All the Dollar Store Love

My family went camping this weekend - it was cold and rainy - but I planned ahead. A couple of weeks ago I went to the dollar store (in this case the Dollar Tree) and spent $25 on toys for my daughter - it was $25 well spent, I picked up balls, play dough, plastic animals, dolls, and sand toys.  All of these items can get as dirty as she wants them to, and if we lose them or break them, I'm totally fine with it. 

This is not my first experience with dollar store awesomeness, as a teacher it was my best (and most regularly visited) source for materials.  Here are just a few of the classroom items that I always shopped for at the dollar store:

• Dramatic play materials - you can find items for nearly any theme at the dollar store; kitchen, hair salon, babies, picnic, cleaning, gardening they have it all.  The items are cheap, and still authentic sizes, yet lightweight which makes them perfect for little hands.
• Party supplies - Tablecloths, gift bags, tissue paper, cards, tableware, and decorations. Whether you're having a real party or a pretend one, the dollar store has what you need.
• Holiday-themed centers - the dollar store is the. best. place to get holiday items for classroom centers.  Gold coins for St. Patrick's Day, heart shaped containers for Valentine's Day, mini erasers and fun pencils for winter holidays, it's a budget friendly way to add a little excitement to your regular centers.
• Necessities - there are certain things that you can never have enough of in the classroom.  Things like ziploc bags, paper towels, plastic bins, and tape are on my list every single time that I go to the dollar store. 
• Parent gifts - I have used many a dollar store item as a canvas for parent gifts.  Everything from ceramic plates that the children painted for Christmas to fake flowers that we turned into pens for Mother's day have come from the dollar store. 

There really is no end to what you can accomplish with items from the dollar store as long as you're willing to be creative! What are some of your favorite dollar store finds?