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I remember our first year of homeschooling. Pinterest had me convinced that we needed an extravagant homeschool room and bookshelves loaded with the best curriculum and manipulatives for every subject. I filled my Amazon cart with the best selling school supplies and cleared a large chunk of my living room to serve as our homeschool room.
On the first day of school, I froze. I had all of this stuff and no idea what to do with it. My son was only in Kindergarten, for God’s sake. But my house looked like it was going to birth the next Einstein.
I’ve come a long way since then, thankfully. We are just about to finish up our fourth year of homeschooling and I laugh at my old self and how overwhelmed I was. I became so focused on what worked for everyone else, I didn’t give us the opportunity or time to figure out what would actually work for us.
So using myself as an example of what not to do, I created this list of the very basic, need-to-haves (along with a few other suggestions) for the newest homeschool mom. Welcome to the club!
Curriculum Your Kids Love
This is the most important part! I can’t believe how many options are out there. You can buy curriculum sets for each subject or each grade, buy a membership for an online one, or there’s thousands of resources on how to be thrifty with creating your own.
Talk about serious sticker shock! I just about passed out adding up what it would cost to homeschool all five kids in a couple of years.
After trying a few curriculums that came with teaching guides and workbooks and seeing very little enthusiasm from my kids, we decided to check out online curriculums. We are so happy with Miacademy and I love not having to lesson plan! If you would like to read more about our experience with Miacademy, check out my post, Why You Need to Homeschool With Miacademy.
Basic School Supplies
Obviously you’re going to need a few supplies. But I have a couple of pointers. Like most moms with multiple kids, I love finding ways to be save money. But when it comes to school supplies that you will be using almost every day, just buy Crayola. They last way longer and hold up better compared to the other brands. The only reason I ever have to replace school supplies is because my kids abuse them or neglect putting the lids back on correctly.
Another tip I learned the hard way is to just go ahead and splurge on a few packs of the Ticonderoga #2 pencils. I used to think a pencil is a pencil until I was in charge of sharpening them and the lead would always break as soon as it touched the paper. Save your sanity and just buy Ticonderoga.
Technology is Just a Tool
When asking my kids about their favorite things we use in our homeschool, my dramatic 8-year old told me he would die without his iPad. I was apprehensive about buying a child their own iPad. But because our online curriculum requires one, giving each child their own device made my life way easier. There was no more fighting over who gets to start first or who forgot to charge it. Plus, I didn’t have to share mine anymore. That’s a blessing in and of itself.
The world is becoming so technologically advanced, I want my kids to be able to keep up with it!
Books, Books, and More Books
I believe no kid hates reading, they just haven’t found a book they enjoy yet. So we keep books of all levels easily accessible to encourage reading when they are bored. My kids also get extra screen time if they read everyday.
Some of our favorites include dry erase books, a beginning reading series, and of course, plenty of graphic novels. Right now, we have one kid learning how to write, one kid that’s learning how to read, and one that reads anything he gets his hands on. I can’t wait to introduce classic chapter books and more nonfiction as we study people and places around the world.
Physical Teaching Tools
I’ve really just accumulated manipulatives as we have seen a need for them. Our most used manipulatives from Amazon are an analog clock, fraction tiles, pattern blocks, and base ten blocks. Mini white boards are also very useful for practicing showing their work on math problems without wasting a bunch of paper.
Another great resource for practicing what they are learning is Osmo. This unique gaming accessory has a ton of interactive games that keep kids engaged. There are games to help with math, reading, and even drawing. Our current favorite Osmo game is Pizza co. The kids have to quickly make pizzas for customers and learn to give correct change back. It is so fun! Even I sneak in a few rounds after the kids have gone to bed.
Print This
I finally splurged and bought a really great printer this year. It is the Epson EcoTank and I love how it is small enough to fit on the top of our school shelf. It is also capable of printing straight from iPads and other smart devices. My kids are constantly finding activities to do and pictures to color.
I also love that this printer has ink reservoirs instead of cartridges so during holiday breaks and summer vacation, when we aren’t using it every day, I don’t have to worry about replacing dried out ink cartridges. I couldn’t tell you how many pages we have printed already and the ink reservoirs are all still nearly full.
Printables and Worksheets
Nobody ever told me how easy it was to create fun activities for free. Using the app, Canva, I am able to create so many printable worksheets. In the past, I have created holiday bingo games, scavenger hunts for field trips, and seasonal bucket lists. But if you aren’t creative or just short on time, there are always options on Teachers Pay Teachers. I have found great resources on this website for math games and writing prompts.
When One Teaches, Two Learn
The beauty of homeschooling is that you are free to do whatever is best for your family. We have the opportunity to learn, grow, and overcome. And most days, we do exactly that. What better way to teach (or learn) than to lead by example. I love being a part of these moments with my kids!
I’m hoping this post helps you feel less overwhelmed and more confident in your ability to handle homeschooling. Because as the saying goes, “we homeschool our children not to prepare them for tests, but to prepare them for life.” No one can teach them that better than you.
