Your child’s teacher is one of the people he or she most sees every day. Mr. Smith or Ms. Adams is a big influence on your child, and works hard each day to try to help create a better future for many children. He or she may even be one of your child’s favorite people. While it’s great to encourage appreciation every day, this month try taking some time to help your child do something a little extra special for his or her teacher.

Help write the teacher a letter. Teachers love letters from their students and often treasure them for many years. If your child is very young, you may wish to help write the letter, or let him or her draw some pictures in it. For older children, a handwritten letter from the heart is always a special gift. Ideas for things to write about include giving thanks for help with something specific, listing some of the things the child has learned, or saying, “I never thought about [insert subject or specific event, animal, etc.] until the day you…” Teachers love to hear about how they encouraged students to think in a different way!

Give something homemade. Nothing is sweeter than something a child makes all on his or her own, weather it be a bright painting or a colorful clay sculpture. Be sure to put your child’s name and the year on it somewhere. If the teacher is okay with homemade goodies, you could also help your child bake something yummy from scratch, or create a recipe kit if the teacher enjoys cooking.

Give a small gift. You may wish to give a photo of your child, or something with the photo on it, such as an ornament or other decoration. Many teachers love mugs or other beverage containers, while all of them can always use extra school supplies, cleaning supplies and facial tissues. If you wish to give a larger gift, a restaurant certificate or basket of healthful treats would be thoughtful and appropriate for most teachers.

Give time. See if there is something either your child or the both of you can do to help out in the classroom this month, whether it’s helping to clean, grade papers, or get things ready for end-of-the-year celebrations and award ceremonies.

The same goes for parents who homeschool—if you are both parent and teacher (and all parents are to some extent, of course), give yourself some appreciation this week! Take yourself out to lunch, grab some “me time,” or just sit back and relax for a day, and take some time off for a job well done.