School Supply List for Homeschooling Littles

So,

You've made the decision to homeschool. You've purchased your curriculum. Now it's time to shop for the extras!

Just because you've decided to homeschool, doesn't mean that you have to miss out on the back to school shopping! On the contrary, as a homeschooler, you get to make your own supply list! As a homeschooling Mama, I LOVE to take advantage of all of the back to school deals right now, and get our supplies set for the year.

If this is your first time homeschooling, and you're not quite sure what your little ones might need, I've compiled a list of items that are always on my back to school shopping list as well as some things you might not have thought of to launch your homeschooling adventure!

Morning Activity Binder Materials

For littles (PreK-Kinder) I LOVE to put together activity binders that I can switch worksheets out of regularly. I'll include tracing practice, name writing, word puzzles, and seasonal items. More importantly, I put the sheets in sheet protectors so that my kids can write on them with dry erase markers and then erase them to reuse the next day. This is a MAJOR material and time saver over time, since I don't have to constantly keep printing the same worksheet.

To make an activity binder you'll need:

• A 3-ring binder
• Sheet protectors 
• Dry erase markers
• Printer paper
• Cardstock (This can come in handy when making reusable word sorts or matching activities.)
• Adhesive Velcro (You can use this when making reusable matching activities in the binder) 

Even if you decide not to go the full activity binder route, I HIGHLY recommend sheet protectors and dry erase markers so you can make worksheets reusable!

Calendar Station

I know this is very much "shadows of traditional schooling," but I really love doing calendar and morning meeting time with my littles to start off school every day! We sing a song, go over days of the week, read the date, countdown to special days, or count the days that have passed in the month so far, and then do the weather.

For a calendar station, you'll need:

• A calendar set that includes interchangeable months, days, and weather choices (The choice is really up to your preference, but I HIGHLY recommend getting your materials laminated so they last. Local teacher stores usually have deals on lamination around this time!)
• Adhesive velcro if your calendar choice does not feature pockets or magnets.
• A pointer (to make it fun!)

Writing Supplies

For early childhood education, our kiddos are really learning those fine motor skills, so sometimes their writing materials may look a bit different than older children. Because of that, you'll want to make sure to buy specific tools and paper for them. These include:

• Large grip beginner pencils
• Regular sized pencils (appropriate for Kindergarten and up to have them switch to these at times as they become more comfortable with their grips)
• Pencil sharpeners (with both sized holes)
• A big pink eraser
• Wide lined paper (PreK-Kinder) (1st-2nd)
• Wide-ruled journals and/or Wide-ruled journals with drawing space
• A lined dry-erase board (I mostly use mine to model writing, and to give them extra freehand practice.)
• Dry erase markers

Math Supplies

Most math supplies for this age basically amount to counters which you can use various cereals, snacks, puff balls, candies, or other small objects for to double as fine motor practice, but there are two items that I found that I DID need:

• Base 10 blocks
• A clear, plastic 12 inch ruler

Art Supplies

So this area will vary WIDELY by how art-inclined you are and will probably change as you find new fun projects on Pinterest throughout the year. As a baseline, though, a good range of art supplies to have on hand for littles includes:

• Washable Crayola markers
• A pack of crayons
• Multicolored Construction Paper
• Blunt-tip scissors 
• Glue sticks
• Elmer's liquid Glue
• Crayola Washable Paint
• Basic paint brushes (think dollar store)
• Tape

Organization

Last but not least, you'll go a bit less bonkers if you have a way to organize your supplies and your kids' work. Just like every homeschool environment is unique, everyone's organization is unique. These are the systems that have worked for us:

• A good lesson planner (I use this for my own organization and to keep records of what we've done)
• A binder for each kid to keep their completed work in for the year
• A plastic bin to keep their books organized
• A backpack for each kid (I still have my kids use backpacks, because it gives them responsibility to keep their items organized.)
• A folder for each kid to keep their on-going work organized
• A pencil case for each kid to keep their own supplies

Now that you know what's on my supply list at the beginning of the year, I hope it will help you as you get your own supplies together! As with all homeschool advice, remember these are just suggestions that have worked for my family on our homeschooling journey!

If you have other ideas about supplies that should be added to the list or questions please feel free to comment below or message me directly!

Thanks for reading, and happy teaching!