Three ways to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week at your school!

If there is anything the world has learned from having their kiddos home during the pandemic, it’s that teachers deserve lots of love and appreciation! Every year, there is a week of Teacher Appreciation dedicated to honoring teachers (usually the first week of May). So, how can art teachers help to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week at their own school? Here are 3 great ideas the teachers at your school will LOVE:

#1- Create a Teacher Portrait Gallery

This was a huge hit at my school! I had each of my high school students choose a photo of a teacher to render an original portrait. With the help of some awesome colleagues, we had a lunchtime gallery reveal where teachers got to come down for a treat and to find their portrait. Teachers were so touched to have the students honor them this way. 

If you are interested in doing this, you will want to plan a few weeks early. You will need a photo of every teacher at the school. 

I encouraged my students to use whatever medium they wanted to create the portrait. This really helped to give each portrait its own personality. One thing that was consistent was the size of the portraits. This helped make framing to fit the pre-cut frames much easier! To prepare for the portrait drawing, we reviewed facial proportions and grid drawing.  More blog posts about this to come!

#2- Make teacher name plates

Having your students help to create teacher name plates for each of the teachers at the school is another great way! Teachers will love having a hand made, customized name plate to decorate their desks with. For this, I recommend using a block of wood so the final product is sturdy. However, you could create these on paper if that’s more budget-friendly for you. 

If you are interested in using wood, I recommend getting long pieces of pre-primed wood from a local home store. I cut the pieces into roughly 10 inches wide. 

Here are some steps to create a simple teacher name plate: 

#3- Throw a teacher arty party

If you really want to make a huge mark at your school, throwing a teacher arty party is an awesome way to show teachers they are appreciated. Who doesn’t love an arty party? For teachers, this is a way to pamper them and provide them some relaxing “me” time. A little art therapy away from the grading.  

This certainly takes some preplanning. Here are some recommendations

1. Set a date. Talk with your principal and get permission to host this event. Most schools have professional development days so you want to make sure the calendar is open.
2. Send out an invite. Let teachers know what to expect and request an RSVP. I also did a pot luck with my teacher arty party to make it more festive. 
3. Order materials. Based on the teacher response, order a canvas for each teacher, brushes, paint, and/or anything else you may need. 
4. Get student volunteers. I offered service hours for students to come and help run the arty party. This was hugely helpful! 

I hope this blog inspired you with a few ideas of how you can help to coordinate an awesome teacher appreciation celebration at your school!  Do you have other ideas that worked great for? Please share below!