Hi all. Today I am going to share some of my most recent favorite finds from one of my FAVORITE stores... The Dollar Tree! I have always loved this store for simple items that I don't necessarily need to last a long time. I have always considered myself to be fairly frugal, so The Dollar Tree is a fun place for me to browse.
I had been wanting to get Ella a lot more montessori inspired items that I keep seeing on youtube and other blogger Mom's instagrams, but that stuff can be expensive! I plan to do a whole post on how and why Montessori methods of learning/parenting inspired us... but I am saving that post for a later date, stay tuned. If you're curious about how we originally heard about Montessori and the changes we've implemented so far, you can read about that here. I went to The Dollar Tree just to see what sort of things I could find there for miss Ella, and the amount of things I found that are going to be beneficial to her was great. While Montessori does believe in using high-quality materials like wood and glass, we also are on a budget and need to be realistic about what we spend on some of her things. The Dollar Tree totally came through for us and I can't wait to share what we got!
I had been wanting to get Ella a lot more montessori inspired items that I keep seeing on youtube and other blogger Mom's instagrams, but that stuff can be expensive! I plan to do a whole post on how and why Montessori methods of learning/parenting inspired us... but I am saving that post for a later date, stay tuned. If you're curious about how we originally heard about Montessori and the changes we've implemented so far, you can read about that here. I went to The Dollar Tree just to see what sort of things I could find there for miss Ella, and the amount of things I found that are going to be beneficial to her was great. While Montessori does believe in using high-quality materials like wood and glass, we also are on a budget and need to be realistic about what we spend on some of her things. The Dollar Tree totally came through for us and I can't wait to share what we got!
Assorted toys/activities-
The Dollar Tree has a great selection of play animals. We have several of their farm animals and some more exotic zoo animals as well. Ella just loves these, especially the horses. You can definitely find higher quality animals but for now these are just fine!
These wooden blocks actually came together as a mini Jenga set, and I thought it would be a perfect activity for her activity shelf. Ella likes stacking the blocks, and also enjoys using them to make a pretend fence for her animals.
This little puzzle is a bit of a challenge for Ella, but it's great practice for her. While she works on placing the pieces together she enjoys when I name the individual vehicles and mimic the noises they make.
We made these color sorting boxes using toys and materials all purchased from The Dollar Tree. See my post on them here. These have helped Ella so much- she is so much more interested in colors and officially knows blue! She is showing understanding of the other colors too but hasn't mastered them yet.
Ella has a Melissa & Doug latch board that she loves. I wanted to get another busy board for her, but they are EXPENSIVE! I made one myself using basic items from The Dollar Tree. I started with a cookie sheet and magnets. We got this little light switch, a calculator, a metal tin and some magnet clips. She will sit and play with this for a while, and loves taking each item off the sheet and putting it back.
I made these little bags to keep in the diaper bag or in the car for easy activities on the go. We are mailing one to my niece and the other stays in the diaper bag. We obviously aren't going to many places right now, but it's nice to have with us for when we do.
Gardening supplies-
Our little basil plant pot is from The Dollar Tree and so is our watering can. Ella loved helping us water the plants, and this helps her learn taking care of the environment. Watering plants might be her favorite activity ever.
Sensory activity items-
These little jars are great for smelling sensory activities but also fantastic little drinking vessels.
Water play is more fun with little salt & pepper shakes, cups and sponges. We got almost all of her water play accessories at The Dollar Tree.
We also love buying dried beans from The Dollar Tree and saving them for her sensory bins. Again, all of her little scoops and accessories came from The Dollar Tree. (Except for that wooden scoop- that came from this site)
Practical life items-
Ellas new water dispenser is from The Dollar Tree and allows her to use real water in her kitchen. We also got her some of her own kitchen accessories. A cutting board, colander, measuring cups, spoons and kitchen rags. The wooden cutting boards were a separate purchase from Amazon.
Craft items-
Pom poms, popsicle sticks, foam shapes, contact paper and stickers. All of these craft items are our daily essentials. She uses them for everything! We love making a sticky wall with contact paper and let Ella go crazy sticking everything to it. The Dollar Tree has really stepped up their crafting section, so if you haven't checked it out recently- you should!
Other items I love from The Dollar Tree-
spray bottles
ice cube trays
fake flowers
beaded necklaces
coloring books
gift bags
measuring cups/other kitchen accessories
chalk
festive holiday decor items
small trinkets for sensory play
Do you love shopping at The Dollar Tree too? If so, what are your go-to items there?
-Ashley & Ella
xoxo
Very cool! I once went on a hunt for plates and pitchers and other things that could be used outside, for playing in the dirt and such, and I found a lot at garage sales.
ReplyDeleteLove all these little finds! I need to make another trip to dollar tree soon :)
ReplyDeleteYou can get so much random stuff at the Dollar Tree. It is always my first stop.
ReplyDelete