Teacher Appreciation Gifts: 5 Gifts Teachers Will Actually Love

This week, all around the country, students and parents are taking the time to celebrate the people who so selflessly look after and inspire our children- their teachers. And, all around the country, teachers are inundated with coffee mugs, coffee shop gift cards, chocolates, and knick knacks. Although teachers always appreciate a good cup of coffee (who doesn’t), there is nothing like getting something for teachers that they truly need for their classroom. Lakeshore Learning has so many amazing teaching tools that are perfect gift for Teacher Appreciation Week that you can’t go wrong with surprising your child’s teacher with a gift from here. Here are some of our favorite picks:

5 Teacher Appreciation Gifts Your Child’s Teacher Will Actually Love

1. Neon Classroom Supply Caddy

Sometimes teachers need to help their students keep their areas clean. These Neon Classroom Supply Caddies help to keep all the art supplies, pencils, glue sticks, and scissors in one neat place so that the kids can help keep their areas neat and tidy. The variety of vibrant colors makes any classroom brighter, and the easy to carry handle makes it easy to bring the supplies to different parts of the room.

The Neon Classroom Supply Caddies are great for center time, for table organization, or for to easy access supplies for group projects or small group activities. And maybe, just maybe, it will help the kids to remember to put the tops on their glue sticks (a teacher can dream, right?)

2. Neon Connect and Store Book Bins

Another thing teachers have a ton of that is sometimes difficult to keep accessible and organized is books. Whether we are talking about teaching materials or books for the kids, books are everywhere in a classroom- as they should be! But kids are messy, and the best way to keep things organized in a classroom (and the teacher sane) is to give them an easy way to clean up their stuff when they are done using it. These Neon Connect & Store Book Bins do just that!

The Neon Connect & Store Book Bins easily fit several books. The labels on the front can be changed to whatever the teacher needs– either by small group, reading levels, or genre- so the students know exactly where to access and put away their reading materials. The bins also connect to one another making sure that nothing gets tossed around. When not in use, these book bins can easily fit into each other giving teachers more space for their classroom storage.

3. All-Purpose Teacher’s Organizer

Teachers need to stay organized. It’s in their blood. A classroom can’t function without proper organization! The All Purpose Teacher’s Organizer from Lakeshore Learning is the perfect addition to a teacher’s organizational armory. It can be used in a variety of ways to fit a teacher’s needs.

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The All Purpose Teacher’s Organizer comes with five colored book bin organizers and coordinating file folders. These can be used for parent organization, units, small group organization, or days of the week assignments. The interchangeable labels on the front of the bin make it easy to find what the teacher is looking for quickly. And the coordinating colored file folders make it easy to know where things belong when the teacher (or the student) is done using them. Just another great way Lakeshore Learning makes it easy to stay organized!

4. Building Empathy Hardcover Library

In a day and age where it is becoming more important for us to help our children recognize and appropriately react to their own emotions or emotions of our peers, teachers are finding themselves needing materials to teach these skills. The Building Empathy Hardcover Library allows teachers to easily teach how to recognize certain emotions and how peers can help each other overcome them.

The Building Empathy Hardcover Library gives 6 books, all which reflect a character’s emotions. They books allow for easy discussion of the different emotions the characters are feeling and how one could appropriately react to them. Children will be enthralled by the stories as well as learn about societal constructs when it comes to empathy. This is a great gift for all teachers at any grade level, as well as school counselors.

5. CD & Cassette Player with BLUETOOTH

One of the staples in classrooms is a reading area where children can not only read but also listen to books on tape. This CD & Cassette Player with BLUETOOTH from Lakeshore Learning allows teachers to give children the option of listening to their story. It even has 6 headphone jacks so that several children can listen at the same time- perfect for leveled reading groups!

Music is an essential part of learning, too. Whether the kids are learning information through song, just getting their wiggles out, or are simply listening to soothing background music, a player like this one allows for music to be heard throughout the classroom. The BLUETOOTH technology means that the teacher can connect it to his or her phone, or other device, so they can easily access the music they need from online. No more buying full CDs if they don’t need to!

Aren’t sure exactly what your child’s teacher needs for their classroom? Get them a Lakeshore Learning Gift Card so they can get exactly what they want. 

Teachers spend so much of their own money each year on things for the classroom that a gift of things they could actually use for their students is something they would love. These gifts from Lakeshore Learning will make your child’s teacher feel as though you are really listening to his or her needs- and therefore truly appreciating all that they do in the classroom each day.

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Want to get inside your child’s teacher’s head? Here is What Teachers Want Your Child to Know Before Kindergarten