Teacher favorites form
A teacher favorites form is a short list of questions you ask the teacher, and share with the class only if they say yes. It is not a shopping list, and it is not a hint to spend.
Ask the teacher first, before you send any form. Some teachers like a few lines about snacks and colors. Some do not want their coffee order, their sizes, or their home life in a parent note. If they say no, you are done. A thank-you can still be a note from a child.
What is fair to ask
Keep it to things they can answer in one reply, and things a family can ignore. You can paste this and delete any line they do not want.
A drink or a snack they enjoy, if they want to say.
Colors, hobbies, or a kind of book, in general.
Classroom supplies they actually need, if the school allows families to send them.
Anything they would rather not receive.
A food they need people to skip, if they want families to know.
Leave off clothing and shoe sizes unless they offered them. Leave off a home address. Leave off a dollar amount. Leave off any line that says families should buy the things on the list. A favorite color is not an order.
How to ask
Email is enough. You do not need a designed PDF, a password, or an account. Five questions in the body of a note, with "answer only what you want, and tell me what I may share," is a complete form.
Show them the class note before it goes out, the same way you would show a welcome letter. If a line feels too personal when you read it back, take it out even if they filled it in. They can change their mind. "Please do not share the mug order" is a full instruction. Follow it.
What the class note is for
Share it once, early, if they agreed. Say it is optional information, not a to-do list. Families who cannot buy anything have not missed the assignment. There is no assignment.
Do not resend the form before every holiday as a nudge. A second copy in November reads like a bill. If the teacher wants a class gift later, that is a separate note, with a way to skip it. Group gift or individual gifts is that choice. How to collect class money is the note, if a collection is even allowed. The favorites form is not the collection.
A supply they named is still optional. Put it on a list with an out. If nobody sends it, the classroom continues. Do not buy it yourself to complete the form, and do not mention who did not send one.
If they do not want a form
Believe them. Some teachers have done this for years and are tired of being a wishlist. You can say to the class: "Our teacher asked us not to collect favorites this year. A note from your child is welcome. Gifts are not expected." That sentence is kinder than a form they did not ask for.
You also do not have to interview them in the doorway. Ten minutes, or one email, is the whole project. If they would rather tell you in person and have you write nothing down, that is a fine form too. You will remember the one thing they hoped you would not get wrong, and you will leave the rest alone.
The sheet on the free printables page is for a party and a welcome, not for a favorites survey. You do not need a new printable to ask five questions. Ask, wait, share only what they approved, and then stop reminding people to shop.
