What's on your homeschool supplies back to school list?
 

1st year homeschooling for me!

I'm always used to buying school supplies from lists that the teachers provide.

So what's on your back to school homeschooling list this year?

Re: What's on your homeschool supplies back to school list?
 

We are unschooly, with a 7 year old. This year I'm planning to do a lot of visits to the Space and Rocket Center here and build on that with American Girl Luciana books. Since DD is in that "I'm going to be an astronaut" phase, we're focusing on math (workbooks, already bought) and handwriting (so she learn cursive soon and be able to write faster for her scientific observations, need to buy some Handwriting Without Tears stuff I guess) and we've got a Snap Circuit Rover set that I hope will get some good play and interest going.

So I guess just snacks for the outings and Handwriting stuff :lol

Re: What's on your homeschool supplies back to school list?
 

I bought notebook paper, index cards and a few binders. Oh and a planner for my 12 year old. I still need to get a stack of folders at Walmart. We still had other supplies leftover from previous years.

Re: What's on your homeschool supplies back to school list?
 

Since I don't need to show up on day 1 with all the stuff ready, there is a bit more flexibility. I get paper, pens and pencils, maybe a couple small fun things for year start, any notebooks or binders I think I might need.

Re: What's on your homeschool supplies back to school list?
 

Congrats on your first year! :cheer

We homeschool year round & even then, when inexpensive supplies come around, I blank every. single. year. on what we need. :doh

Enjoy your first year. :heart

Re: What's on your homeschool supplies back to school list?
 

This really depends on the grade/age you're schooling, but we seem to always run out of glue sticks, printer paper, toner, and dry erase markers about 3/4 of the way through the school year. I bought extras this year. The colored pencils have a tendency to walk off, too, so I may have to get more of those. Pilot G-2 pens in bright colors are my favorite pens, so when I find a sale on them I tend to get a pack or two. I'm stocked up from a sale mid-year last year. Same with mechanical pencils, but I buy them periodically through the school year because they do tend to go on walkabouts at the most inopportune times.:doh

My dh is at he end of the hall in his department and when a visiting prof cleans out an office, the supplies tend to get deposited in his space. Which he dutifully calls me about to see if I need anything. :) I haven't bought binders in 3 years, even though we use them a lot! I love those see-through colored plastic folders that he got me stocked up on 4 years ago.

Come to think about it, I probably should buy more binder pockets. I think Littlest could use more in her Kindergarten binder.

Re: What's on your homeschool supplies back to school list?
 

First year, woohoo!

Do you have a nice world map and US map? I used to hang ours on the wall, but now I roll them up and pull them out when we need them. A globe is good to have around as well.

Decide how they'll use notebooks for each subject. Separate spirals or binders or one binder with paper and dividers?

Extra paper, pens, pencils, sharpener, rulers...

Re: What's on your homeschool supplies back to school list?
 

I'm only homeschooling my younger two this coming year. The older two are in high school so more set in their ways....

7th grade and 4th grade.

Re: What's on your homeschool supplies back to school list?
 

It depends on what your kids like. The basic school supplies are definitely WAY cheaper this time of year, so I tend to stock up (pencils, pens, dry erase markers, paper, notebooks . . . .etc). When the kids were younger I also stocked up on glue sticks, glue, crayons, etc. Now my youngest is the only one using those kinds of things and since I stocked up so much in the past, we don't need more.

I have one kid who likes using composition books for each subject, so we stock up on those. . . Another uses notebook paper. . . one likes fun colored pens for writing most things, another likes mechanical pencils for everything . . . it just depends. But as long as it's stuff you're going to use eventually, I'd recommend over-estimating, especially this first year because the prices really are so much better than during the year.

Re: What's on your homeschool supplies back to school list?
 

Yay! Congrats on homeschooling!

I don’t need much this year, but if I were new, a working binder with subject dividers per child, an archival binder with grade dividers per child, card stock in lots of colors, watercolor paper, watercolors, nice colored pencils, twistable crayons, a bound sketchbook per child, printer paper, notebook paper, a five subject notebook per child, three hole punch, stapler, pencils (ticaronda brand), cap erasers, glue sticks.

