Best Dollar Tree Hacks for Speech Therapy

Are you on a school supply budget? Do you wish you had more money left over after you shopped for your own children's school supplies? Are you looking for bargains that will help you stretch your dollar for speech therapy? I have shopped at Dollar Tree for several years now, and I am always impressed with the office supply items and back-to-school resources that are available in late summer. Dollar Tree has also marketed many different patterns and designs when it comes to poly-folders and composition books. 

In this post, I want to share some of the resources I've found at Dollar Tree and give you a few new ideas for using everyday items you find at Dollar Tree.

Stickers and Erasers

 Who doesn't love STICKERS? starting out in speech therapy 25+ years ago, stickers were very expensive and a single sheet of stickers was $1.99. I am so happy to say that you can now purchase a booklet of 400 stickers for just $1.00. The Dollar Tree has theme stickers such as Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Cars for boys and fairies, Disney and Littlest Pet Shop stickers for girls. They also have generic stickers with praises such as, "way to go" and "awesome!" If you use sticker charts with your students, they also carry large packs of small stickers that will easily fit a sticker chart. And if you are an avid scrapbooker or planner decorator, they also have washi tape and theme stickers (butterflies, beach theme, ocean theme, polka dots, pets, etc.). The Dollar Tree also carries holiday stickers, erasers and pencils which are great prizes and holiday gifts for your students. You'll want to keep your eyes open for tiny erasers at the Dollar Tree. I've used the cars and truck erasers, as well as the tiny jungle animal erasers in sensory bins. 

Office Supplies

The Dollar Tree has office and school supplies throughout the year. But in August and September, their shelves are full of new supplies. I picked up a few unique items on my last visit and wanted to share these with you. If you travel between buildings for therapy and take along a therapy bag or therapy crate, you might want to pick up the portable hole punch. It is available in three different colors (pink, blue, purple), lightweight and can slip right into your bag. Another item I recently picked up was "Removable Labels." This is so awesome! I am frequently changing items from one tub to another and peeling off labels to replace them or just covering them up with another label. These will definitely come in handy. In addition to the peel off labels, the Dollar Tree also has "Dry Erase Labels" (not pictured). You might want to pick up dry erase markers and erasers. They have some really cute erasers that would fit a child's hand perfectly. You can also purchase baby washcloths at the Dollar Tree for the same purpose of erasing from a dry erase board.

Educational Resources

The Dollar Tree has educational resources for students in grades PK-Middle School. Items such as shape and alphabet cards, phonics book, math workbooks, fiction and non-fiction text are available. If you look with a creative eye, you will find items that can be directly linked to language and literacy goals. On my last trip to the Dollar Tree, I found a set of National Geographic animal fact puzzles. The puzzle has a picture of an animal on one side and a corresponding puzzle piece with the animal facts to match. The great thing about these puzzles, is that there are only two pieces for each puzzle and all the puzzles are the same shape and size. Students can read for detail, make an inference, and match. Descriptive pieces have rich vocabulary  ("These animals track their prey through the expert use of echolocation.") that require deductive reasoning and reading for meaning. A second item I picked up was a set of "Writing Prompt" photos. These card stock color photos are available in packets under topics such as: Cities, Earth Science, and Inventions. The cards have color photos on one side and questions, writing prompts, and creative thinking stem questions on the other. These color cards would be great for activities on their own, or paired with literacy units, such as, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

Home Essential Hacks

When you pick up household items for yourself, don't forget your speech therapy office or classroom. Unfortunately, students do not typically bring school supplies to the SLP's classroom each year. Instead, I often send out an email at the beginning of year asking for leftover boxes of tissue from the teachers on my campus. I always end up with enough to last me until winter break. So what do I pick up for my office at the Dollar Tree? I usually spend about $10.00 at the beginning of the year (and then again after the winter break) purchasing hand sanitizer, anti-bacterial cleaning wipes, paper towels, and baby wipes (for dirty hands). On my campus, we cannot bring any outside cleaners into the building so I just need to purchase the disposable items needed to clean runny noses and dirty hands. I also pick up items such as Dixie Cups and Solo Cups for Articulation Cup Stacking and Articulation Toss games. Finally, you've probably seen all the different types of baskets that are available at the Dollar Tree. I really like the set of 4 Slim Baskets that come in different colors. They fit the length of pencils and markers perfectly, and fit inside drawers easily. 

Craft Supplies and Room Decor

Last, but not least, I have to mention the craft supply section and the classroom decorations. Dollar Tree has been adding decorative boarder to their displays, as well as matching classroom charts. At my last trip, I found this zebra and lime green boarder. Each package has 15 ft. of boarder.  The Dollar Tree also has wall decorations and  pre-cut word strips in an assortment of colors and patterns. Use these on your word wall, laminate for handwriting practice with dry erase markers, write student expectations on them, or write your vocabulary words on them. The ideas are endless. If you enjoy crafts with your students, instead of purchasing craft supplies from a more expensive store, check the Dollar Tree first. I've found, google eyes, hook/eye strip tape (similar to Velcro), pipe cleaners, foam stickers, beads, glitter, glitter glue, glue gun glue sticks, buttons, paint, and much more.

In this post, I tried to group items together into categories in order to get your wheels turning. Next time you are in the Dollar Tree, look with a creative eye. Imagine using every day items for brand new activities. Perhaps this post has given you a twinkle of an idea that is totally different from what you may have thought in the past. 


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Lisa, SLP

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