i heart the dollar store!

In the last few months when I have been trying to keep up with Elijah's learning capacity and teach him new things everyday, I have quickly discovered the wonder that is called "The Dollar Store."

I have shopped at different dollar stores for random things here and there, but I'm so impressed with the teaching supplies that you can find! The store we have in our town is a Dollar Tree, so that's the one I really know about.

I don't have a degree in teaching or anything, but I absolutely love teaching my son. It's so much fun to watch such a little person absorb so much information. I like to teach him, but I'm not necessarily good at coming up with my own ideas, so that's where I especially rely on those who are homeschool or craft bloggers. There's just a ton of free information to find in the blogging world!

One idea I gleaned from a few blogs is the usefulness of bulletin board borders that you can buy in a pack at the dollar store. The ones I have found have 14 identical strips that you can use.

These are great for learning "games" around the house. (At least that's what Elijah and I call them!) I have used them as simple matching games so far. I just lay down a complete strip for Elijah to have and give him the pictures that I have cut out and laminated from another strip that he can match up.

I just went to the Dollar Tree today (hence the blog) and got a few more bulletin board border packs, but they didn't have near as many good ones as I got last time. Here is a sample of what you may be able to find:

Because of these, Elijah already knows what an oval and an octagon is, as well as the other shapes....crazy!

I'm just keeping the "game" pieces in plastic bags.

I look forward to using these in other ways for teaching Elijah.

Here's a video clip of him learning...

What great things have you discovered at a dollar store lately??