dollar tree magnetic drawing board

Teachers know how to stick to a budget while giving students a great learning experience. Not only are we savvy shoppers, but we also love sharing our ideas with each other. That's why we've put together this list of fantastic dollar store hacks. Affordable supplies make these ideas go a long way without breaking the bank!

• School Supplies Dollar Store Hacks
• Classroom Organization Dollar Store Hacks
• Clean Classroom Dollar Store Hacks
• Math Dollar Store Hacks
• Language Arts Dollar Store Hacks

(Just a heads up! WeAreTeachers may collect a share of sales from the links on this page. We only recommend items our team loves!)

School Supplies Dollar Store Hacks

Teachers can save a bundle by buying school supplies at Dollar Tree. Here are some of our favorite supplies, plus smart ways to make them go even further.

Buy online

Did you know you can buy many of Dollar Tree's items online? You'll usually need to be willing to order in bulk, but you can be sure they have what you need in stock. You can pick items up at the store or have them shipped to your door to save you a trip. Schools can even set up an account for tax-exempt orders.

Personalize pencils

Turn ordinary pencils into something special with our cool trick that uses clear tape to add personalized messages! Learn how it's done here.

• Jot Yellow No.2 Pencils, 16-ct. Pack
• Scotch Transparent Tape, 2-ct. Pack

Print on sticky notes

This may be one of our favorite dollar store hacks! It's surprisingly easy to personalize your sticky notes with your printer. Find out how and get lots of free templates here.

• Jot Pastel Colored Sticky Notes, 250-ct. Pack
• Jot Neon Icon Sticky Notes, 125 Pages

Add pom-poms to dry-erase markers

Stop erasing writing errors with your fingers! Use hot glue to attach pom-poms to your dry-erase markers to use as erasers instead.

• Expo Dry-Erase Chisel Markers, Case of 24
• Crafter's Square Multicolored Craft Pom-Poms, 80-ct. Pack
• Crafter's Square Mini Hot Glue Sticks, 20-ct. Packs

Cut composition notebooks in half

Get two notebooks for the price of one! Teacher Stuff shares this tip: Office supply stores can cut composition notebooks in half for you. (If you've got a band saw at home, you can also do it yourself.)

• Jot Classic Black & White Composition Notebook
• Colorful Classic Composition Notebook
• Holographic Composition Notebook

Dress up composition notebooks with duct tape

Whether you cut them in half or leave them whole, you can decorate composition notebooks with duct tape. The dollar store usually has lots of fun colors and patterns to try. Get the DIY from The Happy Housewife.

• Tool Bench Hardware Colorful Reflective Duct Tape, 15-ft. Roll
• Tool Bench Colored Duct Tape, 10-yd Roll

Swap glue sticks for a glue sponge

Place a kitchen sponge (scrubby side down, if it has one) into a plastic container with a tight-fitting lid, then pour liquid school glue over the sponge until it's saturated. Kids press items lightly onto the sponge to pick up just enough glue. Put the lid back on when you're done to keep it fresh and refill as needed.

• Scrub Buddies Multi-Purpose Scrub Sponges, 2-ct. Pack
• Jot White Glue, 8 oz. Bottle

Put glitter in salt and pepper shakers

If you love glitter but hate the mess, pour it into salt shakers for kids to use instead, like @tinymindsdaycare. You can seal them with a strip of tape across the top.

• Cooking Concepts Clear Glass Salt and Pepper Shakers, 2-ct. Set
• Crafter's Square Ultra Fine Glitter

Stop rolling pencils with straws

In about five seconds, you can stop the nuisance of pencils that roll away forever! Simply cut straws in half and tape a piece to each student's desk. Slide the pencil (or pen) through, and you're done! See this hack in action here.

• Patterned Paper Party Straws, 24-ct. Pack

Never lose a glue stick cap again

We got this tip from @teachingwithmisspeney, who says, "I don't know about you, but glue stick lids would magically disappear all the time!! We were chucking glue sticks out daily, until I added these little colored dots! From then on, as soon as someone found a glue stick without a lid, they would all be on the hunt for a matching colored lid!! Not only was this great for their accountability and independence, but also for their problem solving and color recognition."

• Jot Glue Sticks, 4-ct. Pack
• Elmer's Washable Disappearing Purple School Glue Sticks, 2-ct. Pack
• Color Coding Labels, 315-ct. Packs

DIY some privacy folders

Privacy folders can be useful during tests, or when kids need a safe space to calm down in a crowded classroom. Make your own in a snap by cutting tri-fold presentation boards in half. You can even decorate them with duct tape as Undercover Classroom did.

