I don’t recall having ever given a teacher a gift while growing up. As an undergraduate, I did give an professor I liked a book filled with H.P. Lovecraft stories.
Wow – I can’t even imagine what that room mom is thinking. That’s WAY too much multiplied by twenty-plus kids (I’m assuming based on the average class size at my daughter’s school) – I think most teachers would be very uncomfortable about getting such a huge gift.
I’m in my 40s and my mother was my first grade “room mother”- 1972ish and that was the specific term. Pretty common in my parts.
I was for my daughter’s Kindergarten and all it meant was that I helped organize the hallowe’en/valentine’s/etc parties so the teacher didn’t have to.
You may well have had one (or more) and not been aware of it: it’s really a K-2 thing, I think. It just means a mom or moms that have volunteered to help out.
Why should the OP effectively give two gifts?