Charity Shop Finds

It’s been a good, long while since I’ve posted my charity shop finds.  A few days ago, I ventured into town to visit my favorite charity shops, and I was so excited by my bargains that I had to share them!

1.  Books--I’m always looking for good books.  Isaac loves books by Enid Blyton, and I believe every single book he has by her came from charity shops!  We’re lucky when we find some he doesn’t already have.  We also found Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator.  £2.57 for the 3 of them.

2.  Hairy Maclary book/CD set—set of 6 books with CDs for each book!  These look brand new.  £3.49 for the set.  Even the lady at the checkout couldn’t stop remarking on what an amazing bargain I was getting.

3.  Quercetti Georello building set—I didn’t know what these were until I looked at the brand name on one of the pieces.  They didn’t come with any packaging or instructions, so I don’t really know what set(s) these are from.  However, I got a large tubful for £3.99.  This one also had the checkout lady shaking her head.

4.  British stamp album—I never set about trying to find a stamp collection, but I was absolutely thrilled with this find.  I don’t know much about the value of stamps, but I’m sure these are worth at least the £5 I paid for the album.  They’re all British stamps, and some date back as far as the 1950s.  If nothing else, the album will be fun for the kids to look through as they study British history.  I collected stamps as a child, so finding this made my day.

5.  More books!  Okay, so these didn’t come from a charity shop, but I found them on the same day.  After leaving the shops, I wanted to stop by the library.  I noticed they had a few shelves of books for sale, so I looked through and found these books I couldn’t do without!  £1.30 for the three.

That’s it!  I am well-pleased with my little shopping trip.

Charity Shop Finds

Here are my latest finds (sorry, I don’t remember all the prices—it’s been too long since I’ve posted):

1.  Sturdy coin box with coin slot and lid—I’m currently keeping my spare change in this, but I’ll probably use it in a Tot School activity as well.  (75p)

2.  Hans Andersen: His Classic Fairy Tales book—I was happy to find this book because we’re going to be doing a unit on Denmark this coming school year, and Hans Andersen was from Denmark.

3.  Three little houses—The girls love these tiny houses.  Two of them are identical, but we don’t mind that.  I bought them with the idea of using them in our fairy garden, but I think they’ll come in handy for lots of fun imaginative play.  (£1 for all 3)

4.  Lemon and lime containers—I love finding things that have multiple uses.  I could store lemon and lime slices in them (the rare times we buy them), and I can also use them in Tot School (like with a fruit theme).

5.  Tongs—I’ve been wanting some of these for Tot School activities.

6.  Octopus-clam toy—This has a button you push to open it.  It’s good for fine-motor skills and also fits in with the ocean theme I’m planning for Tot School.

7.  Small Ping Pong set—Yes, this is difficult to play on.  It’s not the same as having a real ping pong table…which we wouldn’t have space for anyway.  Maybe with lots of practice, we’ll all get the hang of playing on a small table.  Anyway, I thought the kids would enjoy it, and they do!  Maybe we can use it during P.E. time.    

8.  Enid Blyton book for Isaac (3 stories in one book)

9.  Set of 3 nice shells—for our ocean theme unit 

10.  Tiny stuffed animals for our continent boxes—it was Isaac who found these and made the suggestion!

11.  Tutti Frutti game—This would have worked great with our fruit theme unit.

12.  Books—The Giving Tree book came with a CD.

13.  Wooden post box with slot and opening door.  It didn’t come with anything else, which is fine because we already have a different post box set.  I’m planning to use this one for something else…possibly for writing each other little notes...or a classroom postbox…we’ll see!  (£1)

14.  Jelly shoes for Gabriela.  She really needed some summer shoes (even though I found these in the middle of August).  But for only 75p, and being a perfect fit, it was a bargain…and Gabriela loves them.

15.  Small basket (50p)

16.  Secret Seven book for Isaac (50p)

17.  Fruit Lotto game (in French) (50p)—Can’t believe how many “fruit” items I found AFTER I had already done a fruit theme unit with Gabriela!

Charity Shop Bargains—Lots!

When my parents recently visited, they wanted to visit some charity shops (they love yard sales just like me).  It had been quite some time since I had been able to go, and with some extra money given to me, we hit all my favorite charity shops in the area, and I found all kinds of good bargains!  Mind you, they’re not always yard sale prices, but they’re still WAY cheaper than buying new.

Books

My book “finds” ranged from 20 pence to 2 pounds each in price.  Thankfully, most of them were on the cheaper side of that range, and the more costly ones were worth it.

I found Handa’s Surprise before my parents came, but I had never mentioned it in a blog post.  Actually, I already had this book, but this one came with a nice DVD with two different Handa stories on it!

Isaac loves mystery books by Enid Blyton, and we found quite a few that he didn’t have!  He’s already finished a few of them.

I found several other good books as well, including a few favorites I had checked out of the library before.

