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What basic items does every homeschooler need?


kagmypts
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Pencils. Mine must eat them too. (Sometimes I offer them a nickel for every pencil they find around the house. They usually come up with 30+ pencils. :lol: It's cheaper than buying new, the kids get $ :hurray: , and it saves trees.)

 

Pencil Sharpener - the kind that screws into the wall. It won't get lost. (see below)

 

 

A designated spot for *YOUR* supplies. (...or your office supplies will be scattered hither and yon...)

 

 

Paper. Lined paper, printer paper, construction paper, graph paper, tag board...

 

Notebooks, sketchbooks

 

 

Comfy couch, well-lit table or desks.

 

Designated water bottles for each child. (If they are spill-proof, all the better. No stopping for water or spills.)

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*A friend who has all Macs can see what her kids are doing on their laptops from her desk top. Maybe pcs have this ability as well, but after going through many pcs, I am becoming a Mac convert.

 

 

oooh, want that ... they have PCs.. off to look into this... I know this is doable

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Computer

Printer

Printer paper

Lined writing paper

Art paper (construction, blank, etc)

Pencils (I cut my Ticonderogas in half ala HWT)

Erasers (I prefer white brick style, and pencil top)

Crayons (sprang for Lyra beeswax ones)

Colored Pencils (sprang for art pencil set of 50)

Colored markers

Sharpies

Scissors

Glue (white and glue stick)

Scotch tape

Stapler (get a full size one that reaches deep)

Ruler

Paper clips

White board (anywhere from lap size to 2x3')

Dry erase pens

Board Eraser

Binders (we like the Better Binders)

Hole punch

Sheet protectors

Divider tabs

 

 

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At the beginning of each year, besides the boring stuff, I buy a few fun pencils and notebooks and a small fun toy for each child. I make up a treasure hunt and at the end is their supplies.

 

Last year I just took them shopping with me instead and let them buy a few fun things, I asked them if they would rather do the treasure hunt or go shopping and pick their own, they opted to shop. They had fun shopping, we must have spent an hour in the school supplies section going back and forth looking at things within their spending allotment.

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Computer

Printer

Printer paper

Lined writing paper

Art paper (construction, blank, etc)

Pencils (I cut my Ticonderogas in half ala HWT)

Erasers (I prefer white brick style, and pencil top)

Crayons (sprang for Lyra beeswax ones)

Colored Pencils (sprang for art pencil set of 50)

Colored markers

Sharpies

Scissors

Glue (white and glue stick)

Scotch tape

Stapler (get a full size one that reaches deep)

Ruler

Paper clips

White board (anywhere from lap size to 2x3')

Dry erase pens

Board Eraser

Binders (we like the Better Binders)

Hole punch

Sheet protectors

Divider tabs

 

 

This list is practically identical to the list I just typed up and decided to delete, lol.

 

I would add:

 

post-it notes

sticky tabs

paper clips

white address labels (for labeling anything - drawers, folders, workbooks, etc - I <3 labels)

children's dictionary (or normal if your kids are older)

atlas

netflix

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This is a dangerous thread. I thought I had a LOT of homeschool stuff. Apparently not!

 

I have stuff that is on here that I use (or should), but only because I got it when our business closed! :D

 

I use the heck out of my rotary trimmer, and that easy to use stapler I borrowed from my mom - she's not getting back. I love my oversized stapler, but I think a little person got ahold of it and it doesn't like to work right now :( I'm hoping it is just the cartridges I had out, I see I can buy more easily and will have to do that and hope it still works! (it was another from work thing - I did not spend that much for it).

 

http://www.itoya.com/Catalogs/Staplers/Staplers_htm/ST5.htm

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So I guess I'm going to need a printer eventually, eh?

 

Not if you feel you have a decent flow for dealing with ebooks and such without printing.

 

I don't print them, I read them on my iPad. I do print worksheets for my DD - she cannot handle PDFs on the iPad for everything.

 

I love my printer btw :D

 

OH, and Dover coloring books - they copy pages constantly.....

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I highly recommend a roll of paper towels for just the school room. It may last you all year or just a month if your youngest has a glitter/paint addiction. I also have a small shop vac just for the school room. Glitter kills. LOL. Microfiber doesn't like it either.

 

If you have a construction company near you, ask if they will save some old blueprints for you. They are great for covering the table for art, science, etc.

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Get to know your local Goodwill stores, Salvation Army stores etc.

 

I've found awesome supplies there for great prices. Sample of things I've found/bought from Goodwill:

- globes

- white ceramic dishes and plastic muffin pans for great, inexpensive paint palettes

- dictionaries, thesarus, textbooks, books clearly used by people doing classical homeschooling (seriously: books about Ancient Greeks for kids), full set of Little House on the Prarie, books donated by sonlighters, Math U See dvds and manipulatives, etc, etc.

- bookshelves, plastic drawers on wheels, file cabinet, AWESOME adjustable height 30" by 5 foot table for kids

 

 

Some place to store supplies that is OFF LIMITS for the kids.

 

Book shelf or box or basket used only for Library Books (those lost book fines add up....)

 

During the school supply sales (mentioned in earlier posts), stock up on cheap spiral notebooks, glue, and washable markers for kids. In my area, huge bargains on these items at that one time during the year.

