Metal ruler or a quality refillable pen?

Depends on the grade(s) she teaches.

Primary? A rocking chair for the room if she doesn’t have one.

Intermediate? A microscope or a really good world atlas she won’t have to share with the library (atlas isn’t bfl, but it’s good for 6 years or so).

Secondary? Stanley travel thermos or something specific to the courses taught.

I'm a graduate student and as part of my effort to reduce waste I bought a piston-refillable fountain pen, a refillable permanent marker, and a refillable dry-erase marker. Love every single one and happy I'm not going through pens like crazy anymore!

Can you share the brands you bought? Especially the dry erase marker. I go through a ton of those.

A Nespresso with milk foamer and a huge ass bottle of aspirin.

Christmas probably isn’t the time for stationary supplies for school. At least not as the main gift. I don’t know maybe I’m wrong but it could be risky.

As the husband of a 1st grade teacher, don’t buy her any school related stuff unless she specifically asks for it. It’s about the equivalent of buying a stay at home wife a dishwasher. I would encourage you to try and find something that is of her interest to help her escape her day job. Being a school teacher is hard and they deserve to have time to enjoy there lives outside of school. Best of luck to you and yours. Cheers!!

I wouldn’t buy her a work-related gift unless she has explicitly told you that she wants one. Get her something for her, something she wouldn’t necessarily buy for herself or something outside of the normal budget for everyday things.

Don’t get anything for her classroom. Nice things tend to get “borrowed”, stolen, or broken.

Please just not another Christmas themed mug

As a teacher, the best gift is make an effort to go in and see the teacher and say thank you, and why your child liked the class, seen a lot of improvement etc. That is memorable.

If she brings her lunch like I do consider a quality backpack cooler bag. It’s basically a giant lunchbox with room for other stuff and totally hands free (teachers tend to overcarry crap back and forth). The one I liked most isn’t made anymore but I’ve found a few on Amazon that I’ve given as gifts just not sure of longevity yet.

Another favorite of mine is a massive metal water bottle. Obviously yeti and swell and the like make some good ones. I think customized with her name is how you make it personal and it also saves a teacher who can easily leave it on accident at places like a staff meeting. Hydration is important.

Finally you can’t buy it for life but a year subscription to a local place to get a once a month massage would be a high end superior teacher and wife gift!

r/fountainpens if you want some ideas!

I personally love my Pilot Metropolitan, which is a great starter or everyday writer. It doesn’t come with the piston, but you can get one for only a few bucks more.

Honestly, as the SO of a teacher, I love this idea. We have way too many candles, mugs, and teacher tchotchkes.

NOT things related to work unless it's like a fantastic to-go coffee mug or something. Things that are just for HER to enjoy.

Don’t buy anything the kids will use. My first year teaching I bought all this cute, high quality stuff. Even the stuff not meant for the kids wound up borrowed, broken, or stolen. If you want to get her something work related, either ask or go for things most professionals appreciate. A really nice bag, a good lunch box, a quality travel mug (no regular ceramic mugs please). Maybe program automated email responses for when she’s answered the same parent question 800 times.

Cash and alcohol. Or cash and coffee. Seriously. I work full time and I don't know my son's first grade teacher all that well, but she's quite wonderful and nice. I know she likes coffee and dogs. That's all I know. I plan on a heartfelt written note and $100 bill.

Along these lines, what are some things she doesn’t treat herself to? Perhaps a mani/pedi, massage, sauna experience? Something she’s mentioned but never took action?

A quality leather bag (not something you can buy on Amazon or see advertised on Facebook). As a teacher myself, I would love to receive a leather bag to carry daily essentials that will develop character over time and someday retire with me.

OP is asking for gift ideas for his wife. She’s the teacher.

A subscription to something thoughtful. A year is long enough though.

Oops always read the post! Lol

Nespresso is owned by Nestle, a straight-up garbage company who still use child labor for chocolate production and don’t believe clean drinking water is a human right. It’s worth a little investigating before you buy any of their products. After a little research, you may decide not to support them.

a fountain pen with a permanent ink? those pens are usually made to last a lifetime and help tremendously with hand pain while writing

Lol. My mom was a stay at home mom for the most part, and asked my dad for a dishwasher. He hinted that he got her sometime that had to do with water... turns out it was a canoe. Yeah, she was not happy. Soon after a dishwasher appeared.

Hands down a coffee thermos and a drink bottle. Because she'll likely not finish her coffee and it will go cold, so a thermos means it won't!

I have a basket I use to take from class to class (secondary teacher here) which holds all the stuff I need for classes. It's actually a bike basket I think, but has held up super well. Just handy when I don't have a set classroom.

