Happy New Year friends! I wanted to write a post on the last day of 2016, but didn’t know what. I wanted it to be about something I really loved, but I love so much that it was hard to choose. Then, a light went off in my brain. DUH! Amazon. I seriously am on Amazon almost every day. It’s only fitting to tell you what I absolutely loved buying from Amazon in 2016.
Please note: This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. If you click the link and make a purchase, I will receive a small compensation. Now that THAT’S out of the way, let’s check out my favorites!
Since I don’t have kids of my own, my classroom gets a LOT more love than it should. I know I spend way too much money on things for school, but it makes my life easier and happier so it’s all good, right?
Scotch Thermal Laminating Pouches
I usually don’t buy the actual Scotch brand of laminating sheet, BUT when I do – they’re on SALE. Amazon has had these on sale for a while and hopefully it doesn’t end with the New Year coming! They are under $10 for 100! These are normally over $10 so I couldn’t resist this deal. The brand I usually buy actually went up in price when these went down so it was a total win for me!
PaperMate Inkjoy Gel Pens
My favorite pens for the last few years was the PaperMate Flair. That is until I found these lovelies! Seriously they write SO amazingly!
I use them to plan with each week. You can grab the planning freebie using the image above!
I also use them when writing my note of the day to go home. I use these to easily bridge the gap between home and school. Of course parents know about the things their child needs to work on, but with these notes I easily send home a positive message even if their child did not have a stellar day. They’re super easy to implement and the Inkjoy Gel pen makes it so nice and quick!
Cardstock
Ermmmm… who doesn’t spend tons of time making new centers? Well, I had to this year because I moved up to 1st grade. The last time I taught first grade was 4 years ago and times have CHANGED! So, that meant lots of new printing, laminating, cutting and obvi I need cardstock. I love buying this. It comes in a 250 pack and is usually around 7 bucks. This is way cheaper than purchasing on the fly at Walmart. They have a pack of 125 (I think) and it’s close to 6 bucks. The cheapest I’ve ever purchased this was around $6, but it was only once and I racked UP big time!
Scotch Laminator
This is the exact one that I have (I had an older version), but this is the link I bought it from. My first Scotch laminator was purchased when I was in college in 2007 I think. I bought it from Walmart for about $30. Fast forward until this year and it FINALLY stopped working. Totally got my money’s worth. I decided to purchase another because it was on sale right before it stopped working and had two. If you don’t own a laminator, don’t buy one. BUY TWO! It saves me so much time when I’m laminating. I load a bunch of the sheets so I have a stack to work from, load both up and as they laminate I fill more sheets. This is by far one of my favorite purchases of all time!
Xyron Ezlaminator
I actually did not get the Xyron Ezlaminator with my own personal money. I made a Donors Choose project for it along with the magnetic laminate. PEOPLE! You need one! I wanted this for my kids to be able to laminate their book covers. We make a ton of personal books in our classroom and I want them to last. The only idea I could come up with was to have the kids laminate. I don’t have time to laminate book covers all the time and I didn’t want them using something that had to be plugged in and that could heat up.
How did it go? Amazingly! This is so simple to use. All you do is place the sheet inside of the lines and then turn the handle. In a few turns the paper is laminated. Then, cut it off. That simple. If you laminate a lot like I do, this would also be helpful. It’s quiet, no heat or plug in required and they rolls are a good size. I got 22 full sheet pages in one roll (with a few hiccups included). I would not use this for my everyday laminating needs though.
I also bought the magnetic sheets to make our games stick to cookie sheets. I have laminated a lot of our word work and math center game mats on these and it allows the sheet to stick to the cookie sheet. I also laminate the parts to each of the games on these.
What are some of your favorite purchases from Amazon this year?
My favorite Amazon purchase this year has been my Scotch laminator!
My favorite Amazon purchase has been ink, but next month is will be my new hp printer!!!
I've never heard of magnetic sheets!! I've got to try them! Thank you!!
I have 2 favorite purchases from Amazon. 1st is the scotch laminating sheets. Great price and I am not having to wait for others to do it for me.
2nd is the glow in the dark solar system. My kinders rest making up stories on how they will travel to and from the planets. I love their stories.
My favorite purchase was my 5 colored stools for guided reading table and my Joe bean bag chairs for my VIP section of my room