Materials & Supplies Resources

Gathering Materials and Supplies

Recycled and household materials can be used for all kinds of projects and activities at home. Some of the things that you can collect include:

  • Toilet paper & paper towel tubes
  • Cereal, cracker, and other snack boxes
  • Plastic fruit, jello, and pudding cups
  • Plastic containers and lids
  • Popsicle sticks
  • Gathering Materials and Supplies
  • Clean foil
  • Paper bags
  • Shipping boxes
  • Egg crates
  • Cotton balls
  • Q-tips
  • Yarn and string
  • Masking, clear, and painters tape

Buying Materials and Supplies

There are also places where you can purchase inexpensive materials and supplies:

RAFT – Resource Area for Teaching

Originally created for teachers, RAFT has a wide variety of materials for hands on learning, including at home learning activities and STEAM Kits. Recently they have opened their membership to anyone who supports education, including families. Individual memberships are $25/ year. You can shop at the store or online. You must make an appointment for in-store shopping. Raft is located at:

Raft Bay Area
1355 Ridder Park Drive
San Jose CA 95131

A large variety of items are available in smaller quantities. Craft materials such as paint, crayons, markers, pencils, glue sticks, scissors, hole punches, stickers, etc. are available, along with wood working items like craft sticks and silhouettes. There are also decorating supplies like sequins, glitter, pom poms, pipe cleaners, etc., including a wide variety of holiday decorations.

Additional resources will be researched and added to this page in the future.
Please check back regularly for updates.

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