Get the Most Out of Your Materials
How do I save money on materials for our afterschool program? It seems like we’re always running out.
Materials are always a struggle for afterschool programs. You want to get good materials for your students but they are expensive and your budge it limited. When you do spend the money the materials disappear in less than a week and you are right back where you started. You already know about shopping around for bargains, so here are three more strategies to help you make the most of your supply dollars.
1. Repurpose
Find ways to use the same materials for different activities. For example if you purchase a specialty item like a set of pastel chalks you can have your students can use them to draw mountains when you teach a Geology theme and again to make leaf rubbings when you teach a Plants theme.
2. Swap
Whenever possible, schedule your groups (or sites) to do the same activites at different times. This will save you money because you will be able to buy just one set of materials and then swap between the groups. For example, if you schedule one site to use the pastel chalks this week, schedule another site to use the magnifying glasses. Then switch next week.
3. Inventory
If you want to swap and repurpose effectively, you will need to keep an inventory of your materials. This may sound a little daunting, but it is not really that difficult. Make a list of all the materials for and activity and include columns for check-out and check-in on your list. Write down how many go out and how many come back in whenever you send something out. Train your staff to check after every activity to make sure they have everything and to return consumables if they are not completely used up.
This three step process of repurpose, swap, and inventory can be used on a large or small scale. Once you get your staff on board, you can even get your students into the act. Teach them to save their scraps of construction paper for another project like a mosaic and to return their pencils for use tomorrow instead of losing them. You will be amazed at how far your materials budget will reach.
