$500 dollars..What to spend it on for daycare children? Any ideas?

Question

Each room in the daycare I work was given $500 dollars each. I have to spend it on holiday decorations, toys, crafts, etc. What would be some good items I could buy that would be unique?

Here is what I have so far:

Books

Sipper cups

markers, crayons, construction paper, etc

toys, any suggestions of which ones?

Answer 1

I heartily advise you to spend as much of your budget on books. As a librarian, I believe you can never have too many books. I second the advice of others who suggested DUPLO blocks and puzzles, but my first choice remains books. Here are some you might consider:

"The Long-Nosed Pig" by Keith Faulkner; ill. by Jonathan Lambert [pop-up book]

"The Wide-Mouthed Frog" by Keith Faulkner; ill. by Jonathan Lambert [pop-up book]

"Shark in the Park" by Nick Sharrat [Fun!]

"Bark, George" by Jules Feiffer [Hysterical!]

"T is for Terrible" by Peter McCarty

"Some Dogs Do" by Jez Alborough [I could read this book every day for the rest of my life--so positive do I think its message is].

"Duck in the Truck" by Jez Alborough

"Louella Mae, She's Run Away" by Karen Beaumont Alarcón; ill. by Rosanne Litzinger

"The Wolf's Chicken Stew" by Keiko Kasza

"Rosie's Walk" by Pat Hutchins

"The Teeny Tiny Woman: An Old English Ghost Tale" by Barbara Seuling [There are many versions of this story but this is my favorite].

"Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale" by Mo Willems ["Knuffle Bunny Too" was published earlier this year

"Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" by Mo Willems [There are other books about the Pigeon and his adventure--this is the best].

"Leonardo, the Terrible Monster" by Mo Willems

"Edwina, the Dinosaur that Didn't Know She Was Extinct" by Mo Willems

"Sheep in a Jeep" by Nancy Shaw; ill. by Margot Apple

"Caps for Sale" by Esphyr Slobodkina

"Millions of Cats" by Wanda Gag

"Harold and the Purple Crayon" by Crockett Johnson

"Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak

"Goodnight Moon" by Margaret Wise Brown; ill. by Clement Hurd

"Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs!" by Sandra Boynton

"The Missing Piece" by Shel Silverstein

"The Missing Piece Meets the Big O" by Shel Silverstein

"The Very Quiet Cricket" by Eric Carle

"Fish Eyes: A Book You Can Count On" by Lois Ehlert

"Banana Moon" by Janet Marshall

"Dinosaur Roar" by Paul & Henrietta Stickland

"How Loud Is a Lion?" by Stella Blackstone; ill. by Clare Beaton

"Clickety Clack" by Robert & Amy Spence; ill. by Margaret Spengler

"One Red Dot" by David A. Carter [pop-up book]

"Blue 2" by David A. Carter [pop-up book]

"600 Black Spots" by David A. Carter [pop-up book]

"Arrowville" by Geefwee Bodoe

"Duck on a Bike" by David Shannon

"No, David!" by David Shannon [Check out David's other adventures, too].

"Ella Sarah Get Dressed" by Margaret Chodos-Irvine

"Click, Clack Moo: Cows That Type" by Doreen Cronin; ill. by Betsy Lewin

"How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?" by Jany Yolen; ill. by Mark Teague

"How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon?" by Jany Yolen; ill. by Mark Teague

"How Does a Dinosaur Eat His Food?" by Jany Yolen; ill. by Mark Teague [There are several other books about dinosaurs from this author and illustrator].

