First off, at no surprise to many of my readers, I shop almost solely at Teachers Pay Teachers for therapy resources. You can find an overwhelming (in a great way) amount of materials from SLP authors with prices that fit every budget. If you haven't yet taken the plunge and made your first purchase, by all means, go for it!
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You guessed it! Amazon provides my speech therapy office supply staples, including laminating sheets, sheet protectors, metal rings, and colored folders (I use these for TPT purchases, color-coding areas of speech and language. I also order a box of grey folders for my book companions!) What saves me time is I can go back into my past orders and just reorder when my supply runs low!
I also shop Amazon for games, books, and other therapy or organizational finds, like these:
Erasable Highlighters
(I'm using these in 3rd grade novels to highlight Tier 2 vocabulary.)
Plastic Drawer Storage (This just makes me smile when I walk into my room. The drawer labels are free here.)
Digital Tally Counters
(SLPTalk turned me onto these beauties. I own quite a few 'old school' tally counters that my students love, so these will be a novel item. The bonus, they are super tiny for easy transport to classrooms or hallways.)Target is my stop for seasonal containers. I have a little addiction. The good news is, I really do use these containers regularly in therapy. Most often one just sits in the center of my table with a reinforcement activity inside.
Shopping at half-price book stores is something I do a few times a year. I find treasures for my own children as well as my therapy lessons. While this takes a bit more time searching, you can always bring a list and have the reference clerks do a little search if you are pressed for time.
I also frequent my local dollar store, due to sheer convenience of its location near my son's karate studio. I mostly shop for prize box items as I only buy school supply items for my prize box. I can pick up pencils, erasers, mini-notebooks, markers, gel pens, grippers, and many other school supply items at my local dollar store. Now that I have dabbled in sensory bins (thanks to The Dabbling Speechie), dollar stores are a perfect place for purchasing supplies.
Thrift stores are ideal for inexpensive board games. I am still searching for Cariboo. (Yes, I donated my copy that my own children had before I realized the speech therapy adaptation.) Through my trips, I have found several other games I use in therapy, so that's at least something!
Now let's talk about my go-to places for school SLP clothes. Let me start off by saying, I am not a fashionista and I don't even attempt to try. I don't have an eye for fashion at all. I know what I like on others and I have no idea how to make it work for myself. Well, I'm really selling these suggestions, right?! Regardless, here are my favorite places for school SLP clothing.
Thred Up is an online consignment shop. You can find tons of name brand clothing items with new items arriving daily. I can shop early in the morning or late and night and my items will arrive at my doorstep. I love how you can shop within categories of clothing, sizing and fashion trends.
Remember the convenience of the dollar store above? TJMaxx is in the same shopping center and I have a slight addiction. I find most of my clothing, shoes and accessories at TJMaxx. I can also snag gifts for just about anyone on my list here as well, so that's very effective for saving time!
My new favorite pants are from Athleta. They are in the Midtown line. Remember what I said about being thrifty, well here is the exception. These pants are priceless. I have been wearing the shorts from the same line all summer long and they are the best shorts I've ever worn! If you are into Project 333 or creating a capsule wardrobe (see my Pinterest board here) these pants would be a staple! I absolutely do recommend a capsule wardrobe. It will save you time and money!
If you are feeling a little less than excited about back to school shopping this year, I suggest you create a list of those items you need frequently and find your go to places. Make the trips fit into your schedule (online early morning or late evening or that shopping center near to that extracurricular activity). Maybe even try a capsule wardrobe. It's never too late to become an SLP fashionista (#dreamer)!
