The Other Teachers - ideas

Just a quick post before I run out the door to take care of about 643 things. Story of my life.

I'm sure most of you who are parents give a gift of some sort to your children's teachers this time of year. Whether a gift certificate, a homemade goodie, or something your kid picked out, most of us take the time to do something nice for our teacher at Christmas.

But do you remember to do something for the music, art, PE, etc teachers? I encourage you to do so.... often times the kids most love these classes. And those teachers take care of the entire school. Think about it...the art teacher at our school has to do grades for 630 kids...not just a class of 20. I've spent some time with her recently and she is often at school till 8p.m....she often comes up on the weekends. Many times in our holiday bustle we forget the other teachers who make a difference in the lives of our children.

I will be the first to admit that I cannot afford to get them all a gift as 'big' as the one we get our classroom teacher. I do know that they appreciate being thought of in any way. Here are some ideas of small things you can give those 'other' teachers:

*A packet of your favorite hot chocolate tied to a good magazine with a ribbon.

*A $5 Sonic or Starbucks gift card tied to a candy bar or slipped into a nice card from your child.

*Find a great deal on a small Christmas-y paperback book and give one to each of them.

*Make a CD of great music...whether a mix of relaxing stuff, music to keep them going, or
Christmas songs.

*Give them a brownie mix in a jar so they can have a good later: In a quart sized large mouthed jar, layer; 1/3 cup cocoa powder, 2/3 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup chocolate chips, 1/2 cup white chocolate chips, 2/3 cup brown sugar, and 1 cup + 2 T flour mixed with 3/4 tsp salt. Decorate the jar and attach the directions: Mix with 1 tsp vanilla, 2/3 cup oil, and 3 large eggs. Spread in square pan sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

*Get some cute little 1/2 pint jars. Make some Festive Cranberry Honey: 1 can whole berry cranberry sauce and 4 ounces of orange marmalade heated in the microwave together. Stir till melted then add 1/2 cup of honey. Pour into jars, decorate with a ribbon, and refrigerate. Tag can say: Festive Cranberry Honey: Great on toast or rolls, or as a glaze on ham. Keep refrigerated. This is yummy stuff I tell you.

I just want to encourage you to remember all the teachers who touch your child's life when doing your Christmas giving this year!
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And now, a side note to clarify a little something about my last post. I just want you to know that I do not have anything against people who do not celebrate Christmas for Jesus reasons. The whole point of my frustration in that conversation was someone telling ME what I should say. I don't tell anyone what THEY should say, and I don't think anyone needs to correct me. I'm giving a greeting from my heart based on my belief, and I am fine with other people saying what they so choose. I'm not going to change what I say because of the company I am in, and I don't expect them to do so either. You'll even see a peek of the fact that I have nothing against the 'other holidays' when you read the guest post this week. Stop back by, I bet you'll learn something new.