This year some of my kids need new sketchbooks and we need pencils and more notebook paper. I might buy glue sticks if they are on sale but I still have some.

Re: What's on your homeschool supplies back to school list?
 

I've got the same grades! Love this age. :heart

Re: What's on your homeschool supplies back to school list?
 

Lab kits (maybe this isn’t school supplies) but I consider it here cuz some years I build my own and other years I purchased w curriculum.

Binders w/dividers for most subjects
Lined Paper
Computer paper
Notebooks for math
Pens
Pencils
Eraser
Ruler
Compass
Protractor
Index card
Sticky notes

Art supplies:
Sketch pads
Sketch paper
Sketch pencils
White erasers
Colored pencils
Crayons
Paints
Student Journal/planner/assignments notebook (we’ve done many diff approaches and I don’t think we used them at 9 & 7 :think ) ... I still don’t know what I’m doing this fall)

Backpacks
Lunchbox
Other bags (we have co-op bags, extra curricular bags, laptop bags, science bags, manipulative bags etc. but my family says I have too many bags.but I toss all my spelling g stuff in a bag and grab it. Toss science stuff in a bag and grab is... etc) now that I typed that, some things I actually use bins instead of bags :think

:congrats on your first year homeschool:hug

Re: What's on your homeschool supplies back to school list?
 

What everyone else has said :-). If you're used to using a school list, check one out online then go through your house to see what you already have - we have enough pencils to last our guy through college - many from my husband's childhood because, well, packratting is a thing (might not be a word, but it's definitely a thing;) ). We have tons of rulers & we counted protractors one year - at least 5 - that was before our son was even born! So, chances are, you have some things already & you'll need to supplement.

We stockpile all year long so I think I have most of my supplies.

I'm going to finish up our art curriculum from last year so the one thing I want to buy (using $$ I would have used for the next book/lesson plan) is a large easel - perhaps something like this one. So other than a few books/curriculum add-ons I'll be buying later in the year, we're pretty set.

As I'm reading through, maybe I need to add composition books because my guy keeps taking them & using them in play.

It might not be popular here, because it's not crunchy at all, but the Dollar Tree is your friend! We get most of our supplies there. They have these magnetic hooks & magnetic clips that really stick well - I use them on the fridge & on the side of my supply carts. Also, the Target $ spot is great.

Re: What's on your homeschool supplies back to school list?
 

2sunshines, two things that just occurred to me to keep in mind when buying your supplies: 1. what's your method of assessment (for the school district) going to be 2. corralling daily work

For example, if you're doing portfolio, you'll need a place to keep work samples. if you're doing a written report or turning in grades, you'll need a log book.

FWIW, for the daily work, I have my kids put any loose papers in a file folder marked with their name. That goes with whatever workbooks they might have and I get it at the end of the day. When I've looked it over I put it back in their school boxes. (My kids don't have desks and do their work wherever, so they need a place to contain their stuff.) Starting this year, I also have a box.

Each kid has a daily work binder as well with one pocket per day of the week for any loose papers I give them - like timeline figures to color, map work, etc. The back half of the notebook is divided with tabs by subject and they file any ongoing work or pages they might need to reference (like vocab sheets) in the future there. I try to give the older kids their work for the week on Monday so that they can break it up themselves and do it as they would like and build some independence.

I keep work in a small hanging file box with pretty folders, one file per kid. I keep an interior folder in each hanging file for tests and quizzes or big papers, anything assessment-like that I need to keep. I know a lot of people do binders for that stuff, but this works better for me - it's faster to file.

Re: What's on your homeschool supplies back to school list?
 

I've always bought a nice sketchbook for each of my kids and I try to do all of our art projects in them (or I glue them in later), so now I have an one for each kid for each grade to save and they're fun to look back at (and easy to store!). The ones I've always liked are eeBoo brand.

Re: What's on your homeschool supplies back to school list?
 

We get pensels and paper. I also buy note cards because that works best for us for lists. I also use this time if year to buy things for stockings at Christmas, little pens and books and things that are fun but not necessarily useful.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

Re: What's on your homeschool supplies back to school list?
 

