Thrifty Thursday-Target Dollar Spot and Dollar Tree

Cha Ching! Going to the Dollar Tree never gets old for me! Ya’ll, I just love the “hunt” of finding a bargain! Here are some of the things Megan and I found on our recent excursions during our “cold weather” day of no school.

First Up…Workjobs. Love the counting pieces for the Math Attack series. I am loving that set of units on tpt—once the kids know how to “do it” all we have to do is keep changing the game boards and mark on their cards where they need to be working. And “Tada!” they are all working on their own level. You can read more about them (here) in a recent blog post. The hearts and eggs are an alternative to using the clip art counters. For the giraffes we added the brown foam circles to use as counters.

Second up…Centers! We found some great games that we can put in our games center. Now these were three dollars, but it would cost you that much, if not more, for the ink to make them! The lacing cards are great for fine motor. You can put them in your writing center for those kids who are still having problems grasping a pencil correctly.

More centers…We loved the little notebooks for write the room. The spiral bound books are great for our writing center. We have completely worn out a set. The kids love the visa via pens and wet wipes.

Next up…making things! We found these little pack in the teacher section of the Dollar Tree. They are great for making games and labeling things in your room. I love the large set of letters. These are back in the wall art section in the Dollar Tree. They are great for making games---for only a dollar!
Next…storage! Enough said…you can’t bet the collection of containers at the Dollar Spot in Target.

And finally…here are some fun games that we love to play with our kids. Here’s how you play:
Number Puzzle: Give the children a dice. (there is a 12 sided dice the internet) Have them roll the dice. If it lands on an 6, they take the 6 out. Roll again. If it lands on a 5, take the 5 out. Roll again. If it lands on the 6, put the 6 back in. Object of the game is to get all of the numerals out! Hint: It NEVER happens! So it keeps them busy for quite a while!
Hinged Leprechaun: Take the hinged Leprechaun apart. Use him to play hangman.
Popcorn Boxes: Make popcorn shaped cards with numerals, letters, words or whichever standard you are teaching. Put a few cards with the word pop. Sit the children in a circle and pass the container around the circle. As the container comes to each child, they draw out a card and say what is on it. If they pull out pop, all the cards go back in the container.
Rubber Ducks: Get a large bowl and fill it with water. Have the children roll a dice. If the dice lands on 6, they put 6 ducks in the bowl. Now roll again. If it lands on a 4, ask, “What do you need to do so that you have 4 ducks in the bowl?” (answer: take 2 out) Keep rolling and deciding if you need to put some in or take some out so that the number of ducks in the bowl matches the numeral on the dice.
Happy Dollar Store Shopping!