Back to school shopping!

You can ask my mom, I've always been a huge fan of back to school shopping.  It was like a holiday in itself in my eyes.  I always loved getting a few new outfits to replace the ones that I'd outgrown, but I mostly loved getting new school supplies.  I might even call myself a school supply junkie.  I can't seem to get enough pads of paper, a new binder and folders, new markers and crayons (I love the look of a fresh box of Crayolas!) and don't even get me started on how much I love a new bag!!  As a teacher, I still love the excitement of back to school shopping, but now I get that excited all year long when I get a teaching catalog in the mail.  

I'll admit, usually the catalogs have the same stuff month after month, company after company.  But I still look through them, page by page.  I've gotten better about looking through it once and then tossing it into the recycling bin.  If I didn't, we wouldn't be able to see the floor of my house because it would be covered with them!  But I certainly have my favorites that I shop from every year.  I even follow most of the companies on Facebook and read all of their emails.  I thought I'd share just a few that I find to have the highest quality products at the best prices.

The first, that I use all the time, is Really Good Stuff.  I have never gotten a bad product from them and usually manage to spend my entire yearly budget on one order.  I love their organizational tools (I'm a sucker for bins and baskets as well!)  I try to check out their clearance section often because I can usually find one or two things that are a great deal.

I also like the products from Creative Teacher Press.  A lot of what I get from them are for bulletin boards.  I don't change my boards very often, especially in my new role, but I like to get things with themes and they have a wide selection.  Debbie Diller suggests that classrooms should use no more than three colors throughout the room in order to avoid being too distracting.   Covering bulletin boards with 2-3 colors and leaving them empty at the start of the year can give the illusion of a bigger space as well.  But items can be bought to fill the boards and highlight student work.  

I just came across another company today that I think I'm going to like as well.  They're called Steps to Literacy.  They have a lot of books and book sets (which seemed rather expensive), teaching resources (which would be great for guided reading or intervention groups) as well as book storage.  Their baskets are reasonably priced and their options are quite varied.  I am going to take a closer look into this company and I'll be sure to blog if I get anything.  

Most of all, throughout the years, I have learned that it is best to shop around as well as ask around.  It may take some time and organization  but it will be worth it in the end.