Teachers go above and beyond to make sure that the next generation of students will be prepared for adulthood. Unfortunately, teachers do not always get the compensation or appreciation that they deserve. This is why it is so important to do whatever you can to help teachers out, especially those teachers who go out of their way to make sure that children and teens learn, grow, and bond in a safe, fun environment.
So, what can you do to give teachers a helping hand? One of the best things you can do is dedicate your free time to school-related projects and events. Teachers and school administrators are almost always in need of volunteers to help organize or chaperone trips and outings. However, if you are short on free time, this may not be a feasible option.
Thankfully, there are plenty of other ways to say “thank you” to the teachers in your lives (and your children’s lives) who have worked so hard. While you can always show your gratitude in person, sometimes it can be more impactful and meaningful to give teachers a tangible reminder of your appreciation. In other words, you can easily make a DIY teacher appreciation card that your favorite teachers can keep for years to come.
In today’s guide, we will help you learn how to make your own DIY teacher appreciation cards. Additionally, we will provide you with a few fun card ideas to help get your creative juices flowing. Finally, we are going to discuss some messages you can write in your card to make sure that you show as much gratitude as possible. So, let’s get started!
How To Make A Homemade Teacher Appreciation Card
While you may be tempted to go to your nearest party or card store to get a generic card, handmade cards are always far more appreciated. This is especially true when it comes to cards for teachers of young students. They are accustomed to arts and crafts projects, so if you can work together with your young one to create something really special and memorable, your teacher will be so much more thankful for the extra effort.
Naturally, this begs an important question: how do you make a homemade teacher thank you card? While there is no exact science to it, there are a few things that you will want to collect before you get started. First and foremost, you need to get some kind of card stock to form the body of your thank you card. You can choose whichever size, color, and style of card stock you like. From there, you just need a pen or marker and you already have the bare essentials to make your card!
However, there’s a good chance that you will want to decorate your card with visually appealing additions like strings, buttons, glitter, or even photos. Consequently, you will need to think about the kind of card you want to make before you get started. You don’t want to waste half a dozen pieces of card stock just because you didn’t go into the project with a plan! So, in the next section, we will take a look at a few sample ideas to help get you started.
Teacher Appreciation Card Ideas
Before we actually discuss some sample ideas, it is important to note that there are essentially two types of teacher appreciation cards. There are cards from students and cards from parents (or entire families). Whether you have a very young student or a student preparing to graduate high school, their style of card and the contents of their card will be very different from a card from you (the parent). Thus, it’s important to look at a few ideas for both types of cards:
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Appreciation Card Ideas From Students
- Glitter Blast – There are few arts and crafts materials that call more attention than glitter! So, if your child wants to have fun decorating their card, they can simply write “Thank You Mr./Mrs. [Name],” apply a little bit of glue on the areas surrounding the message, and then splash the card with colorful glitter. Colors like gold and purple are great options to make the card really stand out!
- Fill in the Blanks – Teachers love to see that their hard work has paid off. If your young one is learning to write and spell, consider creating a fill-in-the-blank card that takes the form of a letter or thankful message. For example, you can type out the format on your computer with “Dear _____, I am so grateful to you because ____. I really enjoyed it when we _____. Thank you so much! Sincerely, _____.” Then, your student can fill in the blanks by hand and create a truly unique card.
- Photo Memory – One great idea for teachers is to create a simple thank you card that includes a photo of the student with the teacher. If you do not have one, the card could simply have a photo of the student for the teacher to remember him or her in the future. Either way, your student can always decorate the rest of the card however they like!
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Appreciation Card Ideas From Parents
- Thank You Letter – Most parents who want to express their gratitude to teachers have a lot to say. Perhaps you want to express your appreciation to a teacher who gave your child special attention when they needed it most. In any case, writing a full letter within an appreciation card is one of the best ways to show exactly how you feel about your student’s teacher and how much you appreciate their hard work.
- Stylized Card Stock – Just because you are the parent does not mean that you can’t have fun making your card! Instead of writing a lot, you can focus more on the style of the card itself. This is when it is best to focus on the teacher and what they teach. For example, if you are making a card for a math teacher, you can make your card look like a calculator. Alternatively, if you are writing to an art teacher, you can do your best to recreate a famous painting — and don´t worry if it’s not perfect! It’s always the thought that counts the most.
- Gift Card Holders – Finally, it is important to remember that teachers often have to work outside of their standard classroom hours, buy many of their own materials, and fulfill dozens of roles within the school. So, you can always show your appreciation by getting them a gift card to help pay for something they like or need. You can fashion your appreciation card to have a pocket that holds the gift card, making it a two-for-one gift and card combo!
What To Write In A Teacher Appreciation Card
When writing a thank you note, you need to first think about who you are writing to and why you are thankful. This applies to thank you notes to teachers from parents, as well as teacher thank you notes from students. And remember, you don’t need to be an expert wordsmith to write a teacher appreciation card. Even something as simple as “Thank You, Teacher” will do. However, if you can think about specific events or moments from the school year that stand out to you or your student, you can really make a card worth remembering.
Ready to create your next DIY teacher appreciation card? If so, be sure to check out our high-quality card stock and paper on Fine Card Stock today, and let us know how you put our card stock to good use!