Top 10 Reasons to Stop At Ikea

For Spring Break this year we hit San Antonio, TX! It's about a six hour drive from us, but it has so many things to do! First up was Sea World, because they offer a FANTASTIC military discount (and to be real, with only a military salary, teacher pay and 5 kids, if we don't get discounts we can't afford to go, so I'm always super grateful to companies that honor our military service members like that!) My husband might be deploying this summer (something he's already dreading seeing as little Sullivan would turn 2 while he was gone and right now Sully is all about his Daddy - my husband hates to miss out on time when the kids are little, and since Sully is our last baby, a deployment right now would suck as in S-U-C-K) so we wanted to take a nice vacation during Spring Break in case he's gone this summer.

Here's Daddy and Sully with a shark!

But, anyways. We hit Sea World which was a ton of fun - Sully loves anything aquatic so we had a great time. Then Daddy and the big kids hit up Six Flags and I got to spend Mama-Baby time with Sully at the San Antonio Zoo which was AMAZING. Sully especially liked feeding the koi fish - I think, if I had brought enough quarters, he could have done that all day long lol! On our last day we stopped at the Alamo. On the ride to San Antonio I read aloud a few books about the Alamo so the kids were aware of the historical significance and even I learned somethings I didn't know before!

Sully eating popcorn at the Zoo!

Then it was time to strap in for the 6 hour car ride home. Except, I really, really wanted to stop at Ikea. If you've never been, you need to go! When we were stationed in Germany we went frequently - eating Swedish meatballs with ligonberry sauce at the restaurant and buying tons of fun, inexpensive furnishings. Now that we're stationed in Oklahoma, the nearest Ikea is 3 hours away in Dallas and I don't get to go nearly as often as I would like (that's probably a good thing!) But, on this occasion I convinced my sweetie and the kids that I had to stop at the Ikea in Round Rock, Tx.

Normally I could spend hours roaming Ikea, but due to the fact we still had a 5 hour drive ahead of us at that point, I cut my shopping down to just 70 minutes! I think that might be a record, and if so I would like a ribbon rather than a trophy please. So, here, in no particular order, are my Top 10 Reasons To Stop At Ikea:

(disclaimer: I didn't buy everything pictured - some of it I already had from previous Ikea trips! I also am not an Ikea affiliate and get no kick back whatsoever from blogging about their products, I just like to share great ideas with you!)

These play tents would be great in a reading corner! (just hot glue the doors open so you can see what's going on inside at all times) Sully has the circus tent and loves it! And at just $19.99 its a great deal!

Need inexpensive classroom furniture? This table and chairs is in my Housekeeping Center and is the perfect size! My first one lasted 4 years of rough classroom use, so this summer I bought another set! The set with table and two chairs is just $19.99 so that's a steal!

 Can you beat $14.99 for an easel?? I think not!

 Speaking of art, $1.49 for a set of 6 brushes is amazing! 

 These peg boards and beads total $7.99 - that is a phenomenal deal compared to a Hobby store! And, its great find motor practice!

You cannot beat the prices for Ikea's wooden train sets. I picked up 3 extra sets of track because setting up the train track is great for teaching teamwork and engineering! Their basic 20 piece set is only $9.99, with additional sets as low as $6.99 for track or $3.99 for a 3 piece train!

 An abacus is a must in your Math Center as it demonstrates so many number sense concepts. At just $9.99 its about $10 cheaper than a similar one on Amazon!

 I love these ice cube trays! They're great for making fun shaped cubes for your sensory table! At just 99 cents, they're a guilt-free purchase!

Need inexpensive finger puppets (who doesn't?!)? Check out this set of 10 animals for just $4.99! I bought this plate holder to use as a fun display/storage for them too, it was just $3.99 and will keep my Puppet Center neat while allowing my kiddos to find the puppets they want easily! The other set of puppets came with the cardboard castle "stage" and was only $4.99

 These carpets are awesome and only $14.99! I have the first one on the rack in my Block Center and it helps keep the noise of falling blocks to a minimum at the same time as encouraging some pretend driving on the "streets".

 Don't you love these frames? Just 99 cents and I can put them at tables to hold "I Can" cards at center time! I only wish they came in more colors! (hint, hint Ikea peeps!)

This set of forest animal cookie cutters will be fabulous in our Play Dough Center and was only $2.99!

Okay, so technically that was 12 things...they were all so great I couldn't cut two out! Sully also ran off with the little mice I bought - super cute, soft plush mice in gray, brown and white - I grabbed them with a vague idea of using them for 3 Blind Mice or some such. Sully loves them though, so I will let him keep his "mousies". At just 99 cents each they're worth every penny of seeing him play with them so sweetly!

So, if you happen to be close to an Ikea, now you have an idea of what to look for while you're there!