I just love Back to School time!!  The sales, the cheap glue sticks, the Dollar Spot at Target, the .88 cent markers at Wal-Mart, the… Oh!  I could go on and on, but you all know what I mean–there’s just  something about those isles that seems to be irresistible to teachers (my husband is a teacher too, but he seems to be immune to it!).  I just wanted to share all my new goodies, those that are in the house, and those that are in the car because I don’t want to lug them inside and then back out to the car again in a few days! 🙂

I purchased ANOTHER hardware storage drawer thing, this time to store my magnetic letters.  I thought this would be a great way to store them and keep them organized!

I then went to the Dollar Tree and found these cute little jungle animal themed erasers.  There are 40 in each backpack.  I got giraffes, elephants, and tigers.   I think they will be cute for sorting, patterning, and for math mats.

I thought these were so funny!  They are party favors made to look like coins, but they are all about 1 1/2 inches across.  I thought they would be great for calendar time, to show the kids the differences between the coins.  When I opened them up, they were even funnier, because some of the quarters/dimes were copper colored and some of the pennies were silver.  No nickels though…

These disposable gloves will become planters later on this year.  We will put cotton balls into the fingers of each area in the glove and place a bean seed (I think we may try others too just to see what happens).  Some we will water and some we will not.  We will then talk about the differences and what we see happening.  I think some will also be put into a dark area too.

Also at the Dollar Tree, were these sentence strips.  There are 30 in a pack and I got two packs.  I will use them for Literacy Work Stations management and for names on rings at various stations.

I also got these games.  The first one (on top) you match the upper to the lowercase letter, the middle one you build words, and the bottom one you put 3 cards together to make a complete picture.  I thought I would use them at the ABC Literacy Station.

Next up, this cool thermometer that I will hang on the outside of the window so we can look at it during calendar time and record the temperature (a form of measurement!!).  It was only a buck, so there’s no telling how long it will last!

On to the Target Dollar Spot!  I went to 7 different Target’s yesterday searching for more pocket charts to no avail!!!  All 7 were all out!  But I did pick up these letter mats–also for the ABC Station, you trace them for practice, uppercase on one side and lowercase on the other.

In my quest for pocket charts I came across these mini dry erase/magnetic boards.  At one place I got 6 and at another I got 6 more.  I may go back for a few more, but 12 may be enough! 🙂  I will use them for small group work, in the magnetic Station, for quick assessment, and other handy things!

A few assorted supplies.  4 new boxes of Crayola Markers ( I collect all things Crayola, so I love getting new ones!!).  I also got some glitter pencils from the Dollar Spot for the Writing Station, some name cards for various uses, and some more dry erase markers (they’re 30% off until midnight tonight!!).

This was a trip to Wal-Mart.  .88 markers!  .88 colored pencils! .88 Bic pens (my son put those in the cart!).  I also got some more tape for my label maker, some pencil grips, and some blue gel glue.  I will use the glue to make raised letters on index cards and have the kids rub over them in the ABC Station for texture! 🙂

This was another find at a different Dollar Tree…place mats that are solid colors and are 12×12.  We will use these under our playdough.  I like that they are smooth instead of with ridges, and I will start the kids out with these and then replace them with the textured ones they usually have.  I also got 3 packs of colored index cards to make more sight words on a ring.

Last, but not least–a trip to the teacher store!  My husband groans everytime I mention this place because he knows I will spend some money! 🙂  I’ve been really good though and have hardly been in the last 2 years!

I got some Wikki Stix and highlighter tape this trip.  The tape is in two sizes for Big Books and small books.  In Debbie Diller’s book, she mentions having this accessable for the kids to use and laminating file folders so the kids can put it there after using it for reuse later.

I also have some things in the car…

I got a set of uppercase alphabet stamps at Toys R Us on clearance for $7.49, 10 new book buckets at Dollar Tree, 30 spiral notebooks at Target, Lite Brite Refills, two I Spy puzzles, a Dora the Explorer ABC matching game (meijer on clearance), and some PVC pipe and glue to build another chart stand-this one to hold the 24×36 sized chart paper.  I’m going to make that one myself, so we’ll see how that goes!  Hopefully, it will end up in my poetry Station!

Kristen 🙂

P.S. If anyone finds 14 pocket charts from the Dollar Spot, I would love to have some!! I’ll pay for shipping too!  I’ll even send some of my handmade cards in your favorite colors!