In these times of belt-tightening and cuts, many classrooms don't have as many books for the classroom as they should. We have tons of books in our classroom because I've been snapping them up at yard sales, rummage sales, thrift stores, using Scholastic bonus coupons to buy new books, buying withdrawn books from libraries, and buying new books just because I think the kids will enjoy them. There is a school of thought that says you should not spend a penny on your classroom out of your own pocket. I don't subscribe to this point of view.
Yes, in an ideal world schools would be swimming in money and classrooms would be brimming with books. That day is not likely going to come. More realistically, a portion of the school's budget could go to classroom libraries each year and over time, book collections could be built up. Until then, teachers can still do a lot to create a text-rich classroom. It doesn't cost much and it's a lot of fun. You just never know what you'll find.
At a church rummage sale this morning, I found this retro Choose Your Own Adventure book (above).
Here's my classroom stash from today's rummage sale. In the picture, you'll find two brand new Monica Hughes books, some creepy tales which Grade 5s love, and a book by award-winning author Andre Alexis called Ingrid and the Wolf. The books cost me about $5.00 for the lot.
Here are mosques we made in our classroom for Eid. The French kindergarten class had made similar ones, but I made it harder by asking the class to trace the mosque using a half template and a Mira. The shape was a little tricky to sketch, but most of the kids got it.
