It's Almost Time!!! Mini Teacher Haul

Hello! It's been a while!  Here in NY, most schools will be starting back next week, so there's one more week to enjoy this beautiful August weather!  I have been hard at work on (sometimes avoiding) my comprehensive exams and trying not to get sucked into school.  It is so easy to spend a whole summer getting ready for next year, but I find that I am more energized and excited for my new crew when I focus on enjoying my time off.

Monday is the BIG day! I plan to submit the first of my two exams and go into school and begin putting my new room together.  The halls are being done this week, so that forces a good timeline. Hopefully, I can put everything I moved to my new room away and make it look presentable for meet and greet on the 31st!  The rumor is that the cleanign crew stacked boxes upon stacks of boxes in my room - YIKES!

Even though I have not been focused on school (or blogs/blogging), I have been doing a bit of school shopping. You know teachers just can't resist! Since my goal is to "spend less, save more," I have been trying really hard to make do with what I have and not get sucked in by every new idea I see. The prospect of going on a sabbatical and not working next year is exciting but daunting. My goal is to save as much as I can this year so we don't feel crunched if I can make it through comps and into my residency. Long story short, here are a few things I have picked up at the Dollar Tree (aka the teacher's best friend) and the Dollar General (i.e. one of the only stores in my town).

From the DT I picked up magazine files and glow sticks.  I decided to go back to magazine files for my student book boxes. They are more compact than the tubs I was using and I learned last year that I still like to keep an eye on what the kids are reading. I had a surprising number of students obsessed with picture books, even in June!  I also picked up some glow sticks.  I like using them as a little gift with jitter glitter and ready confetti at the meet and greet.  They are a prize for finishing a scavenger that engages the family and gets supplies put away! I also bought extras as prizes for either birthdays or giveaways during testing week.

The DT has some really great kids books!  They regularly have National Geographic books. Scholastic has them for several dollars, so this is a great deal!  The almanacs are favorites for the kids and provide great experience with different genres. I had several students into biographies last year, so I picked up a few biographies.   I also found these great science experiment books! I have wanted to have a "Scientist of the Week" for years and I think it'll infuse a bit of science back into school when it is being pushed out by the ELA and math focus. I bought one set for the classroom library and another for a bag that I would send home with the student who is to be the scientist.  Hopefully I can get this together this year!

Finally, I picked up some items from the Dollar General.  They were 90% off! I picked up about four dozen seed packets for Mother's Day presents and gladiolus bulbs for volunteer gifts. We have a building tea for all volunteers and classes are asked to contribute.  These bulbs were 20 cents for six and would make cute gifts wrapped in tissue paper.  I thought we could attach a little paper with "We are so "glad" you are part of a school.  Thank you for helping us "bloom!" I usually feel like a slacker because I avoid volunteering with all of the busyiness at the end of the year, so hopefully we can contribute this year!

Have you picked up any good finds lately?

Best wishes to everyone who is back to school or starting this week!

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