• White Cardboard Trifold Presentation Board

Create marker sets

Corral lost marker lids by duct-taping them all together in one set. Kids snap the markers back in when they're done using them. @planethappysmiles says it really works!

• Rainbow Washable Markers, 8-ct. Box
• Jot Washable Fineline Markers, 20-ct. Pack
• Jot Washable Broadline Markers, 10-ct. Pack
• Tool Bench Colored Duct Tape, 10-yd Roll

Classroom Organization Dollar Store Hacks

You'll find so many ways to keep the clutter under control with dollar store hacks. Check out these awesome ideas.

Store anchor charts on clip hangers

Have lots of anchor charts? @casadahl recommends using clip hangers to keep them organized. If your dollar store doesn't have them, combine clothespins and regular hangers instead. (Get more anchor chart organization ideas here.)

• Essentials White Plastic Clothing Hangers, 7-ct. Pack
• Essentials Wooden Clothespins, 36-ct. Pack

Flip a crate for scissor storage

Store scissors safely with the blades pointed down by turning a plastic crate upside down and using the holes, one per pair. Simple, but effective.

• Mini Black Plastic Crate
• Jot Kids' Safety-Cut Scissors with Lift Assist
• Jot Children's Blunt and Pointed End Scissors

Turn a toothbrush case into a pencil holder

It turns out that toothbrush travel cases are just the right size to hold pens and pencils! Label them with kids' names using permanent markers.

• Plastic Travel Toothbrush Cases, 2-ct. Packs
• Sharpie Fine-Point Black Permanent Marker

Sort sharp and dull pencils

Follow Elementary Organization's example to save time (and distractions). Create a place for kids to drop off their dull pencils and pick up sharp ones throughout the day. Assign one student to regularly sharpen any dull ones as their classroom job.

• Iridescent Rainbow 2-Compartment Pencil Holder
• Solid Color Tin Pail with Handle

Use book bins for student mailboxes

Line up magazine organizers or book bins for easy student mailboxes. We love the idea of adding photos to pre-readers' boxes, like Kindergarten, Kindergarten does.

• Teaching Tree Colorful Plastic Book Bin

Corral cables with binder clips

There are so many dollar store hacks that use binder clips, and this one from Wired is one of the smartest. Attach binder clips to the edge of a table, then prop the cords through the handles. See more binder clip tricks here.

• Black Metal Binder Clips, 12-ct. Packs

Set up turn-in bins

Give kids a chance for self-assessment with these smart turn-in bins from @talesfromaverybusyteacher. They can place their papers in the bins based on how confident they feel in their mastery of the topic.

• Two-Tone Rectangular Tray
• Garden Gate Plastic Storage Basket with Handles

Hang plastic totes as cubbies

Here's a good way to make use of brick walls: Attach sticky hooks and hang totes from them to create storage space. Prepping for the Primary Gridiron gets the kudos for this idea.

• Plastic Oval-Slotted Storage Tote with Handles
• Self-Adhesive Hooks

Attach letter trays underneath chairs

Taking It to the Next Level used zip ties to attach paper trays to student chairs, providing extra storage in otherwise wasted space. Love it!

• Black Vertical Letter Tray
• Tool Bench Hardware Assorted Nylon Cable Ties, 100-ct. Pack

Store earbuds in a compartmented case

Take a cue from Inspire Love Learn and store earbuds in a divided organizer. (Find lots of other headphone and earbud storage ideas here.)

• Tool Bench Hardware Plastic Compartmented Storage Case

Keep things organized at school and at home

Set kids up for success by creating these fun and functional homework stations inspired by Simple Made Pretty that they can use to stay on track at home.

• Divided 3-Compartment Plastic Caddies

Clean Classroom Dollar Store Hacks

It's more important than ever to keep our classrooms clean these days. Custodial staff does a lot of the hard work, but these dollar store hacks can help keep your classroom safe and sparkling all day long.

Clean up glitter with play dough

Uh-oh! Someone spilled glitter, and there's no vacuum handy. What's a teacher to do? Fortunately, a little play dough is the perfect way to clean it up!

• Kids' Activity Dough, 8-ct. Pack

Use hand sanitizer bottles as hall passes

Hopefully, your school is providing hand sanitizer in bulk for your classroom, but you can still pick up a couple of small bottles to use as hall passes. Grab the free printable labels from 3rd Grade Thoughts and refill the bottles from bigger bulk containers as needed.

