A Fine and Frugal Teacher

BE A TEACHER – GET BIG BUCKS… said no one ever.

No one gets into teaching for the money. It’s not a well-kept secret that the salary for beginning teachers is on par with your part time mowing grass gig that at the ripe old age of 11 you thought was a great idea at the beginning of summer but then were dreading every moment by the end as you were covered in grass clippings and the random, angry branch scrape and your mom told you that you wouldn’t follow through but you were SO SURE… but in teaching, the passion still drives most of us forward. What I don’t think I realized going in my first year was how much of my own money I would be spending to fill my classroom with necessary supplies.

I don’t want to be a pencil stickler, but if one more kid takes a pencil from me without returning it at the end of the period, I’m going to begin attaching giant anchors to the edge of them with razor sharp thorns dipped in poison poised to snap out if they are removed from the classroom. Money doesn’t grow on trees and neither do school supplies. Okay, yes, technically, some of these items are MADE from trees, but that’s not the same so shh your faces.

Although we may never get out of the trap of having to buy supplies, the following websites and programs are a few ways to help save you a bit of that hard-earned cash.

#1 → http://www.naeir.org/

Premise:

• Companies donate excess materials and items to Naeir for a tax benefit
• Naeir sells it to non-profit organizations (teachers included!) for an amazingly reduced price

The Benefits:

• Awesome prices!
• Large quantity of items for all levels
• Some items in bulk

The Catch:

• It takes a little while to get approved as they have to double-check your non-profit status
• There is a minimum amount you have to spend for each purchase

#2 → https://www.donorschoose.org/

Premise:

• Teachers can post projects and materials they need
• Donors choose (there’s the name!) which projects they would like to help fund

The Benefits:

• Very obvious! You can get help providing your classroom with new materials and supplies for projects
• You can share your teacher pride and classroom goals

The Catch:

• There is sometimes some paperwork or hoops to jump through with your school due to it being financial in nature
• You have to adequately post and explain your project so people want to donate – you have to hook them in to your cause!

#3 → http://www.orientaltrading.com/

Premise:

• This one is not like the others…
• They are just a direct retailer for party supplies, toys, crafts, etc.
• This company also has a donation link where you can request items be donated to your classroom or other nonprofits

The Benefits:

• You can buy in bulk!
• Theme out your room or bulletin board – they send out themed magazines a few times a year
• Ridiculous little prizes – makes me think of the desk pets I’ve seen a lot of for the elementary grades
• Able to personalize and have individual items for each student at a reasonable price

The Catch:

• Per the nature of what they sell, some of it is lower quality
• You have to pay for shipping (though they sometimes run promos)

Now you can keep some of that money and spend it on an exorbitant amount of smoothly-gliding, rainbow-colored pens. Oh, don’t act like I’m the only one who has an addiction to pens… it’s not weird…. Seriously… stop looking at me like that!