As we approach the end of the school year, we don’t want to forget those hardy, persevering souls who helped get our children over the finish line: their teachers. Now, before you panic and buy that No. 1 teacher paperweight to join the two dozen or so identical ones that your child’s teacher doesn’t know what to do with, check out these tips from Ashley Cooley, a Dallas Moms blogger, mother of two and a second-grade teacher at Hilltop Elementary in Argyle, Texas:

• A personalized class photo is on the thumbs-up gift list.

Thumbs up to these:

• Homemade gifts, such as small plants in pots decorated by students. Last year, Cooley received a pot decorated with each child’s fingerprint to look like ladybugs. The inside was full of gift cards personalized to her tastes.

• Notes of appreciation, such as a class photo with the children’s words of appreciation all around it. An individual framed photo of the child and the teacher, or a picture your child draws of himself or herself and the teacher works well, too.

• Time. If you plan ahead and the year has not yet ended, offer to do the teacher’s recess duty, pick up the kids from lunch or offer to come to read to the children so the teacher may enjoy some extra time to rest or finish end-of-the-year work.

Just say no to these:

• Candles, body lotions and coffee mugs. Teachers get way too many of these.

• Perfume. Unless you know the teacher’s favorite scent, this is too personal, Cooley says.

• Anything that will embarrass your child. It doesn’t make a child feel good to be the only one to bring in nothing at all, or to know he or she is giving a used gift card or a dusty broken angel with one arm from grandma’s attic — gifts Cooley has actually gotten over the years. Fellow Dallas Moms blogger Candace Hickey of Dallas, a retired assistant principal, recalls receiving a wine glass with a red wine stain in the bottom and a half-filled bottle of perfume.

• Bottom line:

“It’s the thought,” Cooley says. “You have heard it all your life, and it’s true. No gift in the traditional sense is necessary. The thought, however, should be sincere and heartfelt. A ‘thank you,’ expressed in a sincere and meaningful way, can fuel inspiration for a teacher to find new ways to reach and help more children in the future.”

Cooley likes to recount this story from her fellow second-grade teacher and friend Diane Beaver: “When most of my students were showering me with candy, flowers and gift cards, a little girl came up with tears and said, ‘I didn’t have anything to bring you from home, but I do have a very special gift for you.’ With that being said, she threw her arms around my neck and gave me a huge hug and said, ‘Mrs. Beaver, I love you so much!’ With all of the wonderful gifts sitting on my desk, that was the best! Giving of one’s self means the most to teachers.”