I always buy the pronged pocket folders in a variety of colors this time of year, because at other times of year they're nearly unfindable or cost $2-3 each.


Scotch tape replacement rolls often have their best price now too...and we go through a LOT of tape, lol.



I also get 1-2 boxes of Bic Xtra Strong Mechanical pencils; they're the only ones with leads that don't constantly snap off.

Re: What's on your homeschool supplies back to school list?
 

Magic pencils. Like the magic beans in Jack and the Beanstalk, but pencils.

(No, they don't really exist. :lol)

---------- Post added at 10:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:00 PM ----------

Great idea!

---------- Post added at 10:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:01 PM ----------

I usually stock up on filler paper and some spiral notebooks. Also, co-op classes often require 3-prong folders or 3-ring binders so I buy some of those. And markers, crayons, and glue sticks because they're cheaper now than any other time.

Re: What's on your homeschool supplies back to school list?
 

I skimmed the other posts, so I don't think this one got mentioned. But the one thing I bought YEARS ago that I thank myself for buying every year is a laminator!

I bought a scotch laminator and a pack of laminator pouches at target my very first year of homeschooling my oldest for preschool, and 6-ish years later I still use it several times a year and it was SOOO worth it..

Re: What's on your homeschool supplies back to school list?
 

This is a great thread - it's reminding me of several things I usually look for (I also do the dollar store) and several things that would make my life much much easier ;) I still have school supplies I didn't use last year.

I suddenly thought of something I stock ONLY this time of year - index cards and sticky notes (it was on my list but usually I get them dirt cheap during school supply time). I use them a ton.

AND hard plastic pencil cases. In addition to organizing my school supplies I use them in my bathroom for little things :giggle

I also peruse the school supply area whenever I am at walmart/target or the dollar store between end of july and mid october (after mid september is my favorite time cuz of clearance - i usually try to hold off past labor day to purchase anything). I am going today to walmart and the dollar store. I'm having to take a deep breath because this post has me all excited :shifty

---------- Post added at 09:21 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:17 AM ----------

This is a beautiful Idea - maybe I will start one for my dd2. I wish I had heard of this before :heart

Re: What's on your homeschool supplies back to school list?
 

Anyone have a favorite globe? Our wall map got gross and I’m wanting a globe this year :think.

I have grandiose ideas like an inflatable one for better storage but worry my goofy kids would destroy it :giggle

I’m also considering scrunch maps :think

Re: What's on your homeschool supplies back to school list?
 

I love my markable map from Sonlight.

You could get a hug a planet. Those can’t be destroyed easily. My kids destroyed our regular globe.

Re: What's on your homeschool supplies back to school list?
 

We had a regular globe a long time. I threw it away cuz it cracked (I dropped it :shifty). I just figured AJ inflatable would be tossed around and break eventually. Then I’d just need to keep replacing it.

I looked at Hug a planet— those look cool. I’m going to ask the kids what they prefer :think

Re: What's on your homeschool supplies back to school list?
 

We have a Hugg-a-Planet. It lives in the Ikea egg chair so it's around whenever we need it. I had to repair the seam once and the stuffing has gotten mashed and matted so that it's no longer round. (It gets sat on and thrown around a LOT. The poor thing takes more than its fair share of abuse with four kids.) I think we've had it 6 or 7 years. It's reasonably accurate. The map is printed in curved diamond panels then cut out and sewn together so our globe has a seam or two that aren't perfectly lined up which used to bug me, but not the kids. I got over it. We have a nice globe we picked up at Costco a couple of years ago but it lives in a closet and the Hugg-a-Planet gets much more use.

We've got the moon, too. I love that the craters are labeled.

The Scrunch maps are awesome - easy to store, super portable, and the plastic-y fabric they're printed on is wonderfully durable. I used to take them to a class I taught and have had kids fight over them with never a rip.

We have a huge Rand-McNally laminated wall map that is GREAT on detail, but we never use it because I bought it before measuring the wall space. :bag

A markable map sounds dreamy . . . . . .