Mystie Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Well, besides books, of course. Books are the best. I don't want to offend you Ticonderoga die-hards, but this year I bought the big Pentel Twist-Erase mechanical pencil set at Costco that came with extra lead and erasers: http://amzn.to/1uy8OKD We *love* them, even six months later! We haven't run out of lead or erasers. The lead is soft, it erases easily without a mess, and because my kids each have one in their personal color so I know who left their pencil on the table. :) No one has to get up to sharpen their pencil a million times when they should be doing their math page and I don't have pencil shavings spilled around the house. Absolutely love these. Anyone else have little solutions that are making your year a little brighter? :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shay Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 We have those, too! We bought the .9 lead. Best thing ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetpea3829 Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 *sigh* I tried mechanical pencils with my kids. They break the leads, push too much lead out...remove the erasers (which causes the lead to fall out), etc. Maybe when they're older. At this point...much of their work is done with wet erase markers on dry erase pockets anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Nice! I think my favorite purchases in the past year have all gone onto our game shelves. Qwirkle, Zeus on the Loose, Forbidden Island, Gobblet Gobblers, Castle Logix, Kanoodle, Rat A Tat Cat... This has been a big game year for us and for the most part DD has no idea that these games are "educational". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3 Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Individual pencil cases - and colored Ticonderoga pencils. ;) We're still losing pencils...but at least we know whose are missing. :D We have also gotten a LOT of mileage out of Apples to Apples, Jr. (found at Goodwill for $3). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73349 Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 DS loves his pencil (the Faber Castell triangular kind with dots for gripping), and we haven't lost it all year. (I bought a whole box of them, but there is one that he considers his and we have another one out for me to use.) I switched from a plan book to a weekly checklist in the front of each week's papers in a ProClicked booklet, and that has worked out really well. As for curriculum, I am really happy with LOE Foundations C, My First Piano Adventure, and SOTW. Now it's time to pin down some choices for next year, and start buying things! :eek: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess4879 Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Clipboards for an "art" wall. I got the idea off Pinterest and fell in love. I hung 6 clipboards on the wall (and inserted a crafty "art" label as well, just for fun) and now we simply clip our finished art on the wall and switch it out when a new project is done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 We had a ginormous container of mismatched crayons of all brands (and states of use). In a cleaning/tidying fit, I tossed them all and dropped in a few, new boxes of Crayola. So lovely and homogenous. :D Don't know why I held off because it cost all of two bucks in the back-to-school sales. Eta: now I want to toss all my scraggly pencils and buy pretty mechanical ones... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 We bought school desks this year. Now my kids can store all their crud in their desk, even if they don't actually sit there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Expensive electric pencil sharpener. It is the most used item in our house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahW Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 I recently bought extra wide mechanical pencils at WalMart. The lead is 1.2 or 1.3 mm. And the pencil case is bigger too. He doesn't snap the lead constantly (in fact, I don't think he's snapped it at all) and the wider case is easier for him to grip. And harder for him to chew through. He's a chewer. The original thin mechanical pencils are in a very sorry state. :huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 I'm a bit excited about the dvds for Ellen McHenry's "Mapping the World with Art." I knew the program was written at a level too high for dd, but it seemed the closest thing to what I wanted so I bought it anyway, figuring we would use what we could now and save the rest for later. We're both having a bit of fun with them. It's nice to stop the dictating and sit side by side for a bit. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 CLE math New dry erase markers (oh they write sooooo much better than the old dried out ones) New bookshelf (expansion room!!!!) Bigger calendar for the fridge so I can read everyone's handwriting :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Current favorite "why didn't I purchase this before?" item: an expandable file folder with dividers. Finally, I can keep all of DD's worksheets, notebook pages and scratch paper in one place, instead of 7 different notebooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abacus2 Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 I finally bought some Clic Erasers. I had one in high school and college that got too old to use. I was very glad for the nice eraser when I discovered that the used Rod & Staff English 5 I bought had a lot more pencil marks in the book than I noticed at the time of purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertflower Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 My dog. :) It's nice to receive random kisses during the day. Also bookshelves! I can see some parts to my counters and on my floors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivingHope Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 My 2015 Calendar Journal from Simply Charlotte Mason. I am using it to record personal reading, read alouds, nature moments, simple memories, prayers, and "gentle reminders." