How to Celebrate Your Online Teachers During the Quarantine of 2020

Even though you don’t see them everyday, they’re definitely not out of mind so don’t forget to celebrate all of the online teachers during teacher appreciation week. And yes there are plenty of ways that you can celebrate them from the other side of the computer. You’ll need to get either their email address or their mailing address, but you can also coordinate a socially distanced drop off or drive by if you can plan it with your teacher. Read on for some extra special ways to show your appreciation for all of the extra steps they’ve taken to learn how to teach online.

Here are some good ideas for how you can Celebrate Your Teacher From a Distance This Year...

(There are some Amazon affiliate links towards the bottom; if you choose to buy any of those items within 24 hours after you click on them, I will earn a very very very small commission. ;)

GIFT CARDS

These are the best way to socially distance celebrate your teacher! Some places will allow you to buy an e-gift card and email it to them. Amazon (click for special Teacher's edition) and Starbucks are always a good option, but if you know your teacher’s preferences you can make it more personal with a specific store they like.

Just make sure the stores have either a delivery, curbside pick up or a drive-thru option like: Lowe’s, Home Depot, Ace Hardware, Pier 1, Target, Best Buy, CVS, Kohl’s, Office Depot, Office Max, Staples, Walmart, Bed Bath & Beyond, PetSmart/Petco.

Or, you could choose an online delivery provider like: Audiobooks, iTunes, Netflix, Hulu, Roku, Disney+, etc.

RESTAURANT CREDIT

This is a double win by supporting local businesses and honoring your teachers at the same time. It might be best to know what part of town they live in to make sure they can use it for a local pick up or delivery. Panera, Red Robin, BJ's, Cheesecake Factory, Outback, Olive Garden,

E-GREETING CARDS

Send them a little note to let them know you’re thinking about them. Choose a free e-card through services like: Punchbowl, WWF (World Wildlife Fund), Blue Mountain, Greetings Island, Open Me, 123 Greetings, Punchbowl, Pingg or Someecards. There are others I’m sure but these are some of the more popular ones.

DONATE ON THEIR BEHALF

This is another double win by supporting one of the many local or global organizations that are hurting for funding right now in the name of your teachers. If you know of a cause or mission that’s close to their heart, you could honor them in a way that means something special to them. Pretty much every local organization, museum and nonprofit is in need of funding right now so make a donation to support them and you can email the confirmation to your teacher.

EMAIL PHOTOS AND VIDEOS

I’m sure teachers miss seeing their smiling student’s faces so putting together a little photo collage or video to show what kinds of things the kids are doing at home would be much appreciated. Even just to email a photo with a little summary about what your child has been doing at home or how much they’re missed would bring a smile to their face.

EMAIL PROJECT PHOTOS

If your child has a special skill or interest they want to show their teacher, help them make a project and email a photo or video of them doing it or the final product. Help your child make a drawing, an art project, write a poem, do a science project or something that your teacher is interested in. Does your teacher like gardening? Send them a photo of your child tending your garden at home.

CHALK THE WALK

This sidewalk chalk movement has been BIG during this quarantine time, so if you know where your teacher lives you could go draw and write some messages in their driveway or in front of their house. Make sure it’s okay first! If you have a class parents email list, blast this idea out to everyone so they have the prettiest sidewalk in the neighborhood. Try to assign different times for everyone so they don’t all show up at once.

YARD SIGNS

Put out a “World’s Best Teacher Lives Here” yard sign in your teacher’s front lawn. This way all the neighbors will know what an awesome teacher you have.

DRIVE BY PARADE

If you can organize a Drive By Parade with the other parents, this is another popular trend that has taken off during this quarantine time. Drive by their house and roll the windows down, turn the music up and give some honks for an awesome teacher. If you don’t know where your teacher lives, you can ask them if they would be willing to park near the school at a certain time for everyone to drive by and give their shout outs.

GIFT DROP OFFS

These are easier to give if you know where your teacher lives so you can drop it off on their doorstep. Some other ways to get a physical gift to them would be to ask them to meet you at a mutual location and your child can see your teacher from the window and you could even put it in the trunk of their car for them. Or set it down somewhere, back up 6’ and let your teacher pick it up. Another way could be to arrange a store pick up and send them the confirmation details to pick up at their convenience. Make sure the store has a curbside pick up option AND an option to select an “alternate pick up person” that will allow them to receive it.

-Self Care Gifts: epsom salts, bath bombs, face masks, hair masks, face lotion, oils or cremes, natural sea sponge or pouf, body wash, scented candle, books, oil diffuser bracelet or desktop pod with some essential oils

-Chocolate and Wine/Coffee: Trader Joe’s has some of the best chocolate gift sets and some pretty good wines too. Or pick up a stainless steel vacuum insulated mug to keep their coffee piping hot all day long and toss in a gift card to a local coffee shop nearby.

-Gardening Box: seeds, planter, macrame succulent holder, gardening gloves, kneeling pad, watering canister, indoor plant or succulent

-Fresh Produce: With the chaos of going inside a grocery store, it would be a nice gift to pick up some fresh fruit or vegetables and give as a gift. Some local restaurants are offering produce boxes that anyone would love to receive. My favorite so far has been the fruit box from Tender Greens. You can even order it online and have it delivered to their house!

-Online Learning Tools: stylus (like this fun duster top stylus or this classic pen/stylus combo, paper sized white board, dry erase markers, headphones, USB drive, fill these up inside a desktop organizer tote bag with handles

-Digital Photo Frame: If you can swing a group gift from the other parents, buy a digital photo frame that you can all send photos of your kids to for her to see during the day when she’s teaching online. I bought this one for my mom that lets me email the photos to a specific email address and they automatically show up in the digital photo album and get rotated through every 10 seconds.

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