Back to School

Can you believe it's that time of year already?  It is so crazy to believe but I am glad to be in the same grade again this year ... First Grade.  Preparing is so hard but at least I'm in the same room, so that makes it a little easier.

I wanted to share my school finds for today ... and boy did I find some.

First we went to Wal Mart and boy do I hate Wal Mart but when it comes to school supply prices they can't be beat.  Here is what I got ...

24 pack of Crayola brand Crayons for ..... 25 cents a piece :).
Elmer's School Glue .................................... 25 cents
Yellow 2 Pocket Folders ............................. 15 cents a piece
Blue 1 Subject Wide Ruled Notebooks ..... 15 cents a piece

So, I got one of each for my 20 student.  Boy did I save a lot.

Then to my favorite place to shop Target.

And I got ...... the best thing in the world for a $1.

I don't even want to say how much I paid for mine last year ... let's just say I could have bought several of these :(.

And my second find from Target at $2.50 a piece is ....

Aren't they cute :).  These are chairs for my listening center, I'm going to add some pillows to sit on.  I really wanted bean bags but couldn't find any in my price range, so these will do just fine.  I already have bucket seats for my reading center but last year the kids in the listening center just sat on the floor.  I am super excited about this purchase.

Then my last stop was Goodwill.  We live in a really nice area, so they always have really nice barely used items.  I have bought books, tubs for my classroom, and now my last purchase and this is my favorite is ....

I have wanted to buy a Leap Pad for several years but they have been too pricey.  I bought this one at Goodwill for $7.99.  I am super excited to use this in a workstation.  I played it for over an hour and my favorite is the Social Studies game.  You have to see how many states you can find.  I am pretty good except I couldn't find Wyoming.  I know Sara, I am sorry :(.

Workstations are like centers for First Grade.  It's  pretty much where the kids work at their ability level.  So one kid might be working on letter blends and the other might be working on word families.  It's time consuming to plan out activities at workstations since most kids need different activities and the Leap Pad will be easy to plan for.  Now I just need to find more books.  During workstations I teach in small groups and that is where I do most of my instruction.  Now a days you don't really have much full group instruction.  It's all about teach at the level they are at, which is great.  It gives the low ones more support and the high ones aren't bored.

My other good find for the day was that I ordered a Breastfeeding cover up and it was FREE.  All I had to pay for was shipping.  I'll share a picture when I get it :).

Plus Ryan and I ate lunch at Luby's.  They had a deal where you got 2 combos with drinks for 20 dollars.  I got chicken with sweet potatoes and green beans.  Mason really liked the green beans.

I loved sharing my great finds for today...hopefully I can find more soon.