School Supply Shopping

All of my glue sticks are dried out.  They last about 2 years in my un-airconditioned classrooms.  I'm not really sure if air conditioning has anything to do with it but never the less they are dry.  I saw that Target has a 6 pack of Elmer's glue sticks on sale for $1 this week.  Of course, I went and spent way more than a dollar!  Here's what I bought:

In case the picture is not clear enough, that is:

5 foam clocks that students can manipulate

5 white boards that look like primary lined paper

5 sets of Crayola markers (10 in each box) so we can make LOTS of colorful charts this year

4 packs of glue (6 in each package) because you can't have enough glue

5 pocket charts because everyone raves about them, why not grab a bunch? I'm sure there will be some GENIUS idea on a blog as soon as my Target runs out. 

& 6 colorful composition notebooks because I am running out of notebooks (something I NEVER thought would happen)

All for only $26.40.  Everything in the picture was a dollar each, except the notebooks which were .40 each.  I'm sure I could have paid a little less if I stalked all the sale papers from now until school but there is something satisfying about coming home with a lot of school supplies.   Target also has flexible rulers for .50 each.  If I didn't buy like 20 when I got my job I would have grabbed some more.  Keep your placement in mind when buying things.  I am in two buildings.  I'm not going to drag glue back and forth with me every day so I bought some for both buildings.  Foam clocks will only be used at certain times of the year and possibly only in 1 building so I only enough for 1 building (assuming I have a group of 5 students who are working on time).  5 is the maximum number of students I can see at one time so I tend to buy items in groups of 5. 

Things I still need:

Electric sharpener

Folders (waiting for that Staples .01 sale!)

Notebook paper

Spiral notebooks

Containers for Pocket games (Target doesn't seem to carry them this year and I hate Walmart!)

Plastic flexible binders (Staples .25 sale)

Index Cards

I always keep spiral notebooks handy because you never know when a student is going to need one.  I always try to buy the cheapest ones possible.  I'm not sure my plans for the composition books yet. I'm thinking about making those my staff meeting - RtI meeting - Ideas notebooks.  If you just got a job and have nothing, you may also want to buy:

Pencil holders (sharpened, unsharpened or highlighters)

Highlighters

Crayons/Colored Pencils

Scissors for kids (I bought 5 kid scissors per building and a pair for me)

Push Pins

Rubber Bands

Clips (paper clips, binder clips)

Magnets

Chart paper

Construction Paper (I buy mine at school specialty store online)

Desk Calendar or Personal Calendar

Pencils & Pens

Binders for your materials

File folders/hanging file folders

Post-its

Obviously, ask your Principal before you buy all this.  I'm sure you can get some of it through the district or even other teachers.  One last tip, sign up for the staples teacher card so you can buy 25 items instead of the usual limits. 

Happy Shopping!