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Make Someone’s Day, Thank A Teacher

thank a teacher

In my former life, back before my kids and the Internet stole my heart, I was a third grade teacher. I absolutely adored being Mrs. Shane to 20 eight-year-olds in that sunny yellow school room in New Jersey. Those two years were some of the best of my life.

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I often think of those days in that classroom and how much those kids meant to me. I can still recall each and every one of them. Sometimes I gaze nostalgically at the class photos I keep in a scrapbook and wonder, Where they are now? and What are they doing with their lives?

I still have some precious mementos from them — Christmas ornaments and pictures they drew for me in their free time. Every year when we decorate our Christmas tree, I tell my children which of my former students gave me certain ornaments.

Those students are grown adults now. Most probably don’t even remember me, but there is one mother who did.

A few months ago, I received an email out of the blue from a former student’s mother who had come across my blog quite accidentally. I hope she doesn’t mind if I share this here.

I think you were my son’s third grade teacher. You were expecting your first child that year and gave [my son] one of the sweetest, fun filled and memorable years ever. You were an organized and excellent teacher and really put him at ease with your wonderful sense of humor that just seemed to happen naturally as you related to your class. [He] remembered one incident during a thunder storm that you had him cracking up. He is now 23 yrs. of age. I was looking at a gluten free peach pie recipe and saw a link to your strawberry pie recipe. The name caught my eye and I wanted to say hello and to thank you for being such a sweetheart. I’m sure [he] still smiles whenever he thinks of third grade.

There simply are not adequate words to express how much that email meant to me, all these years later — to know that those two fleeting years in the classroom made an impact on someone, I will treasure it always.

As this school year draws to a close, I asked my kids if they’d like to write thank you notes to a few special teachers. They were thrilled to select a card and set right to work putting their appreciation in writing.

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They may be teachers they have now or they may be teachers from years past, but I think it is so important to have our kids express their thanks to those people who make their lives better in some way or another.

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The Hallmark Signature Collection has a whole line of thank you cards that express your emotions perfectly. I’m such a sucker for a pretty card, and these do not disappoint.

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My daughters enjoyed sorting through the cards that were sent to us as a part of this sponsored campaign and picking the ones they wanted to send their teachers.

thanks

They also have boxed sets if you have a lot of notes to write and want to buy in bulk.

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One day when they’re older, hopefully my kids will remember this exercise and take it upon themselves to thank someone who has made a special impact in their lives.

If you’ve ever had a teacher who was special to you, sit down right now and jot down a few lines. Tell her how she made a difference in your life. Trust me, it will mean the WORLD to her.

This post is the third in a six-month series sponsored by Hallmark. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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13 Responses

  1. Oh my friend, I love this post and what a treasure to have received that note…. You have clearly made a difference in little lives 🙂 I’m writing notes to both of our teachers for the end of this year.

    1. It’s the coolest feeling EVER. 🙂 Makes me wonder if I should get re-certified and consider going back. I only taught for 2 years and it really wasn’t long enough.

  2. Such a sweet note from that mom! My daughter loves making pictures and things for her teachers and at the end of the year the kids always write a card thanking their teachers and letting them know what the favorite part of he year was.

  3. I am currently teaching 3rd grade after staying home a few years with my kids. I also taught 1st grade for 9 years. The notes from kids, pictures from kids, and notes from parents are something I treasure to this day. I have kept them all. I love that you received one and that you are getting your kids in the spirit of thanking a teacher. Friends often ask me what teachers like to receive as an end of the year gift. I ALWAYS tell them a hand written note from you or your child, there is nothing better! I also teach adults and we have them write to a teacher at Thanksgiving time.

  4. We went from having a terrible experience with the dude’s first teacher to an incredible one the remainder of the year. Good teachers are worth their weight in gold and should definitely be thanked many times over!

  5. Thrilled to see this post and your perspective as a past teacher (life long no doubt, just a different classroom) and having kids hand write a note warms my heart. I am a self confessed letter loving, stationery junkie so can’t help myself when I hear of other’s putting pen to paper. I will ‘tweet’ this out in the twitterzone for sure. Lovely to meet you.

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