Gratitude easily gets swept up in the flurry of a long list of to dos with busy moms and busy dads trying to keep their children’s lives full of happiness and engagement.  But Teacher Appreciation Day falls at the perfect time, where you’ve really got a great taste as to what your child’s teacher has offered their little soul and growing brain through the school year thus far.  You have an idea how this year will fall into line in the scope of their academic career.   Here are five easy, peasy teacher gift ideas on how to say thanks to this year’s positive influence in your child’s life.

1. Spring blooms – Stop by your local flower shop and let your child select the fresh seasonal flowers from the cooler.  Your local florist can share with you some fun facts about some of the blooms that could tie back to school – perhaps your child’s taste is tropical and that year at school they enjoyed a lesson on the rain forest together!
2. Plant a seed – Your favorite teacher is probably enjoying thinking about their time outdoors when the school year wraps up.  Bring him or her a bulb plant that can be replanted outdoors so they will remember your child each Spring when the bright bloom blossoms again!
3. Healthy treat – We all know the fears of cold/flu season and how they carry through to the end of the year!  Surprise your teacher with a fresh fruit basket that includes yummy, immune building and disease fighting fruits such as navel oranges!
4. A gift to share – teachers work very closely with the other teachers from their grade, specialists and administrators – help grow those friendships with a fun treat basket filled with your favorite snacks for the teachers to enjoy during recess or at an after-school meeting.
   1. Bring the outside in – A local florist has a lovely selection of blooming plants that would be the perfect addition to your teacher’s window in the classroom and bring some of the outside inside – inspiring new ideas among the classmates!  Teacher’s gifts turned into classroom inspiration!

Showing gratitude feels so food.  Research from Rutgers shows that people who give flowers make the best impression compared to other gifts studied. They are considered more likable, friendly and emotionally intelligent. The floral gift-giver is regarded as highly caring, trustworthy, loving, successful, and as valuing achievement and beauty in life.*  Isn’t that lovely?  Perhaps we can credit our great teachers for those impressive titles!