I wanted to get some art stuff last summer for my son's school, so I emailed all the museums I could find around the county with this:
Dear Madam or Sir,
I am a 2-4 grade teacher in a Montessori school in Louisiana. I�m writing to see if you have any free educational kits or materials that you can send from your museum. We are working on lessons for the 2008-2009 school year and would like to incorporate some new material. There are 24 children in the classroom. Anything you can send would be much appreciated.
Send to: insert your information.
I up'd the grade he was actually in so I would get stuff I could use. By the end of the summer I had gotten so much free and fantastic stuff that I now have an huge plastic tub to choose from! Posters, curriculum, handouts, puppets, workbooks,ect. A link for a list of museums is below.
http://museumca.org/usa/