Purchases I Made for my Classroom & Professional Development this Summer

If you're anything like me, your wheels are always spinning and the teacher in you never shuts off. That's why every summer I find myself getting inspiration and collecting things from the places I've been and things I've seen. Here's a look at things I have purchased over the past few weeks of summer for my class or for myself (I love teacher books). 

First up is this super cute calculator. I love the colors. I love the tall oversized buttons. And this will eliminate my problem of leaving my calculator at home or at school when I need it most. Now I can leave my old one in one place and my new one in another. And yes, I know my phone can also be a calculator, but I am usually using another screen with a video or music and do not like going back and forth...or my screen turns off causing me to have to log in again, so no, I am not going to use my phone calculator on a regular basis for grading. This ne is just the perfect one for me. 

This summer we traveled to Buffalo Bill's mansion and gravesite. I picked up these arrowheads because I know that we will be learning Native American history and I thought this would get my class excited about their learning. I purchased enough for each child to have one.

At another historic spot, I purchased a little container of fool's gold. This will be great to give out when we learn about the gold rush in social studies. Again, instant buy in. 

Teacher PD books are my downfall. I wanted to learn more about the science of reading. I did a bit of research and found these three books on Amazon. 

A lot of these have been on my wish list and they can be pricy. However, this summer when I dropped my daughter off for college, a bookstore nearby had all of these. Most of them were 75 cents. But a couple were more expensive. None was more than $3.

These are some chapter books I found. We LOVE Andrew Clements and his books. And these were two that I was thinking we did not have. I also picked up this graphic novel to read and see if it was good for my class (it isn't). They LOVE graphic novels. And I picked up the other one to broaden my religious book section (since I teach in a Christian school). 

 

Last year, I started collecting books, for my math center, that featured different math standards. I found these books at the used bookstore for mostly less than $1.50 each. These will be a great addition. 

I am a paper planner girlie and this one was calling my name. I love the clipboard, the pattern, and inside there is space for 3 daily to-dos and a water drinking tracker, which I am all about right now. 

That's my summer haul so far. I have a few more items on my list for decor, so stay tuned to see my new classroom theme.