Summer Bargain Finds

I am having so much fun relaxing with my family, enjoying time with my boys, not waking up to an alarm clock and....going shopping! I was displaced this spring and had to pack up my things and move across the district. While I was up to my elbows packing, I discovered there were things that needed pitched and things I desperately needed to replace. That's a good excuse to go shopping right??

Summer means I am able to spend a little longer in stores and peruse the clearance sections. Just this week I was able to snag some very exciting things for my classroom (and my at home classroom for my boys too!)

1. Home Goods

Sometimes if you check the clearance aisles closely you can find great buys like my brand new homework tray I scored for $5 today!! I love this clean look for my desk!! So excited to take homework home now. Hmm, well maybe not once I have to start checking it but at least the bin is pretty!

2. Ross

This store is highly unpredictable but every so often I am able to find something that is so perfect and the price is to die for. Take this adorable canvas tote. My 11 month old sat and stared at the whimsical owl the entire way through the store. I grabbed it for less than $4. Wahoo!!

3. Goodwill

Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE going to the Goodwill. You have to check each aisle carefully and be willing to rummage through things but you can find great buys! I have snagged several puzzles and educational games for my own boys as well as my classroom. I also find books to add to my classroom library. The best part is they are usually priced at .25!

4. Carson Dellosa

Sometimes you can find things in their clearance that make is so worth the shipping! I got these great fish for my son who needs to work on his fine motor skills. These fish come in different colors and different ways to represent the number. They can snap together or be strung together. We have worked on sorting by color and stringing the fish so far and he LOVES them!  I also grabbed the alphabet one which had been on clearance too!

5. Wal-Mart

I have to admit I never really walked through the party section of Wal-Mart before. But as I was walking by the other day, I saw this adorable table cloth and bunting banner. Each were .97 and I knew I would find a use for them somehow! Who can pass up such a deal?!

6. Dollar Tree

I saved one of my favorites for last. I LOVELOVELOVELOVE the Dollar Tree. I had grabbed these bins for a different projects and found they were perfect for sorting my read alouds by genre/month/seasons. I had a hard time finding them at the end of the year. I think I have stopped in 8 different ones in the Pittsburgh area over the last 12 weeks but I finally found them. They are sturdy, cute, and have so many functions! I love using their variety of organizational bins. The best part is they are only $1.

I also wanted to share a cheap way to decorate your classroom, home-school room, or even a toddler room! Take a dust jacket off a hardback book, laminate and hang! I have every one of my dust jackets laminated and plan on putting some of my favorites in frames and using in our playroom for a cheap and adorable decoration!

I hope you are enjoying your summer and I would love to see what you are snatching up for your classroom!!

Thrift Shopping

I always think of the line from Friends when Monica talks about how excited she gets on Saturdays when her People Magazine comes. I usually feel the exact same way when a new teacher catalog comes in the mail. It is so crisp, clean, colorful and just begging to have pages that are dog-eared and scribbled over with WANT THIS or NEED THAT or THIS WOULD BE PERFECT. Unfortunately, my budget could never allow me to buy EVERYTHING I think I need.

But I discovered a solution. Thrift shopping.

This group is working on a Melissa & Doug Space puzzle I purchased from Good Will for $0.99. The shelves also show items I have bought from thrift stores.

 

I don't know what kind of thrift stores are near your home/school but I have found some of the BEST ones for school manipulatives and supplies is Good Will. These are just a few of the items I have bought over the years for less than $2.00 for my classroom:

• books (chapter books, picture books, encyclopedias, and so many more!! Almost all of the books for my classroom student library have come from the thrift store.)
• bins/containers
• puzzles (I'm talking Melissa and Doug and Leap Frog puzzles)
• flashcards
• Games (I have bought everything from Battleship, Operation, Monopoly, Clue, Guess Who to math, science, and literacy games for centers. Many times the pieces are already separated into baggies ready for you to use!! YAY!!)

This group is playing Operation. The sound does NOT work but the light does so it is a WIN WIN for me!! Quiet but fun!

I have found that in order to find something you have to walk into the store with the mindset that you are NOT looking for something in particular. Recently, I have been finding pre-school and kindergarten games and resources for my boys at home. In the last 2 weeks I have gotten about a dozen puzzles and games and spent less than $15. Who can pass up an I SPY puzzle for $0.99?? I mean I cannot walk into the Dollar Store and get that type of quality.

My kiddos did an entire unit on Dinosaurs and we finished money so this was a great way to have them practice their money skills while playing Dinosaur Monopoly at the same time. It is time consuming but they loved it!

So before you fire up the credit card and start ordering things for next year, try hitting up your local thrift stores. The best times are when people are clearing things out for garage sales. (Spring/Fall)

This was a great way to practice building words off of each other. They even got creative with book titles!!

This group is working on a Leap Frog puzzle of the United States.

Here are some shots of my kiddos using some of our games as a reward for the end of the school year. They are thrilled that the games they have stared at all year are finally allowed to be pulled off the shelves!! I would love to hear what you find at bargain prices for your classroom!!

I rescued this Guess Who game from a garage sale. It doesn't hurt to say you are a teacher!!