The Dollar Tree has become a very popular place for organization, DIY materials, seasonal decor and homeschool supplies, and it's easy to see why! There are so many things there that can rival much more expensive products and there's usually a few dollar stores in every town. Between these stores and careful thrifting, I've saved so much money on homeschool materials and cool things for Bean's playroom. So lets get started!
1: Activity trays
These are just plastic trays divided ino 4 sections and they are so useful! I've used them for separating materials for art projects and play doh add-ins, or just giving my daughter different paints. I see a lot of people recommend Tough Trays for preschool supplies but for a dollar these are just as good!
2: Work books
We don't use work books every day, but the dollar store has a lot of good ones if it's something your interested in! We have several preschool ones that talk about colors, shapes, numbers and letters, but they also have them for older children dealing with money, time, reading comprehension, etc. One thing I love is that they are often Disney or Troll themed! Which definitely gets Bean's attention.
3: Sticker books
The quality of Dollar tree sticker books is AMAZING! We have spent much more on Usborne sticker activity books, which are great, but I love saving money and getting a good experience. We recently bought books on big machines, farm animals, bugs and gardens, and pets. I like that the stickers are real pictures, which helps children learn to identify real life animals and objects. Highly recommend!
4: Dry erase sheets and markers
We have gotten so much use out of the dry erase sleeves. My daughter loves to color in books with the markers and then clean it off, so a 4 pack for a dollar, plus one sleeve is a great deal!
5: Contact paper
I don't have a lamination machine. Maybe one day, but for now clear contact paper works just fine for us. Yes it gets wrinkled sometimes but for a dollar I live with it! I use this to laminate flash cards or printable activities, create more dry erase sheets, or to do activities like making sun catchers. It's found in the kitchen section and they also have damask prints and wood grain, which I have also used around the house. Every time I go I grab a roll because you never know when it might be sold out!
6: Educational posters
These are really nice to decorate her play room. For preschoolers they have the usual numbers and letters but for older children I've seen some with STEM careers, vocabulary and grammar, time, etc. They also have really cool spinner things. I'm not sure what exactly they're called, but we have a color wheel one that I hung up in her art corner, where she can spin the wheel and it reveals how colors mix, and a butterfly life cycle one.
7: Art supply Of course!
Kids go through so many crayons, paints, construction paper....you name it. It's nice to be able to grab some for cheap. They also have name brand art supplies, like Crayola finger paints. Other things we buy from this section: Stickers Stencils Paintbrushes Wooden items to paint Yarn or twine Fake flowers, birds, and butterflies Pretty much anything you need for kids art can be found here, depending on the size of your dollar store. Typically the bigger the store, the bigger the arts and crafts section. The quality varies but I've found most things are pretty good, especially for kids.
8: Seasonal projects
I love their seasonal items! You have to shop about a month in advance though, because they start putting things out early and things disappear quickly! Here's an example of some of the things I buy here:
Seasonal eraser packs for counting activities
Holiday stickers
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