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Homeschooling Supplies

You will need to have a few things on hand for your homeschooling supplies. From the basic things such as a pencil and paper to additional art and craft materials, it depends on what you want to teach your child. The possibilities of creative learning through art and electronic media are endless and the best part of it is that it is fun to do, for both you and your child!  

Most printers are an "all-in-one" unit with a printer/scanner/photocopier/fax machine. Other useful items for homeschooling such as a bookbinding system and laminating machine and normally be a 1-time purchase. However, if you don't have these items you can always use them at your local library or office supplies store.

​Our Homeschooling Supplies Checklist

General Homeschooling Supplies

  • 3-Ringed Binders

  • Bins and Baskets

  • Binder Clamp Clips

  • Bingo Dabbers

  • Book Binding Rings

  • Boxes (recycled)

  • Bubble Solution

  • Card Stock

  • Clays (air-drying type or supplies to make your own)

  • Clothes Pegs

  • Construction Paper

  • Crayons

  • Dice (large size)

  • Domino Set

  • Dry-Erase Board

  • Dry-Erase Markers

  • Envelopes (of all sizes)

  • Erasers

  • Felt

  • File Folders

  • Food Colouring

  • Glitter Paints

  • Glue (White and Clear)

  • Glue Sticks

  • Googly Eyes

  • Highlighters

  • Hole Puncher

  • Inks (black and coloured)

  • Labels

  • Laminating Sheets

  • Markers

  • Magazines (for collage projects)

  • Newspapers (for protection tops and craft projects)

  • Page Protectors

  • Paint Brushes (various sizes)

  • Paints (watercolour/acrylic/poster)

  • Paper Bags

  • Paper Clips

  • Paper Cutter

  • Paper Fasteners

  • Paper Mache Casting Paste

  • Paper for Printing/Copying (letter size and legal size)

  • Paper Plates/Bowls/Cups

  • Pattern Blocks

  • Pencils (regular and coloured)

  • Pens (regular and coloured)

  • Pipe Cleaners

  • Playing Cards

  • Play-dough and Play-dough Tools

  • Poker Chips (various colours)

  • PomPoms

  • Popsicle Sticks

  • Poster Paper Roll

  • Ribbons (various colours)

  • Rulers

  • Scissors

  • Scrapbook Paper

  • Sharpies

  • Sketch Books

  • Slime Activator

  • Spiral Notebooks

  • Stamp Pad and Stamps

  • Stapler and Staples

  • Stickers

  • Sticky-Notes

  • Tape (scotch/masking/gaffer/duct)

  • Tissue Paper (various colours)

  • Velcro Tape or Velcro Tabs

  • Watercolour Paper

  • White Out (liquid or tape)

  • Yarn (various colours)

Electronic Homeschooling Supplies

  • Book Binding Machine

  • Bubble Machine

  • Camera (for photos)

  • CD player and CDs

  • DVD/VHS Player

  • External Hard Drives

  • Fairy Lights (portable)

  • Flashlights

  • Fog Machine

  • GoPro Video Camera (for recording and documenting data)

  • Headphones 

  • Label Machine

  • Laminating Machine

  • Laptop

  • MP3 Player

  • Portable Speaker

  • Portable Keyboard

  • Printer "all-in-one" (print/scan/photocopy/fax machine)

  • Record Player and Records

  • Tablets and/or iPads

  • TV

  • USB Stick Drives

  • Virtual Reality Equipment - GEAR VR

Make sure that when any items that are dried out, empty, or not working properly that it is tossed right away and be sure to write it down on your shopping list if it needs to be replaced.  You can do a bulk buy purchase of items online or look for the best deals during back to school months at local dollar/bargain stores. You might also find that some stores offer "Teacher Discounts" with proof of your teaching/homeschooling status. It is always good to keep an inventory list of all of your supplies throughout the year. This also helps from overbuying and spending money on things you don’t need.

Books

I had a massive collection of books that frustrated me because I could never find the book that I was looking for. We make it a rule to have all books placed on our shelves and no book is to be placed in front of the other obstructing the view of the other book's spine. I also make an effort to keep shelves stocked according to categories. This method of organization for us let us see exactly what was there with a glance. It also helped us rotate books that we have grown out of and/or no longer use which we can pass on to others or donate to our local library or charity. We also have a book inventory list where we have written down every book that we own and update it accordingly when things are removed or added.

Computers and Tablets

Computers and tablets are a TOP priority to us.  They are an essential part of my child's ability to communicate with others.  They are used daily in our homeschooling and for our work and personal use. 

 

In our home:

 

- Each person has their very own "every day" laptop and tablet.

- Each person has their very own "back-up" laptop and tablet.

- Each person is responsible for the care of their own devices.

- Tablets and computers are not shared with others.  

​

We each have one tablet and one computer that we use daily every day.  We also have a back-up tablet and a back-up computer for each of us in case our daily every day one breaks. This way we can continue to do our work and communicate with each other without any interruptions. While this may seem a bit extreme to some people, if you rely on a device to communicate - THIS NEEDS TO BE A TOP PRIORITY.  This would be expensive to buy all in one go, but this didn't happen overnight for us.  We focused on making this a priority and built up to it.  We now, in addition to our "daily-every-day" devices and our "back-up" devices, we also have a “Computer and Tablet Fund” in the event that we need to go out and purchase a new tablet or computer altogether. 

Toys and Games

Toys accumulate sometimes to more than what can be reasonably handled by the child. In our house, we have a limit of 3 large plastic bins for toys which all need to fit in their place. This is all easily accessible so when it is time to put things away, it can be done without requiring help. Every 6 months, all toys are gone through and whatever is not wanted is donated or tossed. It is always important to recycle, donate or get rid of things that no longer serve a purpose. The best way to organize is to start by keeping the number of things that accumulate to a minimum. When there is an accumulation, it requires a great deal of time that is spent on sorting, organizing and cleaning rather than homeschooling and other activities.  Reducing excess items in your home will make your homeschooling easier to manage and give you more space to be enjoyed by the family.  While staying organized does require some time and effort, it does make everything else much easier and for a far more enjoyable homeschooling experience.

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