What Supplies Do I Need To Homeschool?

There is probably this initial assumption that you need to recreate school in your home. Or how you need this beautiful homeschool room, or even just a separate room to homeschool. What supplies do you need to homeschool? The answer is simple… whatever your children enjoy!

I will make a list with links at the end of this post with everything we have/use in our homeschool.

I know, that wasn’t the answer you were looking for. It is the truth though. We don’t use a big chalk/white board. We barely even use the desk half the time. I do not have a big heavy duty printer, nor do I have the walls covered in many posters. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE looking at beautiful homeschool rooms on the internet. The matching posters and beautiful aesthetic of them make me happy. But that isn’t our reality.

It more than likely won’t be yours either, and THAT IS OKAY! In the beginning I thought about all the things I wanted our homeschool room to look like, and all the things I needed to buy. We started in August of 2018, and I came to realize very quickly, the room doesn’t matter. We homeschool in our dining room, living room, their bedrooms, the van, at parks and in doctor offices. Don’t overthink this, it is as simple as you make it.

So what supplies do you really need to homeschool?

Well, curriculum or at least a plan for what your kids will learn. There are many who “unschool” and their kids get into college and make it in the workforce just as well as public school kids or homeschool kids whose parents choose the boxes of curriculum. But, do have somewhat of a plan.

We have used Gather Round Homeschool and The Good and The Beautiful. Gather Round is great since it’s a new unit every 20ish lessons and it is all subjects in one notebook except math. You teach from one teacher’s guide and each student as a notebook on their own level. Our kids loved picking out a unit they were interested in.

The Good and The Beautiful (TGATB) is what we are using at this moment for our main curriculum. It isn’t as parent involved for the older levels, with many of the lessons the student is able to do most of the work on their own. We have Language Arts, Math, Handwriting and Science. We do not have a History curriculum, I am currently looking for a good one as TGATB are set to overhaul their History units.

I’ll probably do a more in depth curriculum post in the future.

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Next make sure to have a box of favorite pencils and pens. Along with some good markers, Sophia likes the paint brush type since it’s more smooth, scissors, crayons and paper. A good size package of plain computer paper, lined paper and construction paper. I also recommend at least one notebook or composition book per child for handwriting practice or journaling. But this could be easily put together with some lined paper in a three ring binder.

We do have mini dry erase boards, one for each kid. Sometimes math is easier on these boards or spelling tests. Just write the word and then erase it, saves on paper. If you need to document it for your portfolio, just snap a picture. Some rubber bands or paper clips and that’s basically it.

In reality, back to school shopping for your household is what you’re doing. The great thing is, you’ll only have to buy a major bulk of all this one time and then do mini refills here and there every school year. I don’t know the last time I purchased paper clips, rubber bands, pencils, pens, markers, dry erase markers/boards or construction/lined paper. We go through a lot of printer paper only because I printed the Gather Round curriculum myself, three hole punched it and put them in binders. The teacher’s guide I never printed, just left it as a pdf on my computer.

You do not need a laptop or computer or tablet for every kid. Unless you choose to do a major bulk of their lessons/curriculum online, those are not necessities. Believe me, we bought Sophia and Liam their own Chromebooks for school when we first started annnnnd they don’t even use them for school unless they’re typing up a paper and even then it’s on the main family computer.

Homeschooling is just back to the basics

What supplies you need to homeschool really comes down to the basics, and to even just begin all you need to do is start teaching and letting your kid learn from all around them. I want to make sure you know all these items are NOT necessary, it is just what WE have in our home at this time. When we started we had the bare minimum and it worked out buying as we needed and not all at once. Our kids learn more from the outside world than any classroom can teach them.

I believe every parent should consider homeschooling their kids at some point. See if it is possible, because I promise you letting them learn the way they as individuals learn best and through their passions; you’ll see an entirely different child.

So whether you choose the unschooling method, Charlotte Mason, all bookwork, all online, through nature or everyday life; just know as long as your child is growing they are learning. Children aren’t meant to fit inside these boxes society has placed on them. Everyone is an individual, including children.

This post contains affiliate links, meaning that if you choose to click through and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Here is what we have in our home for homeschool supplies:

Read about why we homeschool here.

So what supplies do you really need to homeschool?

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Homeschooling is just back to the basics

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