A second monitor for home or office is a good one too. I refuse to work on one screen anymore. So much faster with two.

Subscriptions to things she already uses. I particularly like a website called twinkl (the first thing I have ever paid for - everything else I decided wasn't worth it). Magazine subscriptions are good too.

A great laptop bag. One that is wide enough to also fit a lunchbox. Bonus if it has a removable padded pouch for the times when she doesn't want to take the whole bag.

A good umbrella (davek is the one I have) and some warm clothing for those horrid days on yard duty.

Comfort shoes that look cute (I've got ziera).

It's really hard to escape large corporations that do not have crimes against humanity though. About 10 companies own the majority of the food industry and at that point, you're just picking the lesser of evils.

https://www.frugl.com.au/2020/01/19/the-sooner-you-know-that-only-10-companies-control-everything-you-buy-the-better/

I guess coffee beans could do the trick as a replacement but that would mean that the school teacher actually makes her own coffee.

Definitely a leather tote it will last and look better as it ages. For all the people saying to buy some expensive refillable pen DONT all supplies like that get borrowed broken or stolen.

Non school item- massage to get rid of all the school stress!

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Liquor

Teacher here! We are one profession that gets consumed with our job being our identity / personality. I encourage you not to get her teacher related gifts for holidays unless she specifically asks for it. Water and nurture her other interests and hobbies because she will lose herself in this job and need reminders that she is more than a teacher.

I hear what you’re saying, but I still think it’s valid to know. Particularly if you’re interested in choosing the lesser of evils, as Nestle ranks pretty high on the scum list.

I mostly mentioned this for other people who might be thinking about this purchase, since nowhere does it say the wife mentioned here even likes coffee. We don’t know anything about other than she’s married and teaches, and this whole thread is random ideas.

Finally, it seems unlikely that a teacher would be allowed to have a personal coffee maker in their classroom, which means any coffee maker - however ethical or fancy - would be kept at home and used by everyone in the household. In my opinion, that makes this gift a gift for the “house,” not the wife, and should therefore be purchased together as a family and separate from personal gifts.

You're giving your kids teacher $100?????

I spend at least $1k a year on supplies for my classroom.

One time a parent gave me a wrapped plate of Christmas cookies and a $10 coffee gift card. It was so appreciated!

That's exactly why I do it. I know how far that $100 can go, but I really don't care if she spends it on the classroom or not. She deserves it!

I make a regular habit of giving money this way. I've been doing it since my son was in daycare. Sometimes I can only swing $50 at Christmas, but I also gave my son's kindergarten teacher a thank you card at the end of the year with $30, and then when school started this year we donated some extra supplies to his classroom.

I am the furthest thing from wealthy. But my dad has always been a staunch supporter of giving cash, and I think it's better than trying to guess what someone likes or wants. Plus people get excited when they get money. At least I do!

My wife is a 2nd grade teacher. The best gift I’ve gotten her are used Panasonic or Boston pencil sharpeners from the 90s. Nostalgic from our childhood and beastly. Just don’t let the kids use colored pencils in there.

High quality shearling slippers. Teaching requires a lot of time on one's feet and having something nice and comfy to slip on after work that regulates temperature is nice.

Setting aside space for, and getting started on (the idea is you continue with a lot more of her input) an ergonomic work-from-home space for her to use as needed. People don't often realize how much work teachers have to take home and as home is not seen as the primary work location they often will work at the kitchen table, couch etc which causes back stress and so forth over time.

Zojirushi thermos

I would probably get her a zojirushi thermos or, if it's something that she might find useful, an electric lunchbox!

Teachers work so hard and get compensated poorly for their work. Get her a nice, soothing massage ❤️

“I have no idea what my wife likes tell me what to buy” My wife is a statistician not gonna buy her a calculator..

As an elementary school teacher I would LOVE for my husband to buy me a pair of nice BIFL chelsea boots that have the support and comfort I need to be on my feet all day, but dressy enough to wear to work, and something that I could wear nearly every day with most outfits.

Also, a BIFL watch that I could match with my outfits. You would be surprised how often our clocks in the classroom are down and we have to rely on our computers and/or cell phones to know what time it is.

Consider how she brings her necessities to work. Does she wear a backpack, or does she carry a tote, or is she one of those teachers who brings everything in a million different bags? I'm a backpack type of teacher and I absolutely LOVE the leather backpack that my husband purchased for me ~5 years ago. It makes me look like an actual adult rather than a kid showing up to campus.

I do this too. For people you see often and have interactions with, Why wouldnt you delight them with unexpected CASH?!