I've Been Thrifting

Yesterday and today, I went to Value Village. I rarely buy anything new anymore when it comes to our classroom. I try to look on Craigslist - which I really did not like at first and I go to the thrift shops or Ebay. Also, the library sells books for 25 cents each, so sometimes we get some really good stuff.







This time I tried not to go overboard just because things were cheap. I made a list and devised a plan and for the most part I found what I needed. This was not on the list but how could I leave this behind? MashaALLAH.



My toddler is the biggest challenge to our homeschool day, so I've been searching blogs and Google for ideas. I think the best thing that I can do with her is set up a makeshift Montessori-style area. I found a bookcase that is perfect for her size on Craigslist for $10.




I also purchased a bundle of wooden baskets from Value Village so that her activities can be placed on the shelves and hopefully they will be eye-catching and inviting. I got plenty of ideas from Montessori Materials.



These baskets are good for sensory materials like these Scrabble tiles. I might make a simple chart of the alphabet and have her match the letters. Rubber stamps of the alphabet would be good too. Anything hands-on that introduces her to learning is valuable, InshaALLAH.



Since my mother-in-law was visiting, we took another quick trip today and got some more books. If you buy four, the fifth one is free!



To make room for the books, I moved the puzzles and games up on top of the bookshelf and I'm putting some of the books for younger ages on the bookshelf for my younger daughter.



Then, I had to make room for the little bits of this and that from outside.



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Busy Day

I took the kids to a local mall with my mother-in-law today for some quick errands and I am so tired now.

We stopped at the local Dollarama store and what a find!







Here are the titles if anyone is interested (click to see it larger).

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Slowly Making Improvements

We finally started making a few changes in the classroom this weekend. My husband had bookshelves along the wall that always got in the way and really made the room look dark, so we moved them to the back wall next to the gym equipment. I then moved the dividers in front of his shelves and along the empty wall for our daily calendar exercises.

We also got an Ikea Expedit bookcase via craigslist and saved about $25. It really makes a difference in the space.



I now have to organize the books and I found a free download called Libra (short for library). It is vista compatible and it enables you to enter the books via ISBN or by title and it links to Amazon. I exported it in spreadsheet form and printed it so that I could put the books on the shelf alphabetically (it will only organize by title or first name of book author).

I think InshaALLAH, I will be getting the Expedit Desk also, because I need ample storage space for my teacher's manuals and a place to store things that should be out of reach of little one's hands. Right now, I am using the small table that the kids usually use for art to hold my books.

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Nevermind

I got in touch with the person from Craigslist who is giving away textbooks for donations to their library. It's a church school so I don't know if they are secular or Christian books.... Read More...

Elementary/Middle School Books

If you are near Etobicoke, there is an ad on Craigslist for books...they just ask for a donation to their library. The link is here. Read More...