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Wedding Woes
sparklepants41
member
Daycare Teacher Gifts
sparklepants41
member
Hello! It's my first time having daycare teachers (well, since I was 4 lol). Babypants has two regular daycare teachers in the Infant 1 room, and then there are two teachers from Infant 2 who help out from time to time. I have a budget of $15-$20 per teacher. What do I get them? And since there are two regulars and two occasionals do I get them all the same? Do I even bother with the occasionals since I don't even know them? If I don't get the occasionals gifts I can go up to $25 to $30 each but I'm still at a loss for what to get them...
I don't know their hobbies at all since we only see them for about 5 minutes each morning (H who does drop off) and 10-15 minutes each evening (me)
edited because I had premature posting
I don't know their hobbies at all since we only see them for about 5 minutes each morning (H who does drop off) and 10-15 minutes each evening (me)
edited because I had premature posting
Re: Daycare Teacher Gifts
One of her teachers is pregnant, so maybe I'll get her a Buy Buy Baby gift card (there's one up the street from the school).
Had to edit the post title because sleep deprivation combined with this cold are starting to make me lose it lol
You could ask the director if they have a list of who is in there and any things they might like. Our director made a list of who is in each room (but it didn't include which floaters go in which rooms) and then each teacher filled out an "About Me" type of thing that includes favorite stores, hobbies, food/snacks/drinks, etc.
I am definitely doing his 2 main teachers (there might be a 3rd too I'm so confused as I think she got moved again). One has babysat for us and been there his whole time vs the other who is newer so I'll probably give the one he's closest to something bigger (originally her last day was going to be Nov 30 so I was getting her a going away gift but now she's staying so it will be Christmas). I'm on the fence about floaters as it seems to change from week to week, although I might do $5-10 gift cards somewhere from their lists.
Similarly I'm not sure about the front desk people or director. They are ladies I talk to on the way in/out and have had some convos with but I'm not sure.
This year, I'll be doing the main teachers and then doing a plate of cookies/treats or something for the float teachers.
I'll probably do a gift card to one of the restaurants near the center so they can get lunch or something. There's a starbucks, a chipotle, a panera, and some local restaurants where they like to go for lunch.
Otherwise coffee place is always good
As it is now in Chiquita's class, there are no homemade snacks allowed for class parties. Anything contributed needs to be store bought.
As it is, there are no more birthday foods in Chiquita's school. Frankly, I welcome it.
Don't get me wrong, I'll be a good sport about it....but I steer toward the "safe" stuff - like fruit trays and things without meat.
But in terms of birthday treats, they just tell you if any kids in the particular class have allergies outside of nuts. It doesn't have to be store bought. Parents are allowed to say "my kid can't have anything homemade" and then that kid just doesn't get the treat. But that's the parent's decision.
Totally makes sense.
In your home you simply cannot certify that your produced goods are gluten free, nut free, vegetarian, vegan, or whatever.
Did I keep the cookie mix next to the peanuts in my cabinet? Did they come out after I gave my kid peanut butter? Was the baking pan previously used for a recipe that has gluten and now I'm attempting to make GF? Is it possible that there was dairy in the food mix even though I only used oil and one egg to make the cupcakes? When you bring in store bought food there has to be a list of ingredients and a mark of what potential allergens are contained.
You simply can't do that in your house and if you take the liability of feeding a group of kids at an age where there are far more allergies, you need to stop the flow of goods that may be possibly contaminated. It's their way of safe guarding and I actually like it even though my kids haven't been diagnosed with any allergies.
To an extent, I can see both points. It's just...sad. Sad that allergies have become such an epidemic that it can be dangerous for parents to bring homemade goods...which are largely going to be healthier, cheaper, and better tasting. But I understand schools wanting to err on the side of caution.
It didn't used to be this way
. When I was in elementary school (late 70's-mid 80's), there were only a handful of children that had nut allergies in a school of over 600 kids. And none of them were a severe enough allergy that they couldn't be around nuts. They just couldn't eat them. PB&J was the typical school lunch. Homemade cupcakes or cookies were the norm that children brought when it was their birthday.
I thought maybe it was just my imagination that things are different. Because I was just a kid. But I looked it up last year. It's not my imagination. From what I read, allergies have been increasing at an alarming rate for the last couple of decades. Especially with children. And, although there are theories about this, scientists really don't know why.
She's outgrown many of the allergies and the severity has waned significantly as she's gotten older, but it was a pretty scary time.
Some friends simply avoided our party entirely when we said that our turkey was fried in peanut oil. We moved to fry in canola and then sought other items to prepare that were GF however I'm not going to certify that there's zero possibility of contaminants.
And kids are GROSS. You can't trust even a school-aged child to stop putting things in the mouth that don't belong.
My kids have snack in their classrooms and they move around seats. They are not allowed to take snacks that contain nuts or were processed in a facility with nuts. My mom was appalled at first. Then I said it was better for my kid to eat chex mix than for a kid to die.
Preschool used to allow homemade foods with my oldest. Then it was processed with fresh fruit or veggies brought by a parent. Now it's only one processed snack. As long as I don't have to give it or clean it up I'm fine with it.
I have so many allergies in my religion class. We usually do a party with some sort of treat. This year we're doing a craft instead and I'm sending home a prepackaged treat. My allergy parents thanked me.
Typically what she requests is if you're making something, write down the ingredients. Not like "2 eggs, cup of milk" kind. More like eggs; milk; sugar; etc
That said, we don't do a lot to prevent cross contamination. So if your allergy is so bad that a spec of gluten could be an issue I'd rather you not eat here because I simply can't verify it.
Ditto for something with dairy or nuts. I know people who have allergies so bad that they can start to get puffy touching the bag that contains the allergen. I just can't claim that my items are that allergen free.
Thank you for posting this Sparkle! I've been thinking about this myself. DD is also close to moving up to the Infant B class, which could potentially be before Christmas.
I asked my friend with 2 kids and she said to give gifts to the 2 teachers now and not to get anything for the new teachers if she moves up before Christmas. Penzeys has some assorted gift sets of spices. I've been thinking of getting them for her teachers. I'm also thinking of doing gift cards instead. I will probably bring in a container of cookies for the front desk and DDs room, so the extra helpers will have something too. I plan to send everything in a few weeks as I'm sure they get overwhelmed with gifts/food closer to the holiday.
As for the allergies. DDs daycare is store bought only. I was a little bummed because I love baking and baking up a batch of cupcakes or whatever is easy for me. But I understand why I cannot. I don't want to be responsible for accidentally sending a child into anaphylactic shock.