Ways to Celebrate STEAM Educators During Teacher Appreciation Week 2023

Ensuring the lifelong success of students requires schools to invest in building and maintaining a strong STEAM program. To truly reap the rewards of investing in STEAM education, schools must first prioritize and invest in their teachers! A great way to do this is by honoring STEAM educators during Teacher Appreciation Week 2023.

Ideas for Celebrating STEAM Educators During Teacher Appreciation Week 2023

Celebrate STEAM teachers during Teacher Appreciation Day (May 2) and honor them all week long for Teacher Appreciation Week (May 8-12). In this article, we outline and share a variety of ways schools can make sure STEAM teachers know how much they are loved and appreciated!

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, we're offering free professional development (PD) (a $1500 value!) when you partner purchase TinkRworks curriculum for your classroom or school. PD includes all of the tools and training you need for effective launch and implementation of our innovative STEAM projects. Click here to learn more!

It is vital to invest in teachers if you want to invest in a strong, high-performing STEM program at your school. Here are just a few of the many reasons that STEM/STEAM teachers should be appreciated.

• • They help students discover new skills and passions through science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics.
  • STEAM teachers facilitate collaborative projects and foster teamwork.
  • Beyond teaching students STEAM concepts, teachers also help students develop soft skills like communication, time management, prioritization, and productive failure.

These elements make learning more fun and engaging to students, but it often takes a particularly skilled teacher to keep it all balanced and productive. That’s why it is especially important to demonstrate your gratitude and appreciation for great teachers in STEAM classrooms.

Below you’ll discover three ways to show appreciation for STEAM teachers throughout Teacher Appreciation Week 2023:

1. Share freebies with teachers

Who doesn’t love freebies or discounts? There are plenty of free or discounted exclusive items and resources offered to teachers, especially around Teacher Appreciation Week. Here are a few to pass along to your teachers.

• • Request a free math or science poster from Maplesoft, here
  • Buffalo Wild Wings is offering 20% off food orders to teachers during teacher appreciation week
  • Applebees is offering 50% off select appetizers during teacher appreciation week
  • Adidas offers 30% online or in-store purchases for educators year round
  • Columbia offers a 20% discount when you verify your teacher status
  • Dell offers a 10% discount on all electronics to teachers
  • Barnes and Noble offers 20% discounts to full time educators for purchases made for classroom use
  • Eduporium offers 20% discounts on most products

Browse more discounts and deals for Teacher Appreciation Week here and here. In addition to these deals, there are several zoos, aquariums, theaters, botanical gardens, and amusement parks that offer local discounts to teachers. Do some research within your community to see what offerings are available for teachers!

2. Have students show their support by saying, “Thank You”

Thank You Cards
Engage students in teacher appreciation activities by inviting them to create letters or cards outlining what they like about their STEAM teacher. This offers a more personalized gift that helps remind STEAM teachers of their impact.

Appreciation Garden
If you dare to dream bigger, have students decorate the front lawn of the school with thank you signs. Make them shaped like flowers for a cute “appreciation garden!” Make a bold display to show STEAM teachers and the community around them how much they are loved.

Thank You Videos
For a long-lasting gift, create a video with messages from students. This can be in the form of a song, a montage, or a short skit. Allow the students to get creative about how they express their appreciation! The video can be kept and cherished by the STEAM teachers for years to come, and it can serve as another reminder of their impact on their students’ lives.

3. Support them in STEAM with the right resources

Creating engaging, effective STEAM projects is a tedious task. Many teachers have to do this during their free time, meaning that they are not being paid to come up with ideas and outline assignments. Implementing those lesson plans requires even more organization, flexibility, and effort, especially when they are working with dozens of students at a time. Equipping your teachers with STEAM activities and projects for their classrooms can give them the gift of time.

Here are some resources TinkRworks provides that will support your STEAM program:

• • TinkRpedia: This educator-curated free lesson library is full of ideas for teachers across a variety of grade levels.
  • STEAM Made Simple Blog: Share this blog so that teachers can subscribe to receive plenty of free STEAM resources, tips, and implementation ideas right in their inbox. Click the link to browse our previous articles!
  • TinkRworks Projects: Try a hands-on STEAM project for only $24.99! The LaunchPad Trial Kit (Grades 3-8) is a budget-friendly way for you to try out one of our exceptional, standards-rich STEAM projects with a small group of teachers or students.

In Conclusion

Teachers are essential. Their work shapes the future through the children that they support and educate. It is incredibly important to show teachers how appreciated they are in your school. After all, supported, respected, and appreciated teachers create the best classroom environments for student development. Don’t skip out on Teacher Appreciation Week this year! Your teachers certainly deserve it.