"The Dot" by Peter H. Reynolds

"Ish" by Peter H. Reynolds

"The Spider and the Fly" by Mary Howitt; ill. by Tony DiTerlizzi

"Imogene's Antlers" by David Small

"Just Like Heaven" by Patrick McDonnell

"The Gift of Nothing" by Patrick McDonnell

"Hug Time" by Patrick McDonnell

"Un Gato y un Perro" by Clare Masurel

"Bear Snores On" by Karma Wilson; ill. by Jane Chapman

"Bear Wants More" by Karma Wilson; ill. by Jane Chapman

"Officer Buckle & Gloria" by Peggy Rathmann

"The Day the Babies Crawled Away" by Peggy Rathmann

"Good Night, Gorilla" by Peggy Rathmann

"I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean" by Kevin Sherry

"The Little School Bus" by Carol Roth; ill. by Pamela Paparone

"Ten Dirty Pigs/Ten Clean Pigs" by Carol Roth; ill. by Pamela Paparone

"Emma Kate" by Patricia Polacco

"Cowboy & Octopus" by Jon Scieszka; ill. by Lane Smith

"Orange Pear Apple Bear" by Emily Gravett

"First the Egg" by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

"Martina the Beautiful Cockroach" by Carmen Agra Deedy

"The End" by David LaRochelle; illustrations by Richard Egielski

Answer 2

You don't say what age the children are.  Since you mention sipper cups, I am assuming pre-school.  My suggestions:

duplo blocks, puzzles, dry erase boards and markers.  As for decorations -- themed lights (pumpkins for Halloween etc. -- but hard to find if you need to spend the money right now).  Clips with stings to hang from the ceiling -- then you can let the children make decorations and you can hang them from the ceiling -- which would mean buying them markers, crayons, construction paper, etc.

Answer 3

A couple of  wooden ABC puzzles and those 0-9 wooden number puzzles.

For the one year old room, get that Disney Popping Pals toy.

Consult a book in the bookstore by Burton White, The First Three Years of Life,   for his ideas on  the best toys.  while at  Harvard U he and his workers went into people's homes for years and studied their young children to find out the ages for certain developmental milestones and the best toys.

Find a CD or tape that teaches the letter names and sounds.  DiscoveryToys has one, but it is deficient in several ways.  You ideally want one that teaches, for instance, all 3 'a' letter sounds, as well as the alternate sounds of the other 7 letters that have more than one letter sound, as well.  Keep jplaying that and those kids will march into Kindergarten knowing their letter names and sounds, and your daycare center will be revered!

Certainly get some magnetic letters for older kid fun.

Wooden blocks are good, and get some cheap plastic zoo and domestic animals.  I found some at Walmart for $1 each and so realistic looking.  

Get those wooden railroad tracks and an engine that runs on batteries and some train cars and you are in business!  The little boys will be in heaven.

Not sure if you can find anything for this age group, but go to

http://www.zometool.com/products-kits.ht... and see what they have that you can use.  My son when he was 3 loved a toy called Construx which is no longer made but these seem similar.  

good luck.

Answer 4

I 'm also not sure what age you're referring to, assuming preschool. I would use the money 1st for consumables (glue, construction paper, paint, shaving cream, & other various are supplies). I would also purchase some manipulatives from an education magazine (Lakeshore, Childcraft, etc.) for students to explore with. These things might include: puzzles, picture books, blocks, plastic animals, cars, play food, dolls, etc.

Answer 5

puzzles...animal, letter or number recognition

memory games

any game where they can learn about sharing

blocks that attach to each other

books on tape or CD for listening

equipment that develops coordination

sidewalk chalk

Answer 6

Dramatic Play and Science are two areas in which I find lack a whole lot of variety in many classrooms.  Consider those two areas.

Another thing to consider... purchase items that can be used in various ways and that are going to hold up to abuse.

Lakeshore Catalog/Store has wonderful items for you  to choose from.  You may wish to browse one of their or another educational product catalog to get ideas.  www.lakeshorelearning.com and www.discountschoolsupply.com are two websites I often purchase from.  

Have fun!  I love to browse those catalogs and dream!  They give me good activity ideas, as well, that I can often make on my own and not spend the $25 that it takes to purchase.

Answer 7

puppets

teeter totter (I'm picturing the one Ikea sells)

ride on scooter(s)

Plastic blocks for stacking

books!

Answer 8

blocks, construction trucks, doll house and dolls, wooden table and chairs, sensory table, science activities, phonics and rhyming games, butterfly house - congrats on the gift - shop through all the catalogs and find the best deals.  I just heard that Lakeshore will give free shipping if you order enough - that could give you more money for supplies instead of spending it on shipping!

Answer 9

Beanbags, Mat for tumbling, rhythm sticks, music instruments,

Music CD's, Balance Beam. I hope that I helped you out a little.