How many things to buy....ahhh budget cuts

There is always the issue of how many things I should buy for my class when I don't exactly know how many students are actually going to be in there.
With the school budget so tight we don't finalize our class lists until the day after the first day of school. They want to be sure of the enrollment numbers before they decide if we get an additional teacher.
Parents always look at me strange when they realize everything is initially labelled using a dry erase pen. I want the kids to feel welcome and see their names but honestly I don't really know if they are permanently in my class until day two!
Teaching is so different from when my Dad was a teacher. In some ways it is better and in some ways it is way, way worse.

Another day of dust

= happiness!!!

After another five hours at the school yesterday I'm feeling a little better about how things are looking. Nothing spruces up a drab classroom like covering your bulletin boards and putting up trimmers. Also getting rid of the dirt and dust is just healthier. It's amazing how disgusting certain things get by the end of the year.
I'm going shopping today to buy some new bins to organize my math manipulatives. I think the ones that are currently there are from the 70's or 80's. Normally I like to reduce, reuse and recycle but the old bins have too many sharp edges to be safe.
Many people think that spending a lot of time making a classroom look "pretty" is a waste of time. I don't. I think if the students walk through the door and see that everything is clean and organized they are more apt to take pride in their room and keep it that way. At least that is my hope...