/less giftcard to teacher in daycare compared to christmas time?

And, we have a full time teacher last christmas become part time teacher (because she needs to take care of 2 classes this year for the ratio), does that mean I should give her less compared to christmas because she spend 50% of the time in my DC's class this year?

OP here... I would give less to the full time now part time teacher. I always give more (but equal amounts) to the main teachers since they spend the most time with your kid!

I hope more people chime in.

PP here, that's helpful. May I ask if your child's daycare doing TAW or not? My DC's daycare is doing it, they send note that asking kid to bring in a stem of flower (I don't know where can get a stem of flower, probably I will buy a bunch just pull out one for each teacher), desserts (maybe chocolate?), pictures, and card etc for the week. So, just want to ask is it considered uncommon for parent giving giftcard/cash (thinking maybe $100 for main teacher) if we are already participating in TAW bringing in items every day? I don't know the culture here.

Hi, yes my daughter's school is also doing TAW. I bought items for the classroom, breakfast and doing the flowers too. It does seem excessive, but then again the teachers deserve it! It's definitely not uncommon to do a gift card since one of our theme days is actually GIFT CARD and thank you card day. They also send out a list of their favorite stores to get gift cards from. LOL, I do appreciate the openness though so they don't get an unwanted gift card.

One thing to note is I've heard to always get the main & assistant teachers the same amount since the assistant teacher does a lot of the dirty work and makes it almost equal to the main teacher who does the lesson planning. I still don't have any advice on the amount. $100 sounds like a lot to me and would def be appreciated.

[Anonymous]

Wait - I have to give money for teacher appreciation week?

[Anonymous]

My daycare does a pool of money organized by the parents. I contribute half of what I give at Christmas.

I prefer pools because it takes some of the awkwardness about giving a wad of cash. I wish more places did this.

I also bring in bakery treats one day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wait - I have to give money for teacher appreciation week?

It’s just a couple hundred for each. No biggie.

[Anonymous]

I give $50 to the two teachers.
I have given Target or Amazon gift cards in the past.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I give $50 to the two teachers.
I have given Target or Amazon gift cards in the past.

Thanks! I think I will stick with this and give $20ea for the afterschool teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher here. Write me a note for TAW, saying thank you and anything specific you appreciate. That means more than a gift card, honestly. If you want to give money, any amount is fine. Most gift cards I get are $5-20.

so if I give a teacher a $50 gift certificate will it be seen as excessive? Brown nosing?

I'm very grateful to the teachers who helped with my child in-crisis this year. I'm fortunate to be in a position to give generously.

OP here.... I'm not sure if the PP teacher is a daycare / preschool / montessori teacher. I think for these options, parents do give more than $20 often. I haven't really asked around since I'm afraid it's rude, but my siblings also give similar amounts ($50/teachers) to their daycare providers. A $50 gc does not seem excessive to me!

[Anonymous]

Can a daycare teachers respond to this -- do you prefer gift cards or cash?

I feel awkward putting cash in a card, but I don't know what giftcards to get. I personally would appreciate getting an Amazon gift card, but I don't know if my son's teacher uses Amazon.