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Resources for a new primary teacher

Hi everyone. I am a new primary teacher and will have my new class in September (2009):j. I went to visit the school to see my classroom and the resources they have. Although a great school, they have limited resources and discussions with staff revealed that your get limited stock at the beginning of the year and would rarely get top-ups. This means that staff have to reach into their own pocket to buy things such as pencil pots, decent sharpers, extra colouring pencils, craft materials, etc. (Although this should not be happening, experience of going in and out of different schools shows that this is the norm).
Shopping around I realised that I am getting closer to taking out a loan, on top of my student loan:eek:. I have been to charity shops with little luck on classroom resources:( for primary children, although I have found a next to new teddy bear to use for circle time and a jigsaw for wet break:T.
I want to organise my classroom but also make it a productive one, therefore I would like to get hold of (preferably free) resources such as pencil pots, folders, wet play games, spare writing pencils, better sharpeners, posters, fabrics and free story books (I know the web has downloadable books but I am looking for physical books to put in the book corner, because the school is touchy about printing levels).

Thank you :rotfl:
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Comments

  • jumblejack
    jumblejack Posts: 6,599 Forumite
    Your local freecycle group would be perfect for you. The folk on there are really helpful.

    All the best with your new position!
    :A Every moment is a gift. That's why we call it the present.!:A
    Grocery Spend Weekly Challenge (Sat-Fri):£30.50/£40
  • Valli
    Valli Posts: 25,580 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 18 July 2009 at 7:53PM
    I used charity shops, car boot sales, keep an eye out for sales in Smiths. I find Help the Aged cheaper for books than Oxfam. I had to throw huge numbers of faded and worn books and had a mass scrounge for Jaqueline Wilson and other current authors. I also make sure thatI get any unused/not given out World Book day vouchers to get sets of books. I know it's not in the spirit of the scheme but paperbacks really do NOT last very long even when handled carefully,
    This is another unseen aspect of teaching - the amount of resources paid for by the teachers themselves....
    Try bookshops for posters too.
    For scrap paper I tear A4 in half so it's less wasteful. I got some bright little baskets for pencils from Lidl last summer 2 for 79p
    Ikea is also good for bright stuff which isn't too dear and I - erm - save their paper tape measures...
    Good luck with it
    You could always write a couple of begging letters to managers of bookstores and promise to acknowledge their kind donations in letters you send home.
    Don't put it DOWN; put it AWAY
    "I would like more sisters, that the taking out of one, might not leave such stillness" Emily Dickinson
    :heart:Janice 1964-2016:heart:

    Thank you Honey Bear
  • second freecycle.
    ask parents when you get there. they will always be throwing stuff out.
    download board games and laminate
    write to local businesses to donate pens, paper etc
    check out free fabric samples threads on here
    keep everything you would normally recycle (for junk modelling)
    use old tins, etc for pencil pots
    takeaway trays for crayon baskets
    old ladies always have oddments of wool
    put a sign on your door asking for stuff
    ask the secretary to save scrap paper, envelopes,
    gonewrong photocopying for scrap
    grab some ikea pencils when you get tape measures too!!!!:D
  • Valli
    Valli Posts: 25,580 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 18 July 2009 at 8:05PM
    BTW the A4 I tear is gone wrong photocopying/printing not new stuff - but I find it lasts longer if halved...
    And start saving old newspaper because it's useful and since I am the only teacher in my school with a box for it I supply everyone. Good job my DS has a paper round for free papers and there are always a couple left over!
    Sudocrem pots make super glue pots BTW as the lids are nice and flexible - I would ask for things like that on freecycle.
    The Works sometime has sales with cheap stationery and books.
    Summer & Autumn fetes are good places to get books and games very cheaply also jumble sales as they tend to be cheap too
    Don't put it DOWN; put it AWAY
    "I would like more sisters, that the taking out of one, might not leave such stillness" Emily Dickinson
    :heart:Janice 1964-2016:heart:

    Thank you Honey Bear
  • bonty44
    bonty44 Posts: 439 Forumite
    And get your class to count out and count back in items such as scissors, pencils, etc.

