While driving around yesterday I stopped off at Target to pick up a mirror for the bathroom... having discovered the joys of owning this particular mirror while staying at a gorgeous Seattle retreat this weekend. Never found said mirror. I did however happen upon the school supplies!
With only a month away til school, the sales started a few weeks ago. There is a science to school supply shopping for teachers. First, you have to know what you'll need and what's flexible. Second, you have to grok the minds to chain store marketing weenies. The first several weeks of sales are not the best. Marketing weenies are hoping to cash in on Mom and Dad's desperate desire to send kids back to school and get a bargin. However, waiting until mid-august is also a no-no, as marketing weenies know that parents are lining up with excited kids and their lists! This is when the stores start to cash in. End of July is a good time to shop. People are still in vacation mode and not thinking about school. Stores are little nervous that they may have too much stock, so they try to entice those vacationers back into the store.
So here's what I picked up at Target:
10-pack of 70pg wire ring notebooks for $1 If you're going to require journals of some type, it's always good to have a stack of extras laying around for those that can't get one themselves.
8-pack of pencils for $.20 = 40 pencils for a $1. I don't provide regular pencils for students (except in extreme cases). I usually buy a box of golf pencils. They cost around $5 for a box of 100. One and half boxes gets me through a year without complaints, fights or excuses. Plus, they're stupid enough to make students actually think about bringing their own. I also grabbed some pens, since I'm constantly loosing mine.
8 glue sticks for $1. The school does privide these, but somehow believes that 6 will do for 120 students all year long.
5 Rulers for $1. Always go for solid plastic. The wooden ones cause all sorts of discipline problems and students love to take them apart.
Colored pencils, set of 12 for $1. Great for book covers, cartoons, visual aids, and whatever else I can think of to bring art into the classroom.
Mini-highlighters $1/set. These were more expensive, but will work really well as prizes and motivators for coming year.
Mini-dictionary $1.50 ea. I don't think it's much of a bargain, but I only picked up 4. If I see them cheaper, I'll get more. Otherwise, screw it.
The really weird thing? Right next to the 8-pack pencils was bin a 24-pack pencils (same exact brand) for $1.25. They did the same thing with colored pencils and glue... I spent 20 minutes trying to figure out the trick. I never did, so I'm guess that Target is hoping that most parents are just math stupid. Not much of a stretch, I'll grant you, but there it is.
With only a month away til school, the sales started a few weeks ago. There is a science to school supply shopping for teachers. First, you have to know what you'll need and what's flexible. Second, you have to grok the minds to chain store marketing weenies. The first several weeks of sales are not the best. Marketing weenies are hoping to cash in on Mom and Dad's desperate desire to send kids back to school and get a bargin. However, waiting until mid-august is also a no-no, as marketing weenies know that parents are lining up with excited kids and their lists! This is when the stores start to cash in. End of July is a good time to shop. People are still in vacation mode and not thinking about school. Stores are little nervous that they may have too much stock, so they try to entice those vacationers back into the store.
So here's what I picked up at Target:
10-pack of 70pg wire ring notebooks for $1 If you're going to require journals of some type, it's always good to have a stack of extras laying around for those that can't get one themselves.
8-pack of pencils for $.20 = 40 pencils for a $1. I don't provide regular pencils for students (except in extreme cases). I usually buy a box of golf pencils. They cost around $5 for a box of 100. One and half boxes gets me through a year without complaints, fights or excuses. Plus, they're stupid enough to make students actually think about bringing their own. I also grabbed some pens, since I'm constantly loosing mine.
8 glue sticks for $1. The school does privide these, but somehow believes that 6 will do for 120 students all year long.
5 Rulers for $1. Always go for solid plastic. The wooden ones cause all sorts of discipline problems and students love to take them apart.
Colored pencils, set of 12 for $1. Great for book covers, cartoons, visual aids, and whatever else I can think of to bring art into the classroom.
Mini-highlighters $1/set. These were more expensive, but will work really well as prizes and motivators for coming year.
Mini-dictionary $1.50 ea. I don't think it's much of a bargain, but I only picked up 4. If I see them cheaper, I'll get more. Otherwise, screw it.
The really weird thing? Right next to the 8-pack pencils was bin a 24-pack pencils (same exact brand) for $1.25. They did the same thing with colored pencils and glue... I spent 20 minutes trying to figure out the trick. I never did, so I'm guess that Target is hoping that most parents are just math stupid. Not much of a stretch, I'll grant you, but there it is.
Comments
But I'm changing careers and begin my first teaching job in a month ... and I bought some school supplies yesterday! You're right, everything is very cheap right now, and the stores (I went to Office Depot) are nearly empty. Very nice!