You have chosen your curriculum. You have thought through your year and your daily rhythm. Your school spaces are designated. It’s time to begin to gather supplies, maybe one of my favorite parts about planning A Simpler Homeschool. Who doesn’t love a new box of crayons or a few new read alouds?
Let’s walk through what you need, what you think you need, and what you probably don’t need. There is a big difference between these three. My first year I thought I needed all the things, when what I really needed was curriculum, some writing utensils, notebooks, and a few fun art supplies. I will argue that the less supplies you have, the more you will use them. The more supplies you have, well, it can all get lost and forgotten in the shuffle of read alouds, math lessons, and snack time.
Gather Supplies
1)Make a list
You’ve probably noticed I like making lists around here. List making is effective to get thoughts and ideas out of our heads and down on paper. Begin a list of supplies you need for A Simpler Homeschool. Let’s walk through some things that might go on that list.
What You Need
The Essentials
Every homeschool is going to need some supplies. Something to write with, something to write on, something to draw with, something to hold the other somethings. Think: pencils, pencil sharpener, crayons, paint, notebooks, paper, glue, folders, notecards. Look at your curriculum for the first few months and decide what is needed to complete the activities successfully. Make a list of the absolute essentials to make learning happen on a daily basis.
The Read Alouds
Using your Simpler Homeschool Year Plan, look at your read alouds for the first few weeks. If they aren’t provided with your curriculum, list the books you need to either order from your library to pick up or from your local book store if you are going to purchase.
The Organizers
We will need stuff to hold our stuff. Think through if you want each kid to have their own container to hold supplies or, if you have multiple kids, you want a community container to hold supplies. Add to your list any organizers you might need: a caddy or pencil boxes, magazine holders or baskets for books or curriculum, paper trays for paper or completed work. Use caution here, it’s always possible to get more later.
What You Think You Need
The Extras
Of course there are extra things: markers, colored pencils, fun art supplies, construction paper, learning games, dot markers, math manipulatives, sentence strips, science experiment supplies. Decide what other things you would like to have on hand for A Simpler Homeschool.
I will add some caution here. It’s easy to get carried away with excitement when it comes to supplies. (I’ve been there.) Everything looks so fun and necessary and perfect for homeschooling. Consider making a List for Now and a List for Later. You might decide you don’t need all the other stuff after all.
What You Don’t Need
Everything in the Target dollar bin
It sucks me in, too. All the pretty, primary colored things that seem too cheap and too cute to pass up. I’m not saying don’t buy anything here, but unless items are on your list, keep walking.
2)Purchase
Growing up, one of my favorite things in the world was going back to school shopping. Even though we homeschool, I still let my kids shop for school supplies.
Before you purchase any supplies, scour the house for items on your list. There is a good chance you have some of the essentials and organizers lying in a closet or drawer. As The Nester says: shop your house.
After searching your house for supplies on your list, look what you have left. Decide how you’re going to purchase the supplies needed and how much ‘help’ you will get from your kids. They might be able to choose out their folder, pencils, and pencil box. Or if they’re older, maybe they are given the list and are able to pick out everything on their own. There is value in letting kids be part of the process of gathering supplies: it will create excitement for the school year ahead.
3)Organize and Label
Once all the supplies are in one place, it’s time to organize. Put the pencils, crayons, markers, glue sticks in their place in a pencil box or community caddy. Place the paints and art supplies in a drawer or cabinet in your designated school storage space. Organize the supplies so they are easy to get to and easy to use. You don’t want to be digging through drawers to find what you need when you have kids ready for an activity or lesson.
Those of you who love a good label, now is the time to label bins and organizers.
4)Present
This is one of my favorite parts about the first days of school: presenting supplies to the kids. Even though they helped pick out some supplies, it’s still fun to make a show of it the first day of school. Lay out the supplies on the first day in a way that makes it exciting and the school year full of anticipation. Maybe even arrange a scavenger hunt for them to find their supplies on the first day. If you have older kids, you may wait to organize some of the materials until the first day so they are able to take ownership of it.
Supplies are part of the homeschool game. There are absolute essentials needed to have a successful start to the year. However, let’s not get carried away and put too much in our carts and our homes. As you gather supplies, keep in mind less really is more if we want