We are in an interesting time. There really aren’t just homeschool parents and kids who go to a traditional school. Right now, because of the situation at hand, we are all homeschooling parents. I have been sharing what I think will be helpful to those mamas thrown into this new adventure over on my Instagram. My hope has been that I can make life just a bit easier for them. One of the questions I got there was “what items can I buy to make things easier?” So this post was born. I compiled some of the items that I really think help me teach my kids at home. My complete list of Homeschool Essentials

 

homeschool supplies

Homeschool Essentials

  • Laminator – I put this first on my list because I have not regretted this purchase at all. Well worth the money at the top of my list of homeschool essentials
  • Laminating pouches – a must for your laminator.
  • Printer – I use my printer every single day. having a good printer is a must for me and this one has been really good to us. I also subscribe to the HP instant ink program. It saves me so much money!
  • Paper cutter – honestly, I thought I didn’t need this for so long and now that I have it I don’t know how I lived without it.
  • Electric pencil sharpener – will save HOURS of your life.
  • Scissors – goes without saying, I always get these child-safe ones.

 

  • Chalkboard/whiteboard – this comes in handy when you are trying to explain a lesson. I ended up making my own extra-large one for cheap. You can find the tutorial in this post.
  • Sentence Strips
  • Cardstock
  • Dry erase pockets
  • Wet-Erase Markers – there is all this talk about dry erase markers but I find them incredibly difficult to whip off laminated sheets or pockets. I prefer wet-erase that way I can wipe them off with a damp cloth.
  • personal whiteboard

 

  • Workbooks
  • Timer – Great for keeping everyone on track. I also use this to motivate them to finish a lesson or work for a shorter amount of time. Here’s the one, I am looking at purchasing. (I’ve heard good things about it.)
  • Magnetic Alphabet Letters – we use these letters almost every day. There are so many unique ways you can use these and can work for many ages.
  • Clipboard – we love to school outside of our school room and clipboards help us take our lessons on the go
  • manipulatives – blocks, bears, anything really could work as a manipulative. I love this math set with tons of options for supporting our lessons.

 

  • Construction paper/printer paper – with the amount of drawing, painting, and art that we do I would suggest buying in bulk
  • paint 
  • pipe cleaners 
  • pompoms 
  • popsicle sticks 
  • glue
  • coloring pencils 

 

Organizational Supplies

I share most of my homeschool organizational supplies in my homeschool room tour post but I thought I would give a few honorable mentions here.

 

  • Book Shelves I use them for storing all kinds of things, not just books. See how we use them in our homeschool room.
  • Art Cart we love our art cart! Another thing we use every single day.
  • Pouches we use pouches to store lessons but you could use them to keep subjects together.
  • Storage Cart I don’t know what I would do without our storage carts. They keep all my girl’s subjects together but you could use them for toys as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you are looking for ideas for learning games or workbooks we really love, check out my amazon shop. I am constantly adding items we have fallen in love with.

MY AMAZON SHOP

   

Are you new to homeschooling?! Check out my new Ebook!

 

 

Find more of our homeschool tips on our Homeschool Page