    And put your initials on anything movable!
  • sarahf191979
    sarahf191979 Posts: 3,077 Forumite
    Definately try Freecycle, keep any pots, jars, boxes etc you get at home, will always come in handy, I know my kids old school foundation untit asked for any boxes, lids, packaging, xmas cards for crafting. I alwasy donated any teddies books and good toys that my kids had grown out of.

    Loads of printable and reusable games on the net could be printed off and laminated to make them last longer.. try bingo, snap cards etc.. Depending on the year of your class might be an idea to let kids bring there own pencils in in a case then keep your stock for special projects etc... both mine take a pencil tub in for everyday work.

    Try Homebargins for cheap stationary and bits and Asda and tescos cheapo range always good for a bargin, and don't forget the £1 shop, they should all have the back to school stuff out soon

    HTH

    Sarah
    :D:D:D:D:D
    Where's the Coffee?? Show me the Coffee NOW!!
  • Morty_007
    Morty_007 Posts: 1,496 Forumite
    car boot sales for books. My son has well over a hundred books as he goes through them like nothing on earth and LOVES thumbing through a "new" book. We rarely pay more than 10/20p for great condition books. And cardboard puzzles too. again, he completes them like they are going out o fashion so to buy them new would be so expensive! Often pick hardly used puzzles up for 20-50p, even if the boxes are a bit tatty. If you can get some shoe boxes or plastic take away tubs, the kids can decorate new boxes for the puzzles.

    You can often pick up kids clothes for 10/20p which you could cut up and use for fabric, Pencils, crayons, paper, craft stuff, you will find LOADS at car boots.
    Good Enough Club member number 27(2) AND I got me a stalkee!
    Closet debt free wannabe -[STRIKE] Last personal loan payment - July 2010[/STRIKE]:T, credit card balance about £3000 (and dropping FAST), [STRIKE]Last car payment September 2010 (August 2010 aparently!!)[/STRIKE]
    And a mortgage in a pear tree :D
  • Snowy_Owl
    Snowy_Owl Posts: 454 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Photogenic Combo Breaker
    One of the best things you can buy yourself is a laminator. Laminate everything you make!!!! :AI was in SfL fr 3 years and we have what we call in our county an EI disc (early intervention). On it was blank games masters for things like phonics and maths based snakes & ladders etc -I now have tons of games for early finishers/less able learners....

    Look out for free posters with papers, keep plugging away with the charity shops, I'm also consodering asking parents to donate old/outgrown books & games.

    Also, for little christmas presents last year I made little party bags with things bought in bulk like the girlie pencils, and little games you get in the kiddie party section in the supermarkets. I don't know whereabout your based but you may get companies that sell books and nick-nacks in staff-rooms -worth keeping an eye out for those.

    "Instant displays" website - free poster sets avaiable but the buyable ones are pretty cheap and really good for the start of term when the kids haven't done anything yet!!! "Primaryresources" also good.

    Hope that helps but that's all i can think of at the moment. Will try and come back when I can have more of a think!

    Snowy owl

    PS - It'll be a long hard and tiring year but remember to enjoy it!!!! and good luck!!!:beer:
    :j I feel I am diagonally parked in a parallel universe :j
  • paulabear
    paulabear Posts: 1,278 Forumite
    edited 19 July 2009 at 8:18AM
    I know our nursery uses sparklebox.co.uk for posters to print off, and my sister, who's a primary school teacher, also uses it :)
    I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick @ss.... and I'm all out of bubblegum.
  • Not sure where you live but in my little town, locals can use a project called "Free for all":

    http://www.freeforallwigton.com/index.htm

    You pay £7.50 to join for the year and just make a donation if you visit again to get materials. Instead of things being thrown away they are given here for recycling.

    Materials now include transparent coloured cellophane, paper, cardboard sheets and tubes, fabric, off-cuts of fake fur, leather and sheepskin, small and large pieces of wood, ceramic tiles and much, much more. It also recycles pots of paint that people don't need any more.

    If every area had something like this much less would go to landfill and "scrap" stuff could be used again.
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