1 prize from the pink basket, or 3 from the purple
I hope my students will be excited this week when they see the baskets. My favorite lessons were always the ones before a holiday where my teacher would have a small treat for me like a Lisa Frank pencil, an eraser, or maybe a nice chocolate!
In the baskets are spring puzzles, Make-Your-Own felt bunny, sidewalk chalk in the shape of butterflies, themed pencils and erasers, and a few other random things I've stored up. For the bigger treats, my students only get to pick one, but for the smaller treats, they can select up to 3 - that way my total is less than $2 per student.
In case you're wondering how I do this: a closet of bins organized by season where I store all my prizes, games and stickers that I've acquired during the year. My resources include a few awesome friends, dollar stores, and watching the clearance sales like a hawk. I get to the sales right away in the morning, scoop up items that are going to sell out quickly due to awesomeness or small quantities - then I wait, watch and buy as needed like a stock broker as the sale dwindles. I didn't do well at the Christmas sales, but Halloween is going to be amazing...