• Xtra Care Antibacterial Hand Sanitizer, 8-oz. Bottle

Stitch up some board eraser mitts

One big microfiber cloth is enough to make multiple little eraser mitts, as @beingmissaustin demonstrates. If you've got a sewing machine, you can run them up in minutes.

• Driver's Choice Super Soft Microfiber Cloths, 24×16 in.

Clean desks with shaving cream

Your students are gonna love this one! Squirt shaving cream on desks and let them draw, write, and play to their hearts' content. Growing Roots says that in about half an hour, the cream will evaporate off, leaving desks free of crayon, pencil, and glue marks. (This probably won't disinfect desks completely, though, so some sanitizing spray may still be necessary.)

• Barbasol Original Shaving Cream, 5 oz. Can

Remove permanent marker with dry-erase markers

Did someone accidentally write on the whiteboard with a permanent marker? Good news! Imagination Soup confirms that all you need to do is write over it with a dry-erase marker, and the alcohol in the ink will help lift the permanent marker up when you erase. Alcohol-based disinfecting wipes work too.

• Expo Dry-Erase Markers
• Lysol Lemon-Scented Disinfecting Wet Wipes, 15-ct. Pack

Set out Tidy Tubs

We're willing to bet there's only one trash can in your classroom. This means your students are either making a lot of trips to throw stuff out, or there's a lot of litter on the floor (and in their desks!). Add labels to bins to create mini Tidy Tubs for garbage like Sailing Into Second does, and assign a student to empty them at least once each day.

• Plastic Locker Bins with Handles, 12x7x8.5 in.

Renew whiteboards with basic supplies

There are multiple dollar store hacks for making your whiteboards shine like new again. WikiHow recommends toothpaste, along with other options like vinegar, hairspray, muscle cream, and nail polish remover.

• Colgate Whitening Toothpaste with Baking Soda and Peroxide
• LA's Totally Awesome Cleaning Vinegar
• Swan Regular Nail Polish Remover

Polish stainless steel with a dryer sheet

Stainless steel tends to accumulate fingerprints like crazy. If anything in your classroom is made of stainless, clean it easily with a dryer sheet, as Southern Home Express recommends.

• Bounce Outdoor Fresh Dryer Sheets
• Breezy Sun Linen Fabric Softener Dryer Sheets

Try another way to clean your whiteboards

Instagrammers @dollartreeclassrooms and @lifeas_missmichael shared this tip for using facial scrubbers to clean whiteboards. So simple and affordable!

• April Bath & Shower Microfiber Spa Facial Scrubbers, 3-ct. Packs

Math Dollar Store Hacks

From counting and math facts to fractions and beyond, there are so many dollar store hacks you can use for teaching math. They all add up to fun!

Cut up paper plates to learn fractions

You can get so many fraction manipulatives from just a few packs of colored paper plates! Cut them into sections, label them with fractions, and let kids put them together to see fractions in action.

• Pink 9-in. Paper Party Plates, 20-ct. Pack
• Green 9-in. Paper Party Plates, 20-ct. Pack
• Red Paper Party Plates, 9 in., 20-ct. Pack
• Yellow Paper Party Plates, 9 in., 20-ct. Pack

Solve domino math puzzles

Download these free math printable puzzles from Games 4 Gains, then pair them with a set of dominoes to practice your math facts.

• Colorful Double Six Dominoes, 28-ct. Box

Play math facts War

Just like traditional war, the goal is to have the highest set of cards. In this game, each player flips two cards at once. They can add, subtract, or multiply (depending on what you're practicing) and the highest total keeps all the cards. Learn more from Creative Family Fun.

• 2-Deck Pack of Playing Cards

Wear math facts name tags

This idea is so much fun! At the beginning of the day, give each student a name tag with a math fact problem written on it. For the rest of the day, everyone must refer to each other by the answer to the fact instead of their real name! Thanks to Mr. Elementary Math for this one.

• Jot Name Badge Labels, 25-ct. Pack

Be the first to get 15 in a row

The Measured Mom invented this fun flash-card game. Build a row of cards, placing them in ascending order according to the answer to the math fact. The first to finish their row wins!

• Teaching Tree Assorted Math Flash Cards, 52-ct. Decks

Compete at Equivalent Fractions Spoons

Just like the classic game Spoons, only with an equivalent fraction twist! Learn how to play from Games 4 Gains.

