This is for a Grade 1 MS special lesson. Now, with the math that comes out to about 2 bucks a student. Now, the AMOUNT isn't useless, but as a far as giving the students something individually it is.

Here's the idea. What is something I could buy that I could use with every class for an activity. Something pricy! Who says the students need to receive an equal amount of the 500 individually? They don't.

So is there some interesting way you could think of where I could blow a huge chunk of it and have a blast over 8 Grade 1 classes with some sort of purchase that I could re-use? Not a craft thing, more like a device/object.

^wow that sounds fun.
I was also thinking of board games (blockus, settles of catan!!, boggle, etc), 3D puzzles/mind puzzles, if you really want to you can buy those electronic tablets that you just draw/write on and erase digitally. If you like being artsy, calligraphy pens and teach em cursive.

But I'm also sometimes in the boat of being okay with spending money on crafts and knowing that it will eventually run out.

Get some nice locking boxes and combination locks that can sit in each other like matryoshka dolls.

Would you happen to remember where you bought these boxes? The ones I find are always either really expensive or really cheap (too cheap to be worth getting for school activity use, I have students who would definitely end up accidentally destroying them). That middle ground has been really elusive for me.

@ CO2: I second LIndaTheGr8's idea (and by extension a lot of Kyndo's ideas can be used for an escape room). Escape rooms are a lot of work and a lot of prep, but they've always been a big hit with my students. If an escape room is something you'd like to try, you could definitely save yourself a lot of time and trouble by purchasing pre-made kits. Just be prepared to alter, regardless, though.

Other than that, you can buy actual board games, software (don't recommend this unless you have multiple computers in an English room, though), timers, balls, etc.

I also really like Kyndo's idea about drones. I've honestly thought about purchasing a cheaper drone that has camera functions so that students might be able to use drone footage for, like, English video projects.

What I did was buy some extra large, large, and medium sized hinged tupperware containers, drilled some holes opposite the hinge and added a bit of cheap chain and combination locks, which I bought from daiso. If you cant find hinged tupperwares, just make 2 small holes on one side of the container and another 2 on the lid and wire them together for a makeshift hinge.
  If the container isn't frosted like the ones I had, just, I dunno, spray-paint them, or line the inside with some paper. Daiso is your friend! 

Oh, haha, I've done the same, and I always get a couple of students who crack or destroy the tops while I'm not looking because they're trying to force the thing open just enough to see if they can get at the thing inside. For this reason I've bought cheap toolboxes from Daiso, because I thought they'd be more durable and that the students wouldn't be as tempted to cheat with them.

Same result, lmao.

Daiso is unfortunately too cheap for my heathens.