10 Teacher Appreciation Gifts During Quarantine

If you think suddenly substitute teaching your kids at home is hard, imagine how hard it has been on their teachers! Many teachers are not only having to continue creating lesson plans and providing learning resources, but they also have to teach parents how to follow the curriculum and use technology. Plus, many teachers also have to be their own kid’s substitute teacher at home!

Even though teachers are not in the classroom with your kids are teaching like they wish they were, let’s not forget to celebrate them during Teacher Appreciation Week. Hint – Teacher Appreciation Week is THIS week. With the COVID-19 quarantine orders, it makes purchasing teacher gifts a little different. To help you find a way to show your gratitude, here are ten teacher appreciation gifts you can still give during the quarantine.

1. A Homemade Card

Nothing beats a homemade card. Bonus – If you make your kids make the card, this will take up some of those extra hours you have during the day. Just be sure the card shows your child’s teacher how much he/she is appreciated and missed. If you don’t have the teacher’s home address, you can send the card to the school and address it to the teacher. Along those same lines, a simple email “thank you” from you will be appreciated, especially during such a crazy school year.

2. Gift Cards

You know what teachers really want? Gift cards. No more personalized apples. Think about it - If they got an apple or teacher mug from every child, they would have hundreds upon hundreds. Instead, get them gift cards to use at stores they love. Bonus – Choose gift cards that allow them to shop online since going to stores isn’t easy right now.

3. Restaurant Delivery

Treat your child’s teacher to lunch or dinner by having a meal delivered via Uber Eats or GrubHub. Or, give your child’s teacher a gift card to use at their favorite local restaurant.

4. Donate to Their Classrooms

Make their day by donating to their classroom. Many teachers keep ongoing Amazon Wish Lists for their classrooms or share project needs on DonorsChoose.

5. Flowers

A lovely way to show appreciation is with a bouquet of flowers. If florists are opened where you live and floral delivery is available, this is a great choice.

6. Donuts on the Doorstep

If you know their address, show your appreciation by leaving them some donuts on the doorstep. This is a sweet way to say thank you and practice social distancing.

7. A Video Message

If you don’t know by now, teachers love your kids. They miss seeing them and are heartbroken they don’t get to instruct them face to face. So, the next best thing is “seeing” them online. Have your child record a video message telling them how much they appreciate them and email the video to your child’s teacher.

8. Say It in Chalk

Bust out the sidewalk chalk and tell the world how much you love your child’s teacher. You can do this on your own driveway, your child’s driveway, or even the sidewalk in front of the school.

9. Give Them a Parade

If you can coordinate with other class parents, plan a surprise teacher appreciation parade. In separate vehicles, ride past the teacher’s house in decorated cars with kids waving and yelling, “thank you” from the windows.

10. Quarantine-Themed Gifts

And, last but not least, consider a quarantine-themed teacher gift from an Etsy seller.