[Seriously]

Hello all! I am to complete my classroom order for next year. I am looking for some Journals for Kindergarten that don't break the budget. At the end of last year, our team decided to make our own journals. For me, it turned into a nightmare. Pages were being torn out like crazy. Luckily, a team member had an extra set of journals from Really Good Stuff (the spiral kind). That worked much better for me, but when I priced them for this year, they were WAY TOO expensive. Does anyone use a journal that they love? I really don't want to make my own after what I went through this year.

[Sbkangas5]

I make my own for their writing journals that they free write in. But I also just use regular spiral notebooks and composition notebooks that you can find really cheap over the summer (1 cent to 10 cents each). I've never had an issue with the whole "lines" thing and my kids turn out to be great writers.

[iteachk2010]

I like to make my own journals. I switched to having a monthly journal where I staple the pages together for the month instead of making one for the entire year. That helped keep the pages from falling out. The students keep their journals in their writing folders (a pocket folder) in their seat sacks. I collect them at the end of the month and give them a new journal.

One year I did order journals from Starfall and was pleasantly surprised both by the price and the quality. If you want to check it out, go to the website http://www.starfall.com/ Click on the Starfall Store at the top of the screen. (You might have to solve a math problem to verify that you are an adult and not a child.) Click on the Practice Books tab. Scroll down. It is the My Starfall Writing Journal. The cost is $1.39 each, but if you order 20 or more, the cost drops to 94 cents each.

I've used the journals from Really Good Stuff before, but not the spiral ones. I found the Starfall journals to be sturdier than the RGS journals I had used previously. The Starfall Journal pages were thicker and the size of the journal was larger. I don't know how it would compare to the RGS spiral-bound journal.

I hope that I was able to help a little.

[kitty97]

You can also go to the Starfall Parent-Teacher Center & download all of the journals for FREE
https://teach.starfall.com/lv/resour...able-downloads

[meandmyhouse]

Like Sbkanas5, I like composition books. We all love to look through the journals to see their progress from beginning to end.

[cpbirch]

I also do monthly journals. They color a cover for the month. I staple the pages into a file folder which holds up well.

[arctichare]

Thank you, kitty97, for the link to Starfall's free resources. What a find!

[ICrazyTeach]

Keep an eye out for the Really Good Stuff journals. I found them clearanced one year for cheap. They just had an uglier cover than I would have chosen. I like their heavier weight paper.

[Seriously]

Thanks everyone for your responses. It has been a crazy last week of school. I will check out all your suggestions. I would love to find the clearance Really Good Stuff journals. They were great. It just can't afford them regularly priced. Thanks again!!!!

[Phyllis]

Office Max had, and may still have, Primary Composition Books for 62 cents. The teacher in whose room I volunteer uses them for both math and reading. I bought 60 of them at that great price. Do a search on Office Max and scroll down to find this price.

[ConnieWI]

Buy some plastic folders with the three brads in the middle.

Then you can print the paper and hole punch while printing. A parent volunteer can place them in the folders for you.

I think the monthly idea is a good one. I would keep the monthly journals for the whole year and then bind them/just send them home at the end of the year.

[kitty97]

You're Welcome! I apologize for the delay.
Life gets crazier in some seasons.