• White Plastic Spoons, 48-ct. Bag

Stack plastic cups

We don't know why kids love stacking cups so much, but they certainly do! Write math facts on some cups and answers on the others, then let kids stack away. Kindergarten Smorgasboard finds this one to be a big hit.

• Red Plastic Party Cups, 16 oz.

Whack Ping-Pong balls to subtract

How fun is this? With a shoebox and some Ping-Pong balls, you can make your own Whack-a-Mole–style game to practice subtraction! Planning Playtime, this one is genius.

• All-Star Sports Plastic Table Tennis Balls, 6-ct. Pack

Roll and Write number sentences

Dice are terrific for lots of math games, like this one from Math Geek Mama. Roll two dice, then write the number sentence for addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division.

• Jumbo Colored Foam Dice

String a pi bead bracelet

What a fun way to celebrate Pi Day! String colored beads on pipe cleaners, inspired by Momgineer.

• Crafter's Square Metallic Pony Beads, 150-ct. Pack
• Crafter's Square White Chenille Stems, 45-ct. Pack

Build an engineering kit

While you're working on math, why not transition into some fun STEM experiments? This DIY Engineering Kit inspired by Little Bins for Little Hands has everything you need!

• Jot Bright Rubber Bands, 3.5 oz. Bags
• Jot 3×5 in. Ruled White Index Cards, 200-ct. Packs
• Colorful Latex Balloons, 25-ct. Bags
• Essentials Wooden Clothespins, 36-ct. Packs
• Crafter's Square Natural Craft Sticks, 100-ct. Bags
• Cooking Concepts Wood Toothpicks, 500-ct. Boxes
• Scotch Transparent Tape, 2-ct. Packs
• Brightly Colored Foam Pool Noodles, 47 in.
• Translucent Plastic Cups, 16 oz.

Language Arts Dollar Store Hacks

Try these dollar store hacks for fun and affordable ways to learn the alphabet, practice spelling, and work on reading!

Pop bubbles to learn letters

Everyone loves popping bubble wrap, so follow Coffee Cups and Crayon's lead and use it to help pre-readers master their letters. Just use a marker to write the letters, and let kids pop the bubbles underneath.

• Jot Cushion Bubble Wrap

Build brick letters

We love dollar store hacks that combine learning with kids' favorite toys. Ask kids to build letters using building bricks, following these free printable cards from Wildflower Ramblings.

• Make-It Blocks Building Blocks, 100-pc. Boxes

Put together craft stick name puzzles

This is an inexpensive and very fun way to learn names and sight words. Use Mod Podge to glue a photo or picture to a set of sticks laid flat, and write the letters of the word underneath. Then cut them apart and let kids put them back together, learning to spell along the way!

• Mod Podge Gloss Craft Adhesive
• Crafter's Square Jumbo Natural Craft Sticks, 60-ct. Pack

Roll and Write a story

It can be hard to get kids to let loose and write creatively. That's why we love Roll and Write activities! Grab one of the free printables from RoomBop (there are several to choose from). Then give each student a die to roll three times, giving them a character, setting, and plot to get them started.

• Classic Games Dice, 10-ct. Pack

Make mix-and-match poetry dice

Dry-erase dice are such a terrific tool in the classroom, and we love that you can get them at the dollar store. Learn how to use them to make mix-and-match poetry dice from Education.com.

• Teaching Tree Dry-Erase Foam Block

Kick it up with sight word soccer

Get students up and moving while they learn with sight word soccer. Learn how to play from Coffee Cups and Crayons.

• Orange Playground Cones, 2-ct. Pack

Inspire creativity with mini erasers

Mini erasers are another one of those supplies that have so many uses in the classroom. One of our favorites is to pull a couple of them at random, then use them to inspire creative writing activities. See more from Sara J Creations.

• Jot Fun-Shaped Erasers, 12-ct. Pack

Spell out words with toy cars

This activity is sure to give your students the drive to learn their spelling or sight words! Thanks for the idea, @lozlovesprep.

• Die-Cast Toy Cars

Pop up some inspiration

Teacher Karen Jones shared her idea for "Popcorn Words," a great way to read, write, and explore sight words in the classroom.

• Reusable Plastic Popcorn Buckets, 2-ct. Packs

Have more dollar store hacks to share? We'd love to hear about them in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.

Plus, don't miss Dollar Store Science: Easy Experiments You Can Try Right Now.

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Source: https://www.weareteachers.com/50-dollar-store-hacks-for-the-classroom/

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