Gift Ideas for Classroom Music Teachers
With the end of the school year fast approaching, teacher gift ideas have been occupying a large part of my brain. Classroom teachers are always showered with gifts from their adoring children but it takes many different teachers to give your child a well rounded education. So this year, while you are planning your end of year gifts for the teachers in your child’s life, don’t forget the music, art, P.E. & other teachers that your child visits at school throughout the week.
As with most teachers, the classroom music teachers have plenty of musical coffee mugs, notepads & pens to go around so when thinking about a gift for the music room I try to think about the things that I once needed when I was in their shoes. (Yes, elementary music teacher is back there in my resume too!) While crayons & scissors are sometimes needed, what most music teachers need is, well, music! Obviously if you’re not the teacher choosing a specific musical piece is not appropriate, but why not give them a gift certificate so they can make the choices themselves? Music for schools is not cheap and in many cases cannot be photocopied – every child needs their own personal original copy in order to stay in compliance with Federal copyright laws. (And so the publishers, writers, & artists who created the resources get paid their royalties for doing so!) As with your regular classroom teachers, music teachers too spend way more out of their paycheck to support their programs than they should be have to. I’ve compiled a list of my favorite online retailers below, but you could just as well go to your local music shop and ask for a gift certificate there.
West Music – This music store based in Iowa City, Iowa (and one I spent WAY more time at then I would care to admit to) has become one of the best online retailers for classroom music supplies. Your teacher can easily find some new instruments to purchase or music to use in the classroom next year as well as audio equipment for school productions. WESTMUSIC.COM
JW Pepper – This giant music retailer has every piece of music under the sun (literally I think – I’ve been to a warehouse). From piano lesson books to full choral and instrumental scores & parts, they have it all. Your music teacher would be THRILLED to get a gift certificate from here! JWPEPPER.COM
Local Music Store / Teacher’s Store / Book Store – Your local music shop is another great place to give a gift certificate from. Often the school music teachers work with the local stores to acquire any last minute items they need. The local teacher’s supply store also has music items like instruments, recordings & award stickers & certificates that many music teachers use. And yes, even the book store can sometimes be a benefit! Our local shops carry sheet music books for piano & children’s composer biographies which make a great little library for your school music teacher.
AMAZON.COM
When choosing your gifts, keep in mind that most teachers don’t want anything else for themselves – it’s the classrooms that are in need. Please help your school teachers save the money from their own pockets & give them a gift they (and your children) can really use.
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