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecj98 Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Prima Latina DVD Sent from my KFTHWI using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsBasil Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Museum passes and a big sturdy child sized table that is great for work and play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 If I can't say any books... I'll go with spring scales. Strangely fun. Also maybe black pencils. They make all your schoolwork seem ten times more serious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lots of little ducklings Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 I'd have to say the ArtBin Super Satchel with adjustable dividers has been a hugely successful surprise and hands-down one of the best purchases I've made in a few years. I have four highly creative little "artists," and with all their creativity we had enormous challenges: where to store it all in our super tiny space (one drawer), how to learn responsibility (when someone is using up all the glue or tape or paper, or leaving caps off markers, or purposely breaking crayons, or losing everything, but it's never really clear who is guilty of which crime… ), how to easily do clean up 3x a day (before each meal, that is, so I could use the table)… in short, how to maintain my sanity. This did the trick. One art bin per kidlet, each stocked with color-coded supplies (stapler, tape dispenser, scissors, school glue, glue sticks, markers, colored pencils, etc) plus all sorts of fun crafty items (stickers, pom-poms, washi tape, colored yarn, bakers twine, pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks). All neatly organized in stackable bins. It worked! Now when DS 7 uses his entire roll of scotch tape in 36 hours with no idea what crafts he even used it on, it's easy to teach responsibility without punishing everyone (as replacement tape is only doled out every few months, buddy!). And clean up is super easy and doesn't involve ME. And supplies can easily be carried off to whatever quiet space the child wants, so my dining room is no longer craft central. Related to this, the other all-time best purchase for the year was the PaperPro stapler (four, actually; one for each art bin). Finally! A stapler that doesn't jam on the kids every five minutes! I adore it more and more with every satisfying "click" it makes. It is just.that.amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slache Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 My dad gave me $150 for school so I bought $150 worth of... ART SUPPLIES!! We already had everything we needed so I figured why not? I should have gotten him bongos too though. Oh well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 A third table, so everyone has his or her own spot and a chair at said spot, along with his or her own pencil box. A new to us computer for the schoolroom and a new printer, so that we can stay in one spot and not lose half the scholars along the way by going up to the upstairs desktop to watch a video. Except that I'm about to make what I hope will be the greatest purchase ever: a chair for the table and a pencil box. For the one year old, because he keeps climbing up on everyone else's spots, and maybe having his own will encourage him to leave everyone else's stuff alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 I'm a bit excited about the dvds for Ellen McHenry's "Mapping the World with Art." I knew the program was written at a level too high for dd, but it seemed the closest thing to what I wanted so I bought it anyway, figuring we would use what we could now and save the rest for later. We're both having a bit of fun with them. It's nice to stop the dictating and sit side by side for a bit. :) My oldest two absolutely loved that program last year. :thumbup1: My favorite item this year: my planning binder with printables from Donna Young's website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikslo Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Top of our list would be the iPad we got for the family at Christmas. A close second would be our Foldscope (although that was free). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatmansWife Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 We had a ginormous container of mismatched crayons of all brands (and states of use). In a cleaning/tidying fit, I tossed them all and dropped in a few, new boxes of Crayola. So lovely and homogenous. :D Don't know why I held off because it cost all of two bucks in the back-to-school sales. Eta: now I want to toss all my scraggly pencils and buy pretty mechanical ones... You threw out all the old crayons?! You could have made some cool art projects with those... Oh...I see you were in a fit at the time...so I guess you weren't thinking clearly. Too bad... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatmansWife Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 I'm totally revamping workboxes...again. I just ordered two organizing utility totes from Thirty-One...with coordinating fold-n-files to fit inside. One will be for all of my teacher books & stuff and the other will hold what JB needs to do each day. It was a little pricey...but I think we will love them (I'm hoping they arrive soon 'cuz I really need some organization...and fast). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Nails and assorted trim boards. I moved my old pantry cabinet (The great white Ivor) to the dining room where we do school. With the trim he looks like he has lived there all of his life, and I now have six gloriously deep and tall shelves on which to store all those wonderful books that I bought. :001_smile: ETA: Moving Ivor also opened up an entire wall in the kitchen on which to hang things like my parts of speech posters, all my Latin declension charts, spelling helps for contractions, punctuation rules, times tables etc! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maela Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Treasured Conversations and grades 3-8 of McDougal Littell spelling books from the 80s (my childhood). Both are working fantastically for dd this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maela Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 And Ticonderoga pencils, a plastic file box for each child's school books/supplies, and the My Student Logbook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serenade Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Also maybe black pencils. They make all your schoolwork seem ten times more serious. Black colored on the outside, or extra dark lead? If you have pencils with extra dark lead, please share! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Black colored on the outside, or extra dark lead? If you have pencils with extra dark lead, please share! Alas, no. Just black on the outside. Ticonderogas that are black with silver lettering on the side and green metal eraser holders and black erasers. The black erasers look especially serious. I used to buy all cutesy pencils so these were a big change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kesmom Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 I bought USA Gold pencils after reading a long pencil thread here and we adore them. They are noticeably better than Ticonderogas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForeverFamily Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 MCT island and wood C-rods. I love how MCT has really helped my Dd gain a much deeper understanding of grammar. And the wood C-rods are so much more fun than the plastic ones ;) . