Preschool teachers may appreciate something that enables them to keep their work portable: a clipboard. This clipboard will remind a preschool teacher you love how much she means to your child. Using white acrylic paint, you can paint the back of the clipboard first, then let it dry and paint the front (or skip the back and just do the front). You'll leave the clip for the end so that you have something to hold onto while you paint the front. You can give the front a second coat, then let it dry. If you want, pour some acrylic paint (red, blue, etc.) onto paper plates, then help your child dip his hand into the paint and stamp his handprint onto the front of the clipboard. With an acrylic paint marker, let your child write his name and a simple message, such as "I love you Mrs. Smith." Spray an acrylic sealer over the entire clipboard, then let it dry.
Teachers create tons of memories throughout the school year, but they cannot always capture everything on camera. You can help bring back memories by providing a memory box filled with treasures and memorabilia from the school year. This is a good gift to start on early in the year, but if you only have recent things, that's fine too. You'll need a plain cardboard craft box, with a lid, acrylic paint and small (about the size of a quarter) wooden apple pieces. Paint the box and apples however you wish. When they dry, hot glue the apples to the box. If you want, you can write on the box "(class year) Memories" with an acrylic paint marker. You also can tie some raffia into a bow and hot glue it to the box. Inside the box, include photos from field trips, times you may have volunteered and pictures of your child with the teacher. You also can include odd things that will make the teacher laugh, such as a gum wrapper to remind her of the time you were on a field trip and she stepped in gum, leaving behind a gum-filled footprint.
Help your favorite preschool teacher remember your child and the class with this craft. You'll need a wooden yardstick, which you'll cut at 8 inches, 13 inches, 12 inches and 26 inches (discard the rest). You can choose a great 5-inch by 7-inch photo of the class, a field trip or your child. Just cut a piece of cardboard down to 8 inches by 6 inches, then center the photo in the middle and glue it in place. For the frame, arrange the yardstick pieces around the cardboard border and hot glue them in place. To the outside, hot glue some school-themed items, such as a pencil, wooden miniature notebook and an eraser.