One of my favorite things growing up was going school shopping! I loved going to Staples or Walmart to pick out my cute folders, binders, pencils, and more. I grew up loving Lisa Frank anything! Well, my love for going to school shopping has not faded. Now that I’m a homeschool parent I’m always on the lookout for things to add to my homeschool toolbelt. However, if you’re a new homeschool teacher and you are trying to figure out what you need, I have put together a list of 11 Homeschool Supply Must-Haves. Now of course this could differ for some people depending on the ages/grades your teaching, but these are some things I can’t live without in my homeschool arsenal!
#1 ~ Printer, Paper & Ink
These are going to be essential for printing out your free printables. As well as, any digital workbooks or curriculums you have found while diving down the Pinterest rabbit hole. I go through paper and ink like it’s no one’s business, between all the awesome homeschool freebies I find, awesome ETTC worksheets, and also some short unit studies I have found. Basically, you will be using it a lot, so I would get a decent printer. I personally own a Brother, but Epson is great too!
Supply #2 ~ White Board
This is one of my favorites. I mean even traditional classrooms have one. However, the great thing about them is, if you don’t have room for a wall whiteboard, there are handheld ones too! So if you have more than a few kids and you want them all to practice at once, then I highly suggest the handheld ones. I personally have both, just because sometimes we like to change up where we have ‘school’ it’s not always in our dedicated homeschool room. My daughter is in preschool, so they are great for her to practice writing her letters and numbers. But also we like to practice our shapes or just draw for fun!
#3 ~ Pencils & Pencil Grips
So pencils may seem obvious, but I do have a favorite kind! Since my daughter is in preschool and is still learning to write and how to hold a pencil, I love using the Ticonderoga My First #2 HB Pencils. They are super chunky and easier for smaller kids to hold. I love pairing them with the Mr. Pen Pencile grips that you can find on Amazon. These help younger kids learn how to hold and grip their pencils. So they are a must-have for us at the moment. But obviously, if you have older children then regular pencils work just fine.
#4 ~ Erasers
I personally like individual chunky erasers, but eraser caps are great too! Either way, they are going to be a must! My daughter also loves getting cute fun erasers that smell nice. Anything cute and fun she has to have, as long as it’s functional I let her pick them out every once in awhile.
Supply #5 ~ Pencil Sharpener
Get an electric sharpener! They are easy, make a great point, and just great to have. But I still have a few handheld ones, just for when we go outside or take homeschool on the road. They are nice to have. Plus I find that colored pencils don’t sharpen well in electric sharpeners, just my personal experience.
#6 ~ All the Glue!
So the main type of glue I get is gluesticks. I like the purple ones so you can see where you’ve laid glue down. I personally don’t like liquid glue, it’s messy, and doesn’t always stick well. If I really need something heavy-duty glued down, I break out my handy dandy glue gun lol. So of course it’s up to you what kind of glue you get, but glue is a must!
#7 ~ Art Supplies!
We do all sorts of crafts, projects, and workbooks. So craft supplies are in high demand in our household. Plus I like to give my kids choices with the kind of art mediums they use for certain projects, or creative play. I will list a few art supply ideas for you to get but feel free to collect these as you learn what you need for your class. I did not get these all at once, I collected them as needed for the most part. But here are some ideas:
- watercolors
- paintbrushes
- water cups
- sponges
- kids washable paints
- beads
- various sized pom poms
- yarn
- popsicle sticks
- thread
- markers
- crayons
- colored pencils
- construction paper
- mixed media paper
- watercolor paper
- sketchbooks
- drawing pads
- scissors
- paper plates or paint palettes
Supply #8 ~ Organizers/Caddy’s
I like to create a small caddy that I can carry around the house since we do homeschool in various places. It’s nice to have some things for on the go. Something I can put a few pencils, markers, crayons, scissors, glue, and other things I may need. It’s also nice to put it in the center of our dining table when we have creative playtime.
#9 ~ Binders, Folders & Notebooks
These are all things that are nice to have around if you need them. I buy a lot of digital curriculums, so having a binder to put them in is great! Also good to store your child’s homeschool portfolio in. Folders are good to have to keep individual morning worksheets in or other activities. And notebooks are just always nice to have in general. I personally get mine from the dollar general, no need to splurge on these items. My go-to notebooks are just basic composition notebooks.
#10 ~ File Holders
I like to use these to neatly store our notebooks, workbooks, binders, etc per kid. So each kid gets a file holder that holds all their workbooks. Or at least the ones we use the most. Super basic, but comes in handy for those who like organization.
Supply #11 ~ Books, Books, and More Books
Our main go-to source for our homeschool routine is Books! These are a serious must in our home. If you want to save some money join your local library. It’s also a great experience to go on a library adventure with your kiddos once every week or every other. I like to get boos about the seasons, alphabet, historical figures, or on any topic of study we are working on. Something I try to teach my kids is to first use a book, and if we don’t have a book for the answers we are looking for we buy one, or if we need an answer asap we google. But I want their first instinct to be looking for answers in a book. Reading is extremely important to me! So Books are probably my number one must-have.
There are probably many more items that I could add to this list, but for me, these are the 11 Homeschool Supply Must-Haves. We use these on a regular basis and they have become a staple to our daily homeschool routine. Of course, your list of supplies will grow and change as you figure out what works for your classroom, but also as your kids grow and change as well. Homeschool is an adventure, and half the fun is discovering what works for you and your kids individually. Don’t be afraid to experiment and discover what’s best for you!
Have more Homeschool Supply Must-Have ideas? I would love to hear them! I’m always on the hunt for more homeschool resources and ideas!
Written by: Brittany Coleman
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