We try to be cost conscious but it’s so tempting to buy stuff for your classroom. Here’s a few ways that you can save money for your classroom. Even if you have a decent budget, there are ways to stretch it to put your budget towards what you really need. Here are four money saving tips for elementary music teachers.
1. Use Your Libraries
School library, local library, university libraries, multi-library systems. You get the idea! Especially for the first time you are trying a piece of children’s literature! Once you’ve tried and you KNOW you are going to use it several times, then it’s worth the purchase. The only time I’d advocate for buying right away is if you are using it in a sub tub! Then you don’t want to play around with trying to get the material in case of absence.
2. Borrow within the District or Your Music Teacher friends
Some things don’t borrow well (EX: Curriculum, manipulatives, most instruments). Some do (sheet music, children’s literature, musicals, some instruments for performance situations like a gong, wind chimes, or things that aren’t used frequently). Talk to your colleagues and friends before you spend money!
3. Laminate What You Print
If you go through the trouble of printing something, laminate it so then you don’t have to reprint again. I know that you spend to laminate (especially if you do it yourself), but in the end it saves time and money. Some places have copy budgets and those are HARD when you have students for the whole school. Lamination is definitely the way to go. If you use a numbering system so each student has a number that represents them in the classroom instead of using their name, you can pre-number worksheets so you can check them in later on. Have students use dry erase markers and erase after you check them. Those dry erase pockets are great as well but if you pre-laminate the papers, they will REALLY last instead of students pulling them out just because.
4. Ask for donations
There are a lot of things we repurpose in music classrooms. Neckties, pool noodles, egg cartons, mini erasers, bingo chips, plastic eggs, even things like paper, pencils, dry erase markers etc. You never know if you are low on something and you ask parents if someone will give you a little stockpile.
If you are looking for materials like some of the manipulatives listed above, always see if someone has some laying around that you can have for the classroom instead of purchasing first with your small budget or even worse, your own money (not condoning, but we know it happens). Either way, remember you see students for all the years they are in the building, not just one. Make sure you know families, and can communicate your needs in the classroom too!
Hope this gives you some ideas!
