Back-to-School is my favorite time of the year, and it has absolutely nothing to do with backpacks, lunch boxes, or big yellow school buses. I love having my kids at home and being involved in their daily learning. What makes this my favorite time of year is the school supplies!!!
Oh my Word! I am a school supply/office supply junkie. (I’m also a curriculum junkie, but that’s a post for another day.)
In late July and early August, school supplies are on sale everywhere… and I love it! I mean, who can pass up 24-count boxes of CRAYOLA crayons for only a quarter?!?! Pens, pencils, and cute notebooks are all ON SALE!
I know, I know… I get a little too excited… Hence the reason my husband just rolls his eyes when he goes into a store with me, and I head straight for the office supplies.
Actually, these days I’m trying to be a little more minimalist and a lot less collect-all-the-things, because… let’s face it, even my larger-than-average family really doesn’t need 10 boxes of crayons for one school year.
So in an effort to help you avoid collecting unnecessary items for your homeschool year, allow me to share our top 9 homeschool supplies that we just couldn’t do without. (Okay, maybe we could do without a few but we don’t want to.)
- Ticonderoga Pencils: Yes, the brand of pencil matters. I’ve tried every brand on the market, and these are by far THE BEST. They last forever, sharpen to a nice point, don’t splinter, and I don’t think we’ve ever struggled with broken lead inside the pencil.
- Prang Watercolors: While I’m not a trained artist, I want my children to be exposed to the arts and to have an opportunity to try their hand at being artistic. You can buy cheap watercolors from the Walmart if you want to, but I’m telling you… Prang is where it’s at. These paints put you in a whole ‘nother ballgame with the creamy paint, rich colors, and ease of use. We love them!
- Crayola Markers & Crayons: Every student needs markers and crayons. Again, you can choose the cheap stuff, and you’ll be replacing them at least once during the school year because they’ll be dried out and gross. CRAYOLA has been making THE BEST markers and crayons for what… ? 100 years or so? Buy them on sale, and enjoy!
- Electric Pencil Sharpener: After years of fighting with hand sharpeners and losing them and breaking them, I finally gave in and bought an electric pencil sharpener. And I am so glad I did. It’s saved us TONS of frustration through the years. And I’m pretty sure we’ve been using the same one for five or more years, so it’s been a good investment.
- Glue Dots: I still buy liquid glue and glue sticks. They have their place, but y’all! Glue dots are AMAZING! Peel and stick and stick again! No kidding! Super easy and mess free!
- Calendar: Even though my phone has a calendar on it (yours does too, I’m sure), I still don’t know the date half the time. I NEED a calendar to keep me on track. I have used all sorts of calendars, planners, and lesson planners through the years. For a personal planner, I’ve been using the Happy Planner for the past several years. For our classroom, I use one like this one from Amazon. I affixed velcro dots to the backs of the numbers and to the calendar squares, and I let one of our “little people” (pre-k to elementary) add the date every morning during our morning meeting.
- Laminator: I’ve owned the same laminator for at least ten years. No lie! It has been good to me, and it has helped me tremendously to preserve our work. I’ve laminated worksheets and maps and homemade games… So. Many. Things. They’re not expensive at all, and since we expect to homeschool for at least another twelve years, it’s an investment that we’ll continue to use for a really long time.
- World Map or Globe: Geography and World Cultures are important subjects to us, so investing in a good world map and/or globe were no-brainers for us. We’ve used several through the years. Our favorites are linked above.
- Bible: As Christian homeschoolers, the Bible may be listed last, but it is definitely NOT the least. In fact, it is the cornerstone of all of our teaching. It is how we begin and end the day.