This week's finds

I've managed to stay out of Target for an entire week now...might be a new record! You'd think this would help curb my classroom spending...but no. Wherever I am, my mind somehow drifts to my classroom.

I was able to spend a few days out of town this week visiting my sister and enjoying the end of summer break. While we were out shopping one day, we happened to find this darling little apron!

And now for a close up (it's still a bit wrinkled from being shoved into my suitcase)

It was clearly meant for the classroom-I mean look at that cute print with kids swinging! I love how it has so many little pockets too! Do any of you wear aprons in your classroom? Please share how you use them! I have a basic denim apron I have been using for years during messy crafts-but no way do I want the kids and their projects to destroy this sweet little apron!

After I got home from my trip, I had many errands to do. My first stop was the grocery store...where apparently they now sell books?! And not just any books...but books about kindergarten. Seriously! So, of course, into the shopping cart the books went along with the milk, and the eggs, and the ice cream (because ice cream is a requirement when you're in the middle of a heat wave like this!).

The first book was A Place Called Kindergarten by Jessica Harper. It's no Pete the Cat, but it's still cute. It's about a little boy who lives on a farm. One day the farm animals can't find the little boy and wonder where their friend is. They soon learn he went to his first day of kindergarten. The farm animals have never heard of kindergarten and are very curious about it. When the little boy returns home he tells the animals all about what he learned in kindergarten.

The second book was Timothy Goes to School by Rosemary Wells. Rosemary Wells is one of my absolute favorite authors! I thought I had almost all of her books, but apparently not! I had to get this one to add to my collection since I always do an author study of her books in the spring. My students just love her Max and Ruby books! Of course this book might be better to read the first week of school since it is about a little raccoon's first week at school. At first Timothy has a hard time making friends at school. However, by the end of the story, Timothy is loving school and his new best friend.

Ok, so I know I said I didn't go to Target this week...but that doesn't mean I don't have any Target finds to share with you. I got these sparkly little zipper pouches on one of my trips to the Target dollar spot a few weeks ago and completely forgot about them! Any ideas for how to use them? I'm imagining some sort of math or literacy game.

I also picked up this cute apple tablecloth at Target a few weeks ago. I think I'll use it to decorate the table outside my classroom for kindergarten orientation. Of course tablecloths always come in handy inside the classroom too-I love being able to lay them on the floor and create an instant activity area.

So, what have you found this week? If you've been to Target, link up for Fab Finds Friday, over at the Target Treasures blog.

Dear Target

Dear Target,
Enough already! Can you please stop stocking your dollar spot for a few weeks? I need to be able to run in and buy essentials like paper towels and laundry detergent (ok, fine...diet coke and cheez-its) without getting sidetracked and spending my entire paycheck in the dollar spot.
Yours truly,
Meredith

I don't know about you guys, but the stuff in my Target's dollar spot just keeps getting better and better. I can't resist it! I scored 3 tabletop pocket charts-they are double sided and one side even has a little dry erase board at the top! I also picked up some number and letter puzzles, flashcards, and stickers (at this price who cares if the kids destroy them after a few months). One of my favorite finds are the cute little erasers-crayons, popsicles, and ice cream cones! Those have math manipulatives written all over them. Add a matching math mat and you have an instant math work station where kids can use the erasers to practice counting, adding, or subtracting. If you bought enough the kids could even make patterns with them (and yes I totally bought several packs!).

I just had to have these little baskets too-at 4 for a dollar they were the perfect price. They're actually a great size to hold all sorts of little things. I plan on keeping a set of them on my guided reading table so that each child will have a basket already stocked with whatever they need for that day's lesson (dry erase marker, eraser, magnetic letters, etc.). That should be a real time saver and help keep my reading table organized! I also thought these little baskets would be the perfect size for holding the cute letter and number stamps I got last time I was at Target. They'd probably even fit a little mini stamp pad in there with the stamps (although this kinder teacher much prefers stamping in play-doh instead of ink!).

My last Target find of the day was actually not even in the dollar spot. My students have destroyed several cheap little rolling pins in our play-doh center so when I saw this sturdy looking alligator rolling pin in the kitchen section (for $4) I knew I had to have it. Hopefully this darling rolling pin can handle some serious play-doh action this year!
 

To see some of my other posts about Target and some games I've created using my Target finds, click here, here, or here! Perhaps I need to change the name of this blog to Keen on Target!

Happy shopping!

Bargain Shopping!

With summer school starting on Monday, I figured it was about time I hit up my local Dollar Tree and Target stores to see if they had anything fun for my classroom. I found some great stuff - and you can't beat the price - just $1.



I found these great dry erase boards at Target in their dollar spot section. 4 Boards come in a pack and they have 2 handwriting lines on them (perfect for just writing a sentence or two). I think I'll give each student one to keep in their chair pocket. I can imagine pulling these out when we have a few minutes to spare and practicing sight words or even math facts on them.

I also found these neat packs of lacing beads in Target's dollar section-great for practicing fine motor skills. Heidi at Swamp Frog First Graders posted some great task cards on her blog for using these beads in math work stations to practice all sorts of skills (patterning, addition, subtraction). So be sure to check that out!

Here is a cute game called "Poison Frogs" that I made for my students out of a little box from Target and a package of frogs from Dollar Tree. This great idea also came from Heidi at Swamp Frog First Graders - head on over to her blog for the directions on how to play!

My last find of the day was this bug catcher kit from Dollar Tree. Instead of using it to catch bugs, I thought I'd make some activities for my students to do using the neat tongs in the kit (they seem great for working on fine motor skills). I'm thinking of filling my discovery table with some different colored pom poms (you can get these at Dollar Tree too) and having the kids use the tongs to sort the pom poms by color. Or, you could label cups with different numbers and have students pick up cotton balls with the tongs making sure to count out the right number to put in each cup.

I hope I've given you a few fun ideas for your classroom-I know all teachers love a good bargain! Be sure to leave me a comment to let me know about any neat bargains you've found or any fun games you're making for your students!