As National Teacher Appreciation Week approaches and the school year draws to a close, parents of preschoolers are comparing teacher gift ideas on the playground and furiously pinning clever crafty ideas on Pinterest. While teachers are appreciative of each and every gift from parents and children, what they are too polite to tell you is that you don’t need a lot of money, a glue gun, or a witty pun to present your teacher with a gift that will leave an impression.

Teachers work hard. A preschool teacher’s day is exhausting. My head is spinning when I finally slump down on the couch after putting my 3-year old to bed for the night after a long day of playing, reading, explaining, feeding, and yes, sometimes even bribing. Then I think of the calm, caring, skilled teachers who do this each day with not only my little one, but six (or 12, or 15) more 3-year olds who are just as active, curious, inquisitive, hungry, and stubborn.

Preschool teachers want to hear that we understand and appreciate all they do for our children. They want to hear that our children look up to them, learn from them, and love them. While it may not look as jazzy as thumbprint flowers or handmade crayons, a sincere and heartfelt thank you letter is something that will be not only put a smile on a teacher’s face, but I assure you that it will also be tucked away to be read and reread after those particularly challenging days.

If the first thing teachers need more of is recognition and appreciation, the second thing surely is books! A classroom library is never too full, and teachers spend lots of time and money adding to and updating their libraries each year.  Gifts of new books are always welcomed, appreciated, and used often.  An inscription in the front cover makes it personal, and each time the teacher opens the book to share it with a new class, she’ll take a minute to remember the boy or girl who gave the gift.

Share these gift-giving secrets with the moms and dads on the playground, in the pick-up line, and on the soccer field and help build up fantastic preschool teachers and their classroom libraries!

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Megan Gregory is a doctoral student in Literacy and Language at Boston University’s  School of Education with a focus on young students reading informational text. She currently works as a reading specialist in the Scituate Public Schools and has also taught first and second grade. To contact Megan to learn more about her work email [email protected].