After the 4th of July is when you can snag some really great back-to-school deals!  Yes, you might not want to think about back-to-school with the summer just in full swing but now is the best time to restock your craft closet. Even if you don’t have school aged children. There are a lot of items that I buy for my preschooler at a fraction of the cost.

Let me share with you items that I specifically bought for our craft closet.

1.       Folders with pockets and fasteners. I use these folders to make my own dry erase workbooks for my girls. The ones I made most recently were for my older girls to help them with their multiplication facts. I printed out some worksheets from http://www.meetpenny.com/2012/03/free-multiplication-worksheets-fact-car... slipped them in some page protectors (I bought a box last year during back-to-school) and put a dry erase marker in the pocket. Of course, I made these before we left for our trip so I paid 50 cents for one folder.  These were FREE this week at Office Max when you purchased $5 in other items.

2.      .Glue sticks. We go through tons of glue sticks. These were 25 cents this week at Office Max for 4 sticks.

3.       Dry erase markers.  I bought some at Office Max for $1 and also some at Staples for 50 cents.  We always go through a couple of packs during a road trip so if you travel a lot, stock up!

4.       Crayons.  The crayons were 1 penny. 1 penny, at Staples with a $5 purchase! I personally prefer Crayola crayons but for road trips you can’t beat crayons for a penny! I buy lots and lots of crayons in the summer and I always run out! Besides car trips and day-to-day crafting, I buy extra boxes for Operation Christmas Child, Christmas stockings and my emergency birthday gift stash. If you have children who break crayons, you can take the wrappers off and recycle them into new crayons. A great tutorial can be found here http://frugalliving.about.com/od/frugalfun/ht/Make_Crayons.htm.

5.       Glue. The school glue was also a penny at Staples. I used to never really buy the school glue before since my older girls did not have that on their supply lists. This past year, my preschooler went through a lot of school glue. I usually pour it into a foam bowl and give her a sponge brush to “paint” items on paper. I find it easier for her to glue items by painting the glue on than to squeeze the glue out. After the gluing is done, I rinse out the bowl and brush so it is ready the next time.

6.      Composition Notebooks. These are great because the paper does not rip out easily. They work best for journaling.

7.       Erasers. These were 50 cents for three. At my house, we have numerous pencils with the eraser on the end completely worn off.

8.      Scissors. The scissors I bought are for my older girls but Staples had a 2 pack of blunt tip scissors (best for preschoolers) for $1.

Bottom line, if you have kids ages 2+ you will definitely benefit from stocking up your craft closet during the back-to-school sales!