Times are tight for schools everywhere. Teachers who do have a classroom supplies budget with their school or PTO are needing to pare things down as much as possible. Most are still dipping into their own monies to make ends meet in the classroom. With the economy as sluggish as it is, purchasing classroom supplies with take home pay is getting harder and harder to justify on the home front. Need some ideas for teaching on the cheap? Here’s a list of articles on supplies, resources and project ideas for saving money in the classroom.

• Shoestring portable puppet theater.
• DIY whiteboard with homemade cleaner.
• Three cheap classroom hacks using traditional bandanas.
• Cheap ways to go green in the classroom.
• Torn scrap paper mosaics.
• A homemade multipurpose game board.
• Affordable paper bag review game.
• Cheap classroom lessons using index cards.
• Using inexpensive glue sticks to your home court advantage in the classroom.
• Multiple project ideas for file folders.
• Using old fashioned clothespins in the classroom.
• Rock your classroom management with paper clips.
• Wooden craft sticks as an affordable instructional supply.
• Explore the power of using free classroom newspapers as an instructional tool.
• Creative classroom uses for rubber bands.
• Get more use than expected out of those donated phone books.
• Turn garbage into gold with empty cardboard beverage flats from the school vending machine.
• Use binder clips in the classroom as a cheap organizational aid.
• A list of great cheap classroom supplies for struggling school teachers.
• An interesting freebie news resource for ESL teachers.
• A simple DIY classroom calendar project for cheap.

Other ideas would include checking out the classroom cheapies at Dollar Tree, or using the inexpensive classroom hacks suggested in this article, such as art smocks and hula hoops. Do you have a great idea for affordable classroom supplies or resources posted on your blog or web site? Our goal is to turn this page into a comprehensive resource for teachers searching for cheap teaching ideas. Contact us with your site’s URL, and we’ll be in touch about a link exchange. In the meantime, please feel free to post a comment below. We love to hear from readers.

Photo Credit: Pink Sherbet