What are the best items at the Dollar store for kids? This list breaks down 10 don’t miss items you can typically find at a Dollar store-type establishment. In this post, you’ll see 15+ activity ideas to try with these supplies.
What are the best items at the Dollar store for kids?
There are a lot of great, inexpensive items at the Dollar store that are perfect for kids’ activities.
But you may have overlooked these items or missed them because what we see online and in social media is predominantly camera perfect activities with aesthetically pleasing supplies.
You can make exceptional activities for your kids using just 10 basic items from your local Dollar store.
Looking for more structure each day?
Check out Playing Preschool: Busy Toddler’s 190-day at-home activities program
Why I selected these 10 Dollar store activity supplies
The truth is, our kids don’t need all the bells and whistles that we love to give them. Simple toys, easy activities, open-ended play opportunities – these are what our kids need.
Here’s 4 truth to remember, always:
1. Kids activities do not need to cost a lot of money.
2. Kids activities do not need to look like they came out of Kids Activity Magazine (does that exist?).
3. You don’t need a bunch of stuff to do awesome kids activities.
4. I really don’t have a number 4 but I started to write the sentence and now I really don’t want to go back and abandon the number 4 ship. Oh well.
We can make the most of our easy activities with these dollar store activity supplies – nothing fancy, no frills, just the fun.
RELATED: What are my other favorite supplies for kids’ activities? I have a list of my 15 favorite supplies and the 45+ activities they create.
The Dollar store supplies I bought
Remember that Dollar stores vary greatly. I picked items I have seen or generally see at Dollar stores so hopefully this will be an easy list to recreate.
- Kitty litter pan (this will be our sensory bin)
- Rice
- Rocks
- Shredded paper
- Ice cube tray (this is a two pack)
- Bag of farm animals
- Bag of dinosaurs
- Cookie sheet
- Tongs
- Dice
Basic Sensory Bin (six times over!)
I say “basic” because sensory bins are anything but “basic”. Kids love them!
This one has 6 variations: rocks or paper or rice and farm animals or dinosaurs. I know it sounds like the same thing over and over, but it’s not! Just varying up the materials starts a whole new level of play.
Rescue the Animals
You can do this one six different ways too. Just dump your base into the bin, add animals, an ice cube tray and tongs. Time to rescue the animals!! My daughter could play this on repeat.
Sorting Bin
Turn an ordinary sensory bin into a sorting bin by mixing both sets of animals with any sensory base. Add in tons (always) and use both ice cube trays for a space to sort into.
Roll and Count
Here’s a fun math activity that is so easy! Roll two dice. Have your child count out the first set of rocks in the top row and the second in the bottom. Then, count them together. This is an early addition activity but I don’t phrase it like that.
This isn’t about adding or memorizing math facts. This activity is about counting one group of objects, counting a second set of objects, and joining those groups together to make a larger group. That’s the concept I want my kids mastering.
Roll and Compare
Number sense is so important for kids, and it’s so much more than just counting from memory. Here’s a great way to work on value. Have your child roll two dice. Count out that many farm animals for the first dice, and that many dinosaurs for the second dice. Compare. Which is more? Which is less?
Sorting
I love a good sorting activity because sorting is so important! When a child is sorting, they are analyzing information, collecting data, and comparing attributes. Sorting is such a powerful skill.
Patterning
Take those sorted groups of rocks and use them to make patterns in your ice cube trays (these trays sure come in handy, huh?).
Counting
Here’s an easy way to practice counting and to see the numbers grow right before you.
Alphabet Match
I cheated a little and grabbed my Sharpie marker! I wrote the alphabet on the cookie sheet and onto the rocks. These rocks can be hidden anywhere and matching them up doesn’t get old!
Counting Rocks
Flip the cookie sheet over and I wrote out the numbers 1-10. This is a simple counting activity, but I also just know that having these numbers on this cookie sheet will come in handy!
Frequently Asked Questions
We often get hung up on ages with kids when success with an activity has so much more to do with the child’s interest level than their age. Activities are like food: not all foods will work for all kids and not all activities will work for all kids. We make decisions on what to cook for dinner based on what we know about each child and their tastes. Do the same with activities. Remember that all activities require parent supervision.
Goodness no! Activities are a bonus, an extra, something special. They are not a requirement of childhood or something needed in order to be successful. I view activities as a tool that I use when I need help, when the kids are grumpy, when the mood is off, and when we need to reset the day. Activities are a tool for my parenting, but not a requirement.
I have my activity supplies (for the most part) stored in a drawer system in my laundry room. I don’t have a basement, large garage, or play room so I use the little extra space I had in my laundry room to make do. You can see what it looks like and how I store supplies in this post.
Susie Allison, M. Ed
Owner, Creator
Susie Allison is the creator of Busy Toddler and has more than 2.4 million followers on Instagram. A former teacher and early childhood education advocate, Susie has written two home learning curricula, Playing Preschool and Branches. Her parenting book “Busy Toddler’s Guide to Actual Parenting” is available on Amazon.
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Kelly Wilkes says
I’m a pre-school teacher at a Reggio inspire school. Loved following you. You give great ideas for my class
Nicole says
This is such a great idea. Thank you