Back-to-School Must-Haves for Homeschoolers

Hey Loves!

Ok, I know the title is a little weird because most homeschool families can’t roll-up get a “supply list” from their local Wal-Mart, shop and be set for the year. I’m writing this mainly for all the new homeschool families. The one whose kids are old enough, or felt like it was “the right time” or their kids’ school thinks COVID-19 is normal and not changing anything to keep their kids safe. Or, a mom who has been homeschooling for some years and “wants a change up.” You could also have a serious case of #FOMO like me. Either way, let’s get after it. 

I know we’ve all be there: Instagram, because that’s where all research properly starts, and we’ve scrolled across a page like any of these:

Chicken Eggs and The Land”: Here we meet “Tara” who homeschools her 3 kids, “Sage”, “Prism” and “Continuity” on a homestead somewhere in the middle of nowhere. She’s pregnant with her fourth, aptly named “Fin”, because this is her last birthed baby. They want to also adopt. She chronicles her day chasing chickens, her kids, and executing perfect baked goods while somehow educating her kids with all these artisan wooden manipulatives. 

“Pink Bows and Purple Toes”: “Linds” (we never know if her name is actually “Lindsey”), has 2 daughters. They all love Starbucks and artisan coffee. All their accessories are from “this super cute Etsy shop”. She’s a super eclectic homeschooler and has so many resources for each subject you can’t keep up. Her house is perfectly designed. It looks like something out of a magazine and her “no make up face” is that of angel.

“Home Is as Home Does”: This is the page of Ashlee and her “unschooled kids”. It seems Ashley has time for every house project under the sun including fostering kittens. She currently has 12. Her house is immaculate and wonderfully organized. 

That isn’t to make fun of pages like those at all. I truly admire all who are like those above, because, I think, at the end of every day we are all doing the best we can for our kids, ourselves, and family. My point in bringing those up is, and I’m including myself here, we see those pages and instantly think that’s the goal. That is what our days need to look like. That’s what our homeschool spaces need to look like. That is what we need to homeschool successfully and it just isn’t true. 

What is true? What actually do you need to homeschool? I’ll do my best to answer. 

Emotional Needs: You need to be able to meet your mental and emotional needs before you can meet those of your kid(s). It really won’t work otherwise. You have to find ways to continually fill up, and then re-fill, and then top yourself off. Additionally, you need to plan and prep in a way that works best for you. If you’ve never owned a planner and the thought of sends you to a hiding corner, maybe a homeschool planner isn’t for you. On the flip-side, if you’ve always been type-A, maybe “winging it” isn’t the key to success. There is going to be trial and error. There will be apologies. You’re gonna have to accept and extend grace. 

Physically: Ok, now to the nitty-gritty. You’re going to need a place to learn. That could be a kitchen table, a portable lap desk, and/or a converted or shared space. (Read: You DO NOT need a fully stocked “room” specifically for learning.) Our first learning space was shared with our playroom. I separated the spaces (learning on one side, toys on another) and kept the toys with noise up high. The thing is, they rarely played there so when we moved I didn’t make a playroom. I converted a coat closet to a “toy closet” and it’s been great. This left space for a learning room. To be clear, we do lessons and activities all over the house. Especially now with my husband working from home. (I’m working a revamp for it all for the fall!)

Organization/storage- Don’t we all want a trip to IKEA with no budget??? I mean, that would be heavenly. It’s also not realistic soooooo I’ll say this: My goals for organization/storage are easy to access and responsibility-training. I want to find things easily, make sure everything has a place, and train my kids to be responsible for their curricula and supplies. Truth, I have two small bookshelves and a short 9-cube organizer. That’s it. My kids have these storage bins for their curricula. I show how I use them and why I love them here. They are very affordable and go on sale often. I purchased ours from Michael’s. 

Supplies- I made a very detailed list for our “back to school” shopping. Yes, I narrowed it down to the number of crayons. Why? Because I know that’s what we need. I also knew these items were inexpensive and if they were needed again I could purchase them then. So here is what I think are the most needed. 

If you plan on purchasing downloaded versions of curricula, you will need a printer. Printing at office supply places or print shops can get very pricey. Printers can be found as low as $40 and generally come with ink coupons or deals. Not-needed but helpful items I’ve come to depend on are a laminator and paper cutter. 

Daily items:

1. Something artsy/craftsy: Crayons, markers, colored pencils, paint (tempera, acrylic, watercolor), construction, and/or watercolor paper.  Do you need things actual artists use? Absolutely not. Can you make do with things from Dollar Tree? For sure! Full transparency, I really struggle with these types of activities for my kids. However, I know art is therapy. If one doesn’t express creativity, it comes out in other not-so-pleasant ways.

2. Writing utensils: Pencils. That’s one sentence because there are so many kinds. Here I really urge you to meet your child’s fine motor needs. They may need short pencils. They may need thick pencils. They may need triangular pencils and/or pencils grips. From there, I ask you to go with your preference. I prefer mechanical pencils because I don’t like sharpening pencils. I do have traditional pencils because I feel like sharpening pencils is a skill everyone needs. I have a blog post on all things “special needs learning” and some videos on school supplies here if that helps. 

3. Something to write on/Learn with: I put these two together because of workbooks. Some curriculum comes with a workbook and the pupil will do activities and write the answer in the workbook. If you want to save curricula to sell or for the next child, you’ll need something else to write on. So, paper. Again, go with your child’s needs. For math, I like this large grid paper. For writing, this template is great. Both are free. I also like this composition notebook for writing. For older kids, a spiral notebook or composition book is great. Now for curriculum, I urge you to read this post. Find your child(ren)’s love language(s) and learning style(s), make goals and find things that fit those. As hard as it is, this isn’t the time to use what everyone else is using. Trust me, popularity won’t necessarily win.
4. Library Access- Books make the world go round and you can learn the world from books. Hopefully, your library is allowing for safe and distanced pick-up options.
5. Tissues and hand soap: Yup, you definitely need these items in your homeschool. I also love having a pack of baby wipes for quick clean-ups from paint too before they go wash their hands. 

Honestly, that’s all I think you need. Is there more you can have? Of course. I’ll share that in another post. 

Love you. Mean it.