Discover over 25 creative back-to-school, open house, and meet-the-teacher gifts for students that ease jitters, spark excitement, and make them feel welcome. Perfect for ensuring a smooth start to the school year, this blog post provides gift ideas that will last for years, making the hectic back-to-school season stress-free for teachers.

8 Practical teacher gifts for back to school, Christmas, or end of school. These non-traditional gifts are ones that your child's teacher actually wants.

For the past several years, I've given each of my new students a MYSTERY GIFT at "Meet the Teacher" night for them to take home. The catch? The CANNOT open the gift until the morning of the first day of school. What's the purpose? I got this idea from Hope King several years ago when she hand delivered mystery gifts to her students before the first day of school. The goal is to build excitement and anticipation for the new school year. We want our kids to be COUNTING DOWN the days until the first day of school, and I have found that these mystery gifts are a way to get them doing that! I give each student that attends open house one of the gifts and they take it home with them. They stare at it for the next several days (hah!) and they are allowed to open it up as soon as they wake up on the first day of school. What is the gift? You can literally turn ANYTHING into a mystery gift. For several years, I gave bracelets that all matched and they represented our classroom community. For the past couple years, I've changed it up. Be creative and think about things the kiddos in your community are currently excited about. I went with bracelets several years ago because the students in my community LOVED Lokai bracelets. Come up with something fun and unique for your kids! I do try to steer away from something "educational" because I want it to be something the kids will actually ENJOY. Although new crayons are great, I doubt my kids will be SUPER pumped to receive them as a gift. ha. What do I include with the gift? I always put a BIG do NOT open sign on the front of the gift, and then a note inside with the item. I personally think the note should be special for your class! You can grab mine HERE. Gift Ideas: Bracelets: Other items: All Amazon Links are affiliate links and I get a small commission if you choose to purchase your items though them. = )

Little things that mean a lot and won't break the bank.

The first week of school sure is a busy one! I work hard to balance the mandatory paperwork with games, hands-on activities and team-building fun. Even with bigger kids, it’s important to keep them moving throughout the day and providing a variety of activities. 1. Marshmallow Tower For this activity, you’ll need the following materials […]

Grab these Back to school table settings with free printables so you can send your kids off to school in style!

(This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.) Free Printable First Day of School Flags – Pencil Here’s a set of free printable First Day of…

Use this free printable teacher questionnaire to get to know the teacher. Find out exactly what to give the for birthday, Christmas and end of year gifts.

Have you tried using Collaborative Posters in the Classroom? Collaborative posters are a fantastic way to build a culture of teamwork and unity in your

Students setting goals can be powerful, whether it be for a New Year's resolution activity, back-to-school activity, or anytime during t...

Welcome Back Ideas for Teachers - Make your teacher's first week back to school a little brighter.

Send students home from their first day of school with a special name crown. Encourage family communication and begin building a classroom community as children start to learn each other's names.

Depending on the format of your school's Back-to-School Night, planning out your evening meeting parents can be tough.

STEM challenges are the best way to begin building classroom community and teamwork at the beginning of the year. They are also a great way to introduce problem-solving skills and get students thinking creatively and outside the box. The best part is students LOVE them, and they don't eve

These All About Me first day of school free printables for every year make the perfect school days keepsake!

This Jitter Juice recipe is perfect for the first day of school! Pair it with the fun back to school book, "First Day Jitters."

Back to School Night can be the first time you meet many of the parents in your class. It is important that you communicate all of the information the parents will need to help their child have a successful school year. Here are my top tips for planning an informative and stress free Back to School Night: Have a Sign In SheetHave parents sign in on a sheet as the enter the room. This will allow you to keep track of which student's parents were able to attend. Be sure to send home copies of the

MATH Higher-Order Thinking Questions for Students! Questions for students to ask EACH OTHER! *These open-ended questions are great to get your students to think deeper about math concepts and word …

The one night that is most stressful for me is definitely Meet-the-Teacher Night, but I have learned through the years that it can also be...

This is a great activity for students to complete the first week of school. You get to know more about your students, but it's science related! Students might need access to technology to answer some of the questions.This product has 3 "Science of Me" versions for students to use!

Get to know your students with Tessellations! Great for bulletin board display! Within this resource: Hexagon Tessellation ready to print See preview for more details!

Looking for a meaningful and fun back-to-school activity? Why not create a Classroom Wreath with your students? Work together to create this easy and cute classroom decor while getting to know each other. Students get to write down their goals, wishes, and hopes for the school year on the Wreath Component. Put it together and display it proudly on your Classroom Door! Check out the Blog Post on How To Make Your Classroom Wreath This Resource Includes: Wreath Base Templates Pencil Wreath Component Resources You Might Like: ⭐ Brain Breaks - Back To School ⭐ *FREE* Back To School Morning Meeting Activities & Prompts (SEL Focused) ⭐ Back To School: Tic-Tac-Toe Connect with Me Here! www.littleyellowstarteaches.com Instagram: @littleyellowstarteaches Facebook: @littleyellowstarteaches

This adorable DIY Teacher Survival Kit is the perfect gift for teacher appreciation day or back to school welcome. Here's how to make one!

Step by step tutorial to make a simple apple stained glass window decorations craft with clear contact paper and tissue paper.

Et si on mélangeait la tradition de la couronne des rois et la découverte d'artistes peintres en créant une collection de "couronnes d'artistes" ? Après la couronne Mondrian avec ses carrés et ses rectangles, la couronne Delaunay toute en rondeurs,...

My favorite first grade Back to School Activities in my classroom! These are my go-to activities for the first week of school!

Free Printable First Day of School Sign {Pencil}. Preschool, kindergarten, and first grade through high school first day of school picture signs.

Ministry Appreciaiton: Here are 6 ministry appreciation gift ideas for when you want to honor ministry volunteers or leaders.

Free printable first day of school signs for all grades. Choose from different signs for the perfect back to school picture.

These coffee filter flowers are SO PRETTY! This simple craft is beautiful enough for adults, but easy enough that kids can make them too. They make beautiful party decorations and are also a great gift idea for teachers or Mother's Day. Easy Coffee Filter Flowers It's hard to believe these flowers are made out of coffee filters! For pennies you can make a beautiful flower bouquet that won't wilt or fade. Best of all, these coffee filter flowers are SO EASY to make. They're made from simple supplies (coffee filters painted with liquid watercolor paint and tied together with a

First impressions are powerful. Make your first statement to your students a positive one.

These all about me, back to school art activities for kids are engaging icebreakers. Encourage creativity and build community during the first week back

We need to understand that gifted children are not just “bright” – a highly subjective label. 15 signs of a gifted child--read on to learn.

Kids will love how simple and easy it is to make pipe cleaner flowers for a fun spring craft or handmade gift for Mother’s Day.

Use these free printable first day of school interview worksheets to create your own school memory boxes for your kids! Just print the free questionnaire and have your kids fill it in as a fun keepsake. Super cute "All about me" first day of school printables!

Happy teachers mean happy students. Here is a list of ways to build morale, support teacher wellbeing and have fun as a teaching team at school.

Welcome Back School Banner {Pencil Letters}. Free printable pencil banner letters for back to school teacher classroom or back to school door decorations.

Not sure what to teach the first week of 3rd grade? Here's what we did!

Happy teachers mean happy students. Here is a list of ways to build morale, support teacher wellbeing and have fun as a teaching team at school.