I am finishing up student teaching and I want to get the students a gift?

Question

I am finishing up my student teaching in a couple of weeks (end of December) and I was wondering if anyone had any cute gift ideas to get the students. Its Christmas time so I was thinking I could do something cute with that. Any ideas? I have 24 students so something that is not TOO pricey. Any suggestions will help! Thanks

They are first graders.

Answer 1

Maybe a "Holiday Bag" consisting of:

A holiday pencil
A holiday eraser
Stickers?
Ect.

All of the stuff can be bought EXTREMELY cheap at wishing well or even the dollar store. What is the age of th students? Hope this helps!

*by the way, a lot of people suggested a pizza party, and this would definitley be cheap, but may not be the best idea because it is unoriginal and food allergy forms would have to be sent home to ensure legal safety.

-Jordan

Answer 2

A party is really the way to go, the kids will appreciate it more than they would appreciate a gift. Something as simple as popcorn and cookies would work.
Check with your cooperating teacher as to what can and can't be done in the school, though (she or he may also have some good ideas, just ask!)

Answer 3

Candy, key chains... depends on how old they are.
Also do not forget that you probably have girls and boys in the class so make sure the gifts are appropriate.
By the way, I realize it is xmas, but just becareful buying gifts related to a specific religion, not all of their parents would be happy having their kid coming home with for example baby jesus when they do not belive in him.
Go with winter themes, maybe figurens with a snow man or ginger bread. You could probably get those at the card and party store.
Yeah you could bake them something!
So many possibilities. Good luck!!!!

Answer 4

A great idea is to get them something they can make themselves. Something crafty for example or making cookies together..that type of thing...they will remember the experience long after they remember an actual 'gift'. Making an ornament is always a great idea and maybe a pic. of you and the child as part of it..they will have it forever each year that way.

Answer 5

The pizza party ideas sound good but it sounds like you want them to have something to keep.
Oriental Trading company has lots of inexpensive party favors, craft kits, in addition to school things. You could even get custom pencils to send a greeting to remind them of you. There would be lots of other ways to personalize something such as class pictures in little foam frames.
try http://www.orientaltrading.com
Make sure you have a nice thank you for your cooperating teacher also (and good luck.)

Answer 6

making Xmas ornaments with their names on them would be good.
There's a real simple cheap way of diong this. You use what they call a salt-dough. and you roll it out and cut it into chapes with cookies cutters, then bake it in the oven until it's hard, then you use paint and you can make them look like real cookies and put the students names on them.

salt dough
1 cup fine-grained salt
¾ cup very warm tap water, or a bit more
2 cups flour

1 Combine the salt and warm water in a big mixing bowl; stir well until the water turns cloudy and the salt is just about dissolved.

2 In another bowl, add the flour.

3 Add the flour to the liquid a little at a time, and use a wooden spoon to work it in. The mixture will start to clump up; when the spoon stops doing anything, switch to your hands and start kneading. You want to get the dough to the point where it feels like it has some elasticity to it; this'll take at least five minutes or so of kneading. You might have to add a bit more water to get the dough soft and pliable; add the water just a few drops at a time as needed. When the dough starts to come together, it also helps to switch to kneading on the countertop rather than in the bowl.

4 At this point, if you're working with the basic salt dough and want to create some pretty colors, separate the dough into however many colors you want. Place a lump of dough in a non-porous, non-food-coloring-absorbing bowl (satinless steel for example); drop some food coloring on the dough. Work the coloring into the dough, kneading until you have a nice uniform color, adding more food coloring until you're happy with the color. The colors will fade a lot once the dough is baked, so it's best to get the colors prettyy bright. If the dough gets sticky from the liquid in the food coloring, add in a little more flour as necessary.

5 Store the bits of dough in a tightly sealed container, or wrapped snugly in plastic wrap, until you're ready to use.

6 roll out the dough to the desired thickness -- I like ¼" or so, which is just thick enough to make the ornament nice and sturdy without turning it into a total lead weight. As you're rolling the dough, periodically lift and rotate the dough to make sure it's not sticking to the surface. Once it's rolled, use your cookie cutters to cut out whatever shapes you like. Transfer the cutouts to a foil-lined baking sheet. Poke a hole near the top of the ornament; this is very important, as it gives you a way to hang up the ornament once it's done. You can bake as is, and either leave plain or decorate with paint after the ornaments are baked.

7 Once you've filled up your tray with ornaments (you can pack them in fairly close, as these won't really expand as they bake), you're ready to pop them in the oven, which should be preheated to 250F. Bake until the cookies have hardened -- this can take four hours.As the ornament bakes the colors will lighten as the moisture is cooked off; dark patches generally indicate spots that still have some moisture.If the drying process seems to be taking particularly long, you can also help speed up the process by removing the mostly-dried ornaments from the baking sheet, and placing them directly on the oven's wire rack (provided the wires aren't spread so far apart that your ornaments fall through). Having both sides exposed to the warm air should help speed things along somewhat.

8 Whether you've decided to paint or not, you'll want to finish off your little works of art by giving them a couple of coats of clear varnish (You can use clear nail polish for this). The varnish will add an extra protective layer to keep your ornaments preserved for years; if you choose a gloss variety, it'll also add a nice shine to the ornaments and perk up the colors to boot.

Answer 7

I would make playdough with them. Then they could take it home and it was there and you helped them make it. It would also be a cooking project that they would love to do again and they would remember you teaching them! I like to add different scents...Peppermint extract especially....but find out what they want and do it. Lots of colors and different smells.

i would steer clear of holiday stuff b/c there are so many people who view the holidays different, plus it is sometimes everyone is doing. I like to mix things up and do my own thing.

If you wanted to buy them something, check out your dollar/deals stores, they have tons of little gifts.

Answer 8

I would get them cute holiday (snowflake, snowman, etc) pencils. Food isn't a good gift because of all the different allergies and dietary / religious requirements in the classroom. If you get them a cute pencil they can use it when you're gone and they'll always think of you when they write!

Answer 9

A card with all their signature. A small occasion, with each individual contributing a dish. Inviting their mum and dad to a small gathering, and want them the final. A treasure hunt contained in the small occasion, treasure is a e book with your signature or somebody you savour maximum. Or treasure(s) = random small toys that inspire them.

Answer 10

My student teacher made the kids bookmarks. She used the cute little foam designs and then wrote their name on the top. It was cheap and the kids loved it.