 

Art supply advice: At some point (probably not immediately, stock up on Real art supplies at sites like

Jerry's artarama ( http://www.jerrysartarama.com ),

Cheap Joes(http://www.cheapjoes.com)

blick (http://www.dickblick.com/)

Sign up for emails at those sites so you will get informed about sales. Buy everything at once so you get free shipping. Jerry's and Blicks have lots of kid specific paint. Pay attention to whether art supplies are non-toxic (for kids), or for artists (which sometimes have toxic ingredients), though some 'artist' supplies can be non-toxic.

 

Stuff I (think I) can't live without:

 

-amazon prime

- lots of good books (fiction and non-fiction) for the kids- not books for any particular class or reason, just good books they can read as desired

- computer and internet

- math manipulatives

- pencils and paper

 

BTW: I love my brother laser printer that can do duplex (have I mentioned I love it?), but I could do school without it. I use it because sometimes I purchase PDFs I can print rather than books. But I could just buy the books instead if I didn't have a printer.

 

misc supplies:

inexpensive cloth tape measure (can double as a numberline), CD player.

 

 

Things I have and have not used (and may never use)

whiteboard (big and small)

laminator

cheapie educational scales (imprecise so confusing)

 

My most desired supply: a double recliner or sofa recliner so all of us can cuddle, er study, with our feet up. Its getting awfully uncomfortable impossible for my 2 kids and me to cram into my recliner.

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A super awesome coffee travel mug from which you actually enjoy drinking. Seriously. No joke. This will revolutionize your school day :) I spilled coffee, or it was knocked over way too many times on my homeschool books. It also keeps the coffee hot for most of the school day.

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You have a good list of recommendations here. Just wanted to chime in to tell you to buy these erasers: http://www.amazon.co...?ie=UTF8&psc=1. :D

 

Really good coffee and/or tea.

 

Did anyone say post-its? They are always in my pocket. :tongue_smilie:

 

Does anyone know if these erasers properly fit Ticonderoga pencils? Last year I bought a pack of those colored pencil-top erasers from Walmart, and they were just too loose on our black Ticonderoga pencils. It was very annoying! I want good pencils with erasers that fit!!

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Does anyone know if these erasers properly fit Ticonderoga pencils? Last year I bought a pack of those colored pencil-top erasers from Walmart, and they were just too loose on our black Ticonderoga pencils. It was very annoying! I want good pencils with erasers that fit!!

 

I use mostly Mirado Black Warrior pencils, which appear to be a normal size pencil, and they fit those just fine. We occasionally get holiday pencils or fun patterns for school and they fit those too. I can't promise anything because I don't use Ticonderogas, but they don't wiggle on any regular size pencils here.

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I use mostly Mirado Black Warrior pencils, which appear to be a normal size pencil, and they fit those just fine. We occasionally get holiday pencils or fun patterns for school and they fit those too. I can't promise anything because I don't use Ticonderogas, but they don't wiggle on any regular size pencils here.

 

 

Did not know these existed, now in my amazon cart. Thanks, Kristina!;)

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I use mostly Mirado Black Warrior pencils, which appear to be a normal size pencil, and they fit those just fine. We occasionally get holiday pencils or fun patterns for school and they fit those too. I can't promise anything because I don't use Ticonderogas, but they don't wiggle on any regular size pencils here.

 

 

Thanks! I've heard that those are good pencils as well. I'll look into getting those. I like the way Ticonderoga pencils write, but I've found the erasers to be rather crappy. They break off easily.

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You gals are all amazing. Although chocolate was definitely high on your lists whiskey was not even mentioned once. :lol: I couldn't help but think of that when I first read the title of thread. Not that we're big drinkers after starting homeschooling or anything. :p lol... BTW, lock on the bathroom is a definite requirement. Flexibility and patience are also high on the list.

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Thank you all for your awesome suggestions. I actually feel much more prepared after reading through everything, and for the most part, we are in pretty good shape! For the following items, what specific brand would you recommend?

 

 

Atlas - Would you get one book for the world and one for the USA? Which brand?

Pencil Sharpener

Dictionary - At what age did you transition from an elementary to collegiate dictionary?

Thesaurus

Wall Maps - plan to get both USA and world

 

Thank you again, and I will be sure to post pictures when we are up and running!

 

We have the Usborne and DK world atlases, and they're both really good. The Usborne one is nice because it's a thinner paperback, so dd can hold it herself when she wants to look through it. The DK atlas is very extensive and detailed, but it's a beast to hold.

 

Can't help with the pencil sharpener/dictionary/thesaurus, but we got a huge laminated world map from Office Max. It's so big that I had to nail it to the wall. No way is that thing staying up with tacks. :p They have US maps like that, too. If you have the wall space, they're awesome.

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@junebug Post it highlighting flags. I get the bright colored ones. I first found them at Wal-Mart, but when I went back to get more they didn't have any in stock. I found them on Amazon and keep them on my wish list. I don't like marking in our books so I have taught the kiddos to use these to highlight their answers so they don't lose their place. I also use them as start and stop markers, if you use pencil you can erase them and I use them til they don't stick anymore.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Thought I would bump this older thread back up as we rapidly approach the "Back to School" supplies sales.

 

Thank you!  The "Back to School" sales started this past Sunday here in Atlanta.  Of course, the local kids head back to school in a few weeks.

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