Schools Shopping...Deals for teachers!

School shopping has officially taken on a new meaning in my life. Something comparable to hell. That might be a slight exaggeration, but the fact of the matter is that school supply shopping is downright stressful. I have spent almost all of my allotment of money and am now starting to calculate how much I will save by returning non-necessities or finding different supplies at different retail venues for cheaper (composition notebooks are a great example of this).

Here is a basic list of supplies I have bought:
-class set of crayons/ crayon holders
- table sets of markers
- 1 glue/ student
- Ziplock bags-all sizes
- 1  folder with fasteners/ student
- 2 folders with no fastners/ student
- 1 composition notebook with "primary" paper in it (space for picture)...my splurge/ student
- 1 wide ruled composition notebook/ student
- 10 3-ring binders for teacher use
- 6 Discovery Kids Nonfiction books
- class set of dry erase markers
- 2 teacher multi-pack of dry erase markers
- Thick pencils for beginning of the year use/ student (helps with handwriting, needs sharpened less frequently)
- Skin-tone construction paper for student self portraits
- Crowns for King/Queen of the week
- number line
- Bulletin board borders (3)
- sheet protectors
- 1 set of 8 sharpies
- table boxes
- 1 pair of scissors/student

I still need:
- White board cleaner
- mailing labels
- containers for classroom library
- electrical tape
- duct tape


A little bit of good: I am starting to get the hang of what goes where. There are also a lot of very generous teacher deals this time of year. Here are a few that I have found...

- Office Max: bag day. They gave us a large reusable bag and 20% off of everything that fit inside. They also had a small teacher care package that included a couple of sharpies, a planner with monthly coupons, and some free samples. They also have a teacher rewards card that give you $5 back for every $75 spent.

- Staples: the up the limit on sale items to 25 (instead of 3 for regular customers).

- Walmart: best prices on general school supplies

Also, a few shout outs..

-the guy at Office Depot who received a free backpack from his purchase and donated it to my classroom.
- the cashier at Office Depot who gave me two more backpacks other customers had left.
- The manager at Office Max who called another store and arranged for me to pick up a few extra composition notebooks with primary pages so I can have a class set
-my mom for making cushions to my childhood rocking chair that I am putting in my reading area along with the two beach chairs she bought me.


It has been a long week of shopping and setting up my classroom, but today I really felt that it was starting to look like a classroom. There really is a light at the end of the tunnel!