Games

I’m a game person, and I find it about as hard to resist games as I do books.  Here’s what I found (50 pence-3 pounds):

Cloister Games—a set of medieval game boards.  This would have come in handy when Isaac studied the Middle Ages last year; in fact, we played a few of these on paper.

Crosstrack—a strategy-based game.  This one was missing the orange set of tiles, but they’re not really needed for 2 or 3 people to play.

Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Mein buntes Turmchen-spiel (My Colorful…something…the online translator didn’t pick up that last word).  I’m assuming this is a German game—everything is written in German only, so I’ll have to attempt to translate the instructions somehow.  It’s a game, but it will make a perfect Tot School activity. 

The second is Picture Perfect, a drawing game similar to Pictionary, only the drawers don’t know what they’re drawing!  They have to follow the leader’s drawing directions and then guess what it is.  I thought this would be a nice game for our family night. 

Thought Exchange—This is a thinking skills game.

The Peter Rabbit Radish Board Game—I like games that go with stories.  In our kindergarten, we read Beatrix Potter stories, and the kids have visited her house several times up in the Lake District.  This game will be nice when Gabriela reaches kindergarten, but hopefully they’ll all enjoy playing it.

Mini Master Mind—I have the larger version back in the US, and it used to be one of my favorites when I was growing up.  It’s a good logic game.

Runaround is another game that’s perfect for our family night.  In this game, players have to search specified rooms of the house to find objects beginning with a certain letter or having a particular quality.

The second item in this photo (Print Box: Storytime) is not a game--it’s a set of rubber stamps. 

Magnetic Fridge Sudoku—I’ll eventually teach Isaac how to play Sudoku, but I thought I could use these magnetic boards and numbers in Tot School, too. 

Fish can—Not a game, but the photo fit nicely next to the other one.  This is a small tin can with a hinged lid and a tiny padlock with key.  Because I’m planning an ocean unit for Tot School later this summer, I thought it would be perfect for that.  Padlocks and keys is something I’ve been wanting to use as an activity for Gabriela, but I’ve yet to see how she handles this tiny one.  If she doesn’t manage it, I’ll have to hunt for some larger ones next time I have some spare cash.

Various other goodies

In this picture:

1.  An index card box, which is something I had been needing.

2.  A wooden treasure chest-shaped jewelry box.  My mom has a box almost just like this one.  I used to love playing with it when I was little.  Currently I’m using it as a prize box for a particular goal I’m trying to accomplish with Gabriela.  But, I also want the kids to enjoy using it during imaginative play, and maybe I can use it in a Tot School activity.

3.  A set of juggling balls.  No, I don’t juggle, but maybe one of us can learn.  They can be used for lots of other activities, too.

4.   A wooden lacing turtle.

In this picture:

1.  Three Dimensional Noughts & Crosses (what we call Tic-Tac-Toe in the US)—I bought these for Gabriela to play with in Tot School, since it involves stacking pegs.

2.  Famous Five story on tape—for Isaac, since he likes Enid Blyton books.

3.  Brain Busters—This one is about Isaac’s grade level, or will be soon.

4.  Thomas the Tank Engine wallet—For Gabriela, because she loves Thomas, and she loves wallets.

5.  Dog Top Trumps—This one is a card game.  Isaac really likes Top Trumps game—he also has one with race cars.  I got him this one because he really likes dogs.

In this picture:

1.  Small wooden scoop (perfect for tot tray activities)

2.  Heart-shaped bead rope (Valentine’s Day activity for counting and/or cutting)

3.  VeggieTales Esther VHS—I have this in the US but didn’t have it here.

And more!

A stuffed Elmer toy.  I like to get stuffed storybook character toys when I find them.   Nice for the kids to hold while listening to the story! 

I grab Geomag and Magnetix sets when I can find them cheap—to add to Isaac’s collection.  This one includes panels.

DVD on northern animals—perfect when studying different countries.
                 

Wooden drying rack—a toy from ELC here in England.  I love finding ELC toys at charity shops, because they’re educational, high-quality, and sometimes pricey.  I thought this would make a nice Tot School activity.  It comes with pegs, so Gabriela can practice washing small clothing items and hanging them up to dry!  I still have to put it together.  It came with all the parts except the Allen wrench/hex key used to get the screws in.  None of ours fit, so I’ll have to find one the right size or else buy different screws.  

Small metal tool box—It didn’t come with any tools, but I can get some for it.   : )

Small sea turtle toy—this is for an ocean sensory tub I’ll be making Gabriela in the next month or two.

That’s it this time!  (And probably for awhile—I’m all spent out).  I’m linking this post to “Garage Sale Treasures” at My Life on a Taffy Pull.  No, my bargains weren’t exactly found at garage or yard sales, but I live in England.  Garage and yard sales are rare, so I get my “fix” from charity shops…so this will have to count.  : )