(Dumb question, but…) Where would a teacher shop in RVA?

Submitted by Johoku t3_zwhh5f in rva

I’ve got a bunch of young kids in friends and family, and then I’m a teacher who has classes at a combined middle school / high school, so I’d love to know where similar people shop for great books, games, little artifacts from museum gift shops, as well as history and contemporary stories to take home.

(I passed by what seemed like a literal story-telling shop either on Carey or in the arts district, but now I seem to have lost that, so if you know what I’m talking about, that’s cool too)

Thanks!

Edit for context: I live and work in Tokyo, first time in the US since before Corona, but am home until the 30th, so this is more of a “where do I go today or tomorrow?” sorta post

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TheCheeseDevil t1_j1umf8w wrote

Hmm, maybe Mongrel in Carytown? Lots of odds and ends and the stock seems to change fairly frequently.

If you want actual museum gift shop items The Valentine has a nice one.

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eziam t1_j1v1rjy wrote

2nd and Charles! As a teacher, I shop there for all my classroom libraries and they have great deals on comics, action figures, and literally everything.

Plus if you have your teacher I'd, you get 20percent off!

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Option_Perfect t1_j1unhce wrote

Fellow teacher. I like Diversity and I have also joined free cycle and buy nothing groups on Facebook. Fantastic thrift is also randomly good.

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tchrsleuth t1_j1ywce9 wrote

Hi, fellow teacher (& Reading Specialist) here! 🙋🏻‍♀️ You are def. on the right track. 🙌🏽 Below I’ve listed 3 places, all in Carytown, that I think you should def. pop into:

1.) bbgb books: a bona fide bookstore for young & young at heart: https://www.bbgbbooks.com

2.) World of Mirth: hard to put into a single category; some might call it a toy shop, but it’s so much more: Toys for kids of all ages https://worldofmirth.com/

3.) Ten Thousand Villages: an eclectic and cool gift shop where part of the purchase/proceeds go right back to the countries where people made the items: https://www.tenthousandvillages.com/richmond

P.S. A 4th place: The local Dollar Tree might be a fun spot to run in & check out the latest wares! When I personally lived out of the US & would come home to visit for a week or so, I would always go into a Dollar Tree store & shop for my students! Things I couldn’t get off of the mainland.
Hope this helps! Enjoy your time here! ❤️

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Johoku OP t1_j1yzfwu wrote

Thank you, dearly. For your knowledge, I’m handling both a visit with mom in the hospital while also thinking about what can help facilitate conversation back home.

Some of my favorite previously purchased products are as follows, with some changes due to present availability:

Eeboo story cards (not necessarily sequenced)

What do I do? / What’s going on here? cards

Purchase at World of Mirth or somewhere similar four years ago

I picked up the What up, Adam? question card expansion at World of Mirth last Friday

And make liberal use of Story Corps question batteries, some applications of Storymatic’s cards but “played” like a variation of Apples to Apples or Once upon a time, and for out and out word games (not conversations) I love Wavelength and Codenames. It can’t be “on rails,” so while I appreciate the ideas behind CAH it’s not as generative as Apples to Apples simple or “lawyer” rules, such as the poison apple variant

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Johoku OP t1_j1zv0xm wrote

Hi, BBGB is indeed the place I had seen that I was searching for!

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Effective_Worry_2509 t1_j1uoyg7 wrote

Ollie's is good, if you can find consistent amounts of things.

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seaqueef t1_j1vv7pv wrote

Also Foremost on Midlothian. These are staple stores for my thrifty father.

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defnotthepresident t1_j1v9wd6 wrote

VMFA gift shop is very kid friendly and has a diverse selection, Science Museum totally rules, and then I'd check World of Mirth in Cary for various kidly things

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Hedgecore138 t1_j1vikux wrote

The huge winter market closed up on the 24th, but Studio Two Three's regular shop is my go-to for great locally made Richmond-themed stuff.

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