Hurrah for
summer! With at least a little more time on my hands than usual, it’s a good
time to think about classroom crafts and organization. And that, for me, means
a trip to the good ol’ Dollar Tree. I decided to take pictures while I was
there of things I use in my classroom. It’s amazing how many of my favorite things
come from the dollar store! Man, I love Dollar Tree. (I love it so much this
isn’t my first post about dollar store loot. See part one here.)
Tubs,
baskets, and containers
I love these
things! This is, in my opinion, my favorite category of things at the Dollar
Tree. I see no reason to pay $5 for a simple plastic basket when there are
great ones for a buck! There are so many things to organize in a classroom, and
so many options to help you get it done. I like using the larger tubs with lids
to hold stations. Mid-size tubs are used to store manipulatives so I can find
them easily, and small tubs are used to store a small amount of manipulatives
(like rhythm dice or flash cards) within a station tub. I used to use plastic
bags for everything, but kids tend to destroy them quickly if they are in a
station. Baskets are great for use in a classroom library, and shower caddies
are handy for storing materials for group work. All of my non-pitched
percussion instruments are stored in baskets from Dollar Tree, as well.
Splash Ring
Summer is
the best time to buy them, and they make great drums.
Foam
Counting Blocks
Music dice
are a great summer craft project. I have rhythm dice for every grade, as well
as pentatonic dice (do is on there twice). They are great for chance music, identification
games, and stations. Rhythm dice are featured in this post about rhythm manipulatives, if you would like more ideas.
Reusable Dry
Erase Pockets
Thicker than
plastic sleeves, these last longer and are built to better withstand the abuse
of being in the hands of a 7-year-old. If your copy budget is stretched thin,
these can come in very handy.
Puppets
I love
dollar store puppets because I then feel no panic about letting kids lead
singing games that involve them. They love the opportunity to use the puppet,
so I usually let the child have a turn after they solo sing. Even my shy kiddos
are more likely to open up if they get to walk around with a lion on their hand
afterwards.
Magnetic
Classroom Spinner
I’ve seen
all these fancy tempo and dynamic spinners on Pinterest that take skills and time
to make or money to buy… write a simple one on your magnetic whiteboard, add
one of these babies and BOOM. Instant spinner.
Self-stick
Flags
I like to
color code mine in my favorite resources so I can easily find primary and
intermediate songs. It’s less messy than the “use a ripped-up post-it” method I
used to favor.
Craft Sticks
Color code
them for a quick multiple response strategy (“If you hear a largo tempo put up
a blue stick, if you hear an allegro tempo put up a green stick,” etc.) or use
them as representative notation for rhythm, as seen here.
Foam
Stickers
These things
are GOLD. Easy and simple rewards that go a long way!
Wands
Wands are another
great manipulative for solo singing, and one that can be customized to fit the
activity. One of the first Kinder solo singing exercises we do is to sing our
wishes to a wishing wand. It’s a challenge to find one that isn’t too girly. I
might have to go back and get the dinosaur one, it cracked me up!
Pinwheels
When
teaching recorder, I give kids a pinwheel and tell them to blow. They go crazy.
Then we work on slowing down the air. The pinwheel is a good visual, and as a
bonus it doesn’t squeak!
That leads
to the last must-have item from the Dollar Tree…
Just
kidding. Those recorders are TERRIBLE. The jump ropes can be good for vocal
exploration, though. Just lay them on the floor and have kids follow the
contour with their voice. I’ve also paired that activity with the book The Squiggle.
Have fun at the dollar store!
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