Activities for Teacher Appreciation Week

Heartfelt Activities

• The activities that will mean the most to teachers are the ones that come from the heart. Have students write a poem or note to their teacher. (Younger children can draw a picture.) Parent volunteers can mount all of the original works on poster boards for each teacher and hang them in the hallways leading to each teacher's classroom. The teachers will be surprised when they walk into school on the first morning of Teacher Appreciation Week.

  Or have each student fill out a short questionnaire about their teacher. Include serious and funny questions. Give each teacher a scrapbook that includes the completed questionnaires, class photos and student poems and artwork.

Service Activities

• One popular way to show thanks during Teacher Appreciation Week is to stock the teachers' lounge with homemade breakfast treats, healthy snacks and gourmet coffee. Take this idea a step further by coordinating a sit-down luncheon for teachers in the cafeteria. Students can help decorate the tablecloths and centerpieces, and parent volunteers can watch over the classrooms while the teachers get to enjoy a leisurely lunch for once.

  Surprise the teachers at your school by sprucing up the staff bathrooms on the weekend before Teacher Appreciation Week. Add a coat of cheerful paint, some decorative artwork, a cabinet to hold personal items and an assortment of soaps and lotions.

  Or organize a car wash for teachers. Coordinate with teachers' after-school schedules so they are not inconvenienced, and hold the event over several days, if necessary. Students will get a kick out of washing cars, especially if it's a warm day.

Community Activities

• Don't limit your teacher appreciation activities to your school; get the local community involved. Ask restaurants and coffee shops to offer teachers a free food item during the week. Arrange for local bookstores and office supply stores to offer teacher discounts as well. Make signs to hang in the storefronts to thank the teachers for their hard work. If your community has a local newspaper, ask them to donate space for a large ad that thanks the teachers and lists the local schools.