Class garden.

I am a big fan of using recycled objects in my garden. I just love teapots and have started growing some seedlings in an old broken tea pot.I am also a JP teacher and when we were asked to create a recycled garden in our school courtyard, I really wanted all the kids to use cans. The only problem was that the sharp edges of cans could cut the kids.Solution: On a local buy and swap website I found someone selling a tupperware can opener for $5 secondhand ( they usual retail for $60) and was amazed that when I used it, no more sharp edges!

Okay so I've actually gone way can mad at my house... I've even been eating meals that use food from cans just so I can collect more to make some cute as pencil tins in my classroom... chilli con carne seems a winner as it uses 2 cans of tomatoes and a can of kidney beans :)
*We painted the pots with acrylic paints and then I covered them with a vanish to seal in the colour.
We have also decorated a whole bunch of stones for the courtyard which are so cute and colourful. We used lots of coloured paint, vanish and then attached shells for extra interest. At the moment the seedlings are still growing but I'll share another photo when the courtyard is complete. One of my students liked it so much she went home and made me a beautiful colourful stone for my yard. It makes me smile everytime I walk past.

Do any of you lovely readers have any other good, cheap gardening ideas to do with kids?

Lisa x
P.s I'm linking up with 
Too Much Time On My Hands
Tutus and Tea Parties
Classy Clutter
Its Overflowing

The day job.

During the day I am a junior primary teacher. I have a class of 23 lovely five-year-olds and thrifting actually becomes very useful for when you are working with children. I obviously have a class budget and can order things for my classroom but garage sales help provide extra fun things for the room.

We recycle all our fruit boxes (we can get 10c per fruitbox) and this provides a budget for getting new things- although sometimes I find too many fun things and spend a bit of my own dollars too.

1. Toys/Games

When you have a group of five year olds, a school day seems quite long and often I let earlier finishers have the chance to play with a variety of different things. I love garage sales for quality literacy and maths activities as well as fun toys just to play and enjoy.

2. Books

Books are so expensive and while the school library is fantastic it's great to have some of our own books too. I was given some books by my mother in law but have thrifted lots of books. Our vinnies op shop often has 5c books so I have stocked up and rotate them often. This way too I'm not precious with the books and and occasional accidental rip isn't terrible.

3.Prize box

Although places like cheap as chips and go lo have some great inexpensive prizes often I find the best ones on garage sales for a fraction of the cost. While things might be $2 at a cheap shop, they can be less than 20c at a garage sale.

4. Costumes

In our class we love dressing up. Sometimes it's for drama, sometimes it's for play based learning activities like trying to have a class restaurant and sometimes it's for performances. Children's costumes aren't all that cheap but thrift shops and donated costumes are the best or you can use thrifted items to make your own.

 Thrifted stethoscope. Doctors costume made from white t-shirt and red paint.

 Post office worker made from thrifted red tshirt, white and blue paint.

 Office boss made from old shirt, white and black paint.

 Enough costumes for a whole class performance of under the sea, using thrifted tshirts, caps and craft supplies.

5. Craft supplies

Craft supplies are usually pretty pricey, especially when you need enough for all the kids so garage sales have helped me find lots of amazing supplies, very cheap.
I also use the craft supplies myself to make things for the class, like these thrifted pompom balls that I turned into 'quiet critters'. Every now and then I give the kids all a quiet critter and if they can complete their work without talking, they get to keep the quiet critter on their desk. If they chat, I take it away. If they still have their quiet critter left at the end of the lesson, then they get two stars on their star chart. Works a treat !:)

These are some simple ways I stretch our class budget and these can be useful for pretty much anyone who works with kids on a regular basis. What do you thrift for if you've got kids or work with children often?

Lisa x
P.S I'm linking up with Coastal Charm, Making mondays marvellous, Frugal Treasures Tuesday, I heart naptime, the thrifty home and southern lovely.

Star crayons and a new mug.

I'm always keen to do a bit of baking especially when I end up with cool things after and these crafts are super easy for when you're a keen to spice up an old mug or create something for the kids to play with.

Decorated mug:

I got this idea from the amazing craft blog- a beautiful mess.

It's super easy and does truly work.

I bought a cheap green mug from an op shop and then wrote on it with a sharpie texta.

All you do then is bake it for 30 minutes and it's permanent- just don't put your newly created mug into the dishwasher.

Star crayons:

I'm a teacher and always working with little kids so this idea is one they love.

I got 2 trays of star muffin trays from a garage sale for 50c and the kids helped me break up some crayons and remove the labels.

Then I baked the crayons in a hot oven until they melted. I removed them to cool and then removed them from the tray once they were solid.

* Be super careful when you remove the melted crayons from the oven carefully as spilt crayon is a major pain to clean up.

When they're made, let the kids go wild and create some colourful artwork!

Lisa x