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetuckercrew Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Will have to try these! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meadowlark Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 It took me 3 years to discover that I can use dollar tree clips to keep my place in teacher manuals, and the kids workbooks. No more flipping pages! Genius, I know :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 It took me 3 years to discover that I can use dollar tree clips to keep my place in teacher manuals, and the kids workbooks. No more flipping pages! Genius, I know :-) Not a bad idea! I've been using a post-it stuck on the top of our current page...but they eventually lose their sticky and then I have to use a new one. I like the clip idea... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCal_Bear Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Seriously, the best was Papermate Arrowhead erasers. Sure, I have a lifetime box, but these things are awesome. They actually erase well and don't rip up paper. They actually grip and stay on the pencil. They don't collapse when a young child tries to erase with them. They don't crack either. Love them! http://www.amazon.com/Paper-Mate-Arrowhead-Erasers-73015/dp/B00006IFAV/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1422581676&sr=8-3&keywords=erasers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Papermate Black Pearl erasers Thirty One Organizing Utility Tote - I basically school out of this bag, it's been great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiara.I Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Staedtler Wopex pencils. Amazing. Love. Won't buy another kind of pencil for a good long time (for the kids, that is, I'll still use mechanical ones.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I wanted to add that although this wasn't a purchase for this year, I highly recommend a book cart for any family that does school stuff at a location that is different from where the materials'/curriculum are stored. So easy to just put stuff back on the cart when it is not needed, then wheel the whole thing out of the way at the end of the day. Like this one. They go on sale periodically and are extremely rugged. You can wheel them nearly anywhere and they come pre-assembled. You pull them out of the box, pop the wheels on and you are ready to go. Lots of different sizes and colors. Really, really awesome for keeping things better organized and portable. http://www.amazon.com/Sandusky-SL327-02-Bookcase-Shelves-Charcoal/dp/B003YJXA5Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422630455&sr=8-1&keywords=sandusky+book+cart&pebp=1422630457515&peasin=B003YJXA5Q Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdobis Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Best homeschool purchase by far is our co-op this year. The price is minimal, my kids and I are making great friends, they're getting an opportunity to be accountable to someone other than me, and I get to teach a couple hands-on classes. The last one is big because I enjoy teaching through games, activities, demonstrations, etc. but I feel like I never have the time or energy to do it. Signing up to teach forces me to do these things, and my daughter has really enjoyed it. I'm also in love with my simple Wal-Mart daily calendar. Nothing beats pen and paper when planning our days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clemota Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 This dry-erase board. We use it in easel form for copywork, as a lap desk for math and LA, and use its magnetic properties to hold up single pages that need to be referenced (i.e. looking at a map while answering questions). It gets FAR more use than our large wall-hanging whiteboard. Best (non-curriculum) homeschool purchase so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 A label maker. I just organized and labeled my Ikea shelves and drawers in my office. It's beautiful. CLE math 5. It's fantastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Reflex Math. I am very much a non-drill, no flash-card person so I was resistant to trying this. We have had it just over a month and Ds has played every day except Christmas because he LOVES it. And being so confident in his math facts has made math lessons his favourite part of school (previously least favourite). It would have been worth it at twice the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Oh, I almost forgot my laminator! It was a birthday present and I already couldn't do without it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awisha. Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Well, seeing as our school year has just begun (Jan-Dec schoolers), my best purchase *so far* is a label maker. That thing is SO much fun and SO addictive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystie Posted January 31, 2015 Author Share Posted January 31, 2015 *sigh* I tried mechanical pencils with my kids. They break the leads, push too much lead out...remove the erasers (which causes the lead to fall out), etc. Maybe when they're older. At this point...much of their work is done with wet erase markers on dry erase pockets anyways. Yes. I tried mechanical pencils when my older two were 5 & 7 and it did not work at all. They were too young and the pencils I bought were too cheap. Now that they're 9 & 11, though, it works great. They can keep track of their stuff (with plenty of reminding) and they have enough experience to appreciate erasers that work well. :) My 7yo is a fastidious girl, and she also does well with the mechanical pencil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatmansWife Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Reflex Math. I am very much a non-drill, no flash-card person so I was resistant to trying this. We have had it just over a month and Ds has played every day except Christmas because he LOVES it. And being so confident in his math facts has made math lessons his favourite part of school (previously least favourite). It would have been worth it at twice the price. Is it this? Is it $35 for homeschoolers...and is that for just a year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purduemeche Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Weekly date nights for mom and dad is the best money we spend every homeschool year. Period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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