Top of the Class

We know. The end of the school/gymnastics class/baby music year is coming up too fast—or, if you can’t wait to toss structure to the wind and head for the beach en famille, perhaps not fast enough.
Whether you’re dreading or delighted about having the kids home 24/7, we know that all moms will agree on one thing: having a great teacher is a great thing. And at the end of yet another year, most families are looking for ways to say ‘thanks’ to that special person in their child’s life. Today, we bring you the Savvy Guide to gifts for Vancouver’s finest.

Play Fair
Visit one of Ten Thousand Villages’ Lower Mainland locations to browse through a plethora of fairly traded products—after all, isn’t fair play one of the most important things we teach children?

One of our favourites for teachers is a popular laminated poster, beautifully illustrated and sized just right for a classroom door ($19.95). Titled “How to Build Community,” it lists such suggestions as “Look up when you are walking”, “Support your neighbourhood school”, “Bake extra and share”, and “Ask for help when you need it”. (Are you listening to that last one, moms?)

Another option is a selection of yummy fair-trade chocolate bars, which you can bundle with the book Stop, Don’t Eat Me, an engaging and informative picture book on the cocoa trade that a teacher could share with her class ($12.95).