Homeschool Essentials
9 essentials for a successful homeschool start
You’ve decided to homeschool. You know your state law, have curriculum, and you’ve withdrawn your children from public or private school. You’re ready…right? 🧐
Here is a list of things to get your homeschool off to a great start:
- Pencils- Ticonderoga pencils are the best. They sharpen well, and you don’t spend half of your day fixing a sharpener that is clogged with wrappings from “fancy” pencils.
- 2. Erasers- The small erasers on pencils tend to run out long before the pencil does. It’s helpful to keep an extra pack of erasers handy. We prefer the pencil top erasers.
- 3. Pencil sharpener- It is worth the investment of $30 or so to purchase a school grade sharpener. If it can handle a classroom of 25-30 students, I knew it could handle our home of 3.
- 4. Crayons, markers, or colored pencils- You don’t need all three choices unless you want them, but even high school age students will need something. I prefer Crayola brand- they just seem like an all around better crayon, marker, & color pencil. It is a good idea to stock up on extras during the back to school sales in August.
- 5. Copier and or printer- The best option is to have your own copier or printer but if that isn’t possible just knowing where you can go to print or copy. Most public libraries have these services for a small fee, maybe a family member or friend will let you use theirs in exchange for paper, or you can use an online service. I wish I would have invested in a good quality copier/printer in the early years of homeschooling, but our ink hungry one has served us well for 15 plus years. With young kids I find this extremely helpful- there are so many online free printables- but older kids benefit just as much too.
- 6. Scissors – There should be at least one dedicated pair of scissors for your school. If not it has been my experience that scissors do grow legs and walk away. Each of my kids have their own age appropriate size pair which works best for us.
- 7. Glue or tape- There seems to be no end to projects that need tape or glue. Even if you’re not big on doing projects, sometimes math pages get torn, a toddler rips the page from your read aloud book, or cardboard forts need reinforced.
- 8. Paper- This can be any kind of paper- copy paper, notebooks, construction paper, etc. Our house has gone through boxes of copy paper- my girls even asked their grandparents for a box of copy paper one year for Christmas.
- 9. Coffee- Does it really need an explanation? 😄
There are many other things that are useful, but these things will get your homeschool off to a great start.