Teacher gifts: Better than buying the teacher a pony

Every year I tell my children's teachers thank you, and every year it feels inadequate. Often when I write notes to go with various teacher gifts , I write, You totally deserve a pony, but I thought this would make less of a mess. Thank …

Teacher gifts: Better than buying the teacher a pony

Every year I tell my children's teachers thank you, and every year it feels inadequate. Often when I write notes to go with various teacher gifts, I write, You totally deserve a pony, but I thought this would make less of a mess.

Thank goodness I now have a second offering from veteran teacher Phillip Done in Close Encounters of the Third-Grade Kind. (We suggested his first book, 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny back in the spring). In Close Encounters, Done continues sharing the best, the worst, the ridiculous, and the touching from his perspective as a teacher who really does adore his students. It's a great read for anyone -- what better way to get a warm fuzzy about public school and the kids who are our future? But it's also a nice way to tell teachers that you really do understand and appreciate the hard work they're doing.

And it's a lot smaller than a farm animal. -Mir

Pick up a copy of Close Encounters of the Third-Grade Kind
at our affiliate Amazon.

More in LivingView all picks →

Hate sharpening your knives? OK, don't!

Hate sharpening your knives? OK, don't!

A sharp knife makes cooking easier. But as busy parents, we don't always have time to sit and sharpen our kitchen knives when kids and work and pets and everything else is pulling at us. So when Ninja says its NeverDull knife system is d…

ICYMI: Ninja's new NeverQuit Ceramic Cookware has dropped...and it's fantastic

ICYMI: Ninja's new NeverQuit Ceramic Cookware has dropped...and it's fantastic

If your cookware has seen better days—or you’re simply ready for an upgrade that can keep up with real life— Ninja’s new NeverQuit Ceramic Cookware is worth a look. This is not the delicate ceramic cookware that requires a special drawer…

The luxury sleep upgrade we're coveting right now

The luxury sleep upgrade we're coveting right now

If you’ve ever kicked off the covers at 2 a.m. because you’re too hot, only to pull them back on twenty minutes later because you’re freezing, Eight Sleep has a very high-tech solution to a very low-tech problem: getting comfortable in y…