Extreme Shopping and Homemade Predictable Books

There is a local consignment shop that I use and that I love! All of our toys that don't go to Children's Therapy of GiGi's goes here, as well as all of our gently used but unwanted clothes and household items. I love consigning and I love looking through thrift stores for clothes of my own, its fun and sometimes you can find some really great things..., like today.

Cookin' Cookies Game, New $8.88. I paid $1.99.

Old Macdonald Counting Snap Game, New $12.00. I paid $2.00.

Easy Subtraction Fun-To-Know Puzzle, New $9.99, I paid $2.99.

Photo Matching Color Puzzle, I don't know it's original cost, it's from Germany though and I have attached the link to their site, just in case your curious.

3-Scene Sequencing Cards, New $312.68, Used $90.00, I paid $2.99!

 Match & Learn Mathematics, New $5.98, I paid $4.99 (ehh.).

Match-It Math, New $12.71, I paid 2.99.

Match-It Numbers, New $12.99, I paid $3.99.

Sequence Letters board game, New $12.03, I paid $2.99.

Chutes and Ladders Game Rug, New $14.72, I paid $8.99 (this was an accidental purchase. I liked it, ut it in the cart and then as I was checking out and going through things at the register, I sat this aside in the "no pile". The cashier grabbed it and I didn't know until I got home.)

Buddy Bear and Bonnie Bear Books Opposites, set of five, new $43.95, Buddy Bear Comparatives/Superlatives, set of five for $43.95, totaling $87.90. I paid $4.99 for both sets! 

 I don't mean to "toot my own horn" but I ended up with a final bill of $38.91 today (if my math is correct). Since I had $33.00 in in-store credit, what could have been a $267.11 bill (or more), actually turned into a $5.91 bargain extravaganza. Take that extreme couponers! Toot! Toot!

Speaking of learning (because all of the above can be used not only for fun but also for educational purposes),  I finished another book for Vada last night.

It was a whole family project. The girls and I colored the fish.

Justin did the Photoshop work.

I did the cutting, pasting and with Kiliegh's strict supervision... 

I also did the laminating.

One of my favorite blogs is We Can Do All Things: Teaching My Daughter With Down Syndrome. In one of the mom's more recent posts she shared her idea of making predictable books. Everything this mom does for her children is so simple, yet, I am always amazed at what she has thought of. That's why I have become a blog stalker of hers!

I added a tiny twist to our predictable book. The word "fish" is often whispered around or even signed so that Vada doesn't hear or see the word being used. She. Is. Obsessed. With. Gold Fish Crackers. Obsessed!  So, I thought instead of using bears like the mom from We can Do All Things, that I would use fish instead. I'm trying to show Vada that "fish" comes in many, many forms and  that you can't always eat them! 

The book reads like Eric Carle's Brown Bear, Brown Bear book and other than the color change every page reads the same. Predictable and easy to remember! I had the Brown Bear book for Jasmine and Kiliegh but somewhere it has become non-existing in our collection of books. That's okay though, this one means something to all of us. We made it together. 

Since J and K did so well with their predictable book I think that V will as well. With J and K both, they memorized their book quickly and felt as if they could read. So they not only learned their colors but their self esteem was boosted with the sense knowing how to read. I look forward to that moment with Vada. After a few times of reading this book I may begin signing the colors because Vada is a girl of little speaking words but is full of signs. (She has well over thirty functioning signs! I have to update our videos of her signs but updating the videos may not happen until fall..., we'll see.)