I just wanted to share an inventive and inexpensive resource I discovered this week at the local Dollar Tree (where everything costs a dollar, in case this particular chain doesn't exist in your area.)
It is a magnetic spinner...
about 10.5 inches long, that can attach to a white board. It spins wonderfully.
My mind is already racing with game applications!
![spinner spinner](https://www.rotation.org/fileSendAction/fcType/0/fcOid/449833773801716011/filePointer/449833773801787456/fodoid/449833773801787453/imageType/MEDIUM/inlineImage/true/spinner.jpg)
This picture is shot slightly from the side so you can see the round plastic disk
with magnet on the back, upon which the arrow spins.
![White Board-Paper Score Circle-Magentic Spinner White Board-Paper Score Circle-Magentic Spinner](https://www.rotation.org/fileSendAction/fcType/0/fcOid/295011598215964076/filePointer/693759100666726185/fodoid/693759100666726181/imageType/MEDIUM/inlineImage/true/White%2520Board-Paper%2520Score%2520Circle-Magentic%2520Spinner.jpg)
If you, like me, don't have anyone to build a Wheel of Fortune-type spinner (or if the cost is prohibitive), you could probably make a poster with the letters, etc. on a dial, and leave a cut-out in the center so the spinner would fit in the center when you attach the poster to the white board. All for only $1! (Or even just draw a wheel on the white board!)
Further info: brand is Teaching Tree. Manufacturer/distributor listed on the back of the package is Greenbrier International Inc in Cheasapeake, VA.
There are several styles in addition to the spinner I initially purchased. There is one with a crayon as the spinner, another with a pencil, and also a Seuss-ish arm with striped sleeve and pointing finger. I actually returned to Dollar Tree today to buy several more; if I love this tool as much as I think I will, I'm going to want backups not only for children's ministry but for the Latin classes I teach!
Dollar Tree has also been a great source for large foam game die and packages of inexpensive die cuts--for instance, of fish--that can be used in all kinds of games. I've found many treasures for our drama prop box as well--helmets, shields and swords for the battle of Jericho, the Fiery Furnace (for the soldiers who tossed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in); bird masks for the ravens in the Elijah story, etc.