Can you believe it's almost
May?! That means the school year is coming to a close...what, what? It will be
here before we know it. With all of the end of the year craziness, you want to
make sure you don't forget about your paraprofessionals. In special education,
we all know that we simply can't do it with our classroom assistants.
While we
can't say thank you enough for everything they do on a daily basis, we can do
something small to show our appreciation!
Last year I put together
these simple gifts. I found some cute water bottles and added some tea
bags/packets inside. I attached a tag to the outside that said "you're
tea-riffic" and a short little note of my appreciation on the back. You'll
notice one gift just had a box of tea and no bottle...I wasn't sure my male
aide would have appreciated a cute water bottle so he just got more tea than
everyone else :)
I've also passed out gift cards, packs of gum, or notebooks. It doesn't have to be elaborate or "Pinterest worthy", you know what your aide like, and they will appreciate the thought!
Here's a few ideas from some awesome teachers I've met on Facebook. I hope you all find an idea that you can use in your classroom!
- Nicole says, "I buy a cute little bin from 31 and full it with chocolate or Kcups. I also do coffee on Friday once a month." I love that she makes this a year round thing too!
- Cindy has this great idea: "I bought 2 packs of contingo coffee mugs from Costco and gave them to mine. They told me those are the best coffee cups ever. Don't leak, keeps coffee hot."
- As a para, Phil suggests "My favorite gifts I have been give as a para have been having a duty covered so I could get an additional break, 10 or 15 min breaks here and there that are rare. Yes, I know as teachers you do not get those kind of treats but it is little things like that that mean a lot."
- I love how Marissa gets her students involved too! "I've done flowers and that has been well received. One year we did stress relief baskets from bath and body works. At the end of every year we have a luncheon for the paras where they all have at least 30 minutes uninterrupted lunch together. We try to have students escort them to their lunch, too."
- Traci from the Bender Bunch has these awesome free printables you can use to put together these cute summer gifts!
At my school, we have educational assistants. Their role in the school is so important to our program. These are some great ideas for end-of-the-year gifts. Thank you! ~ https://allkidscanlearn.school.blog/2019/06/06/end-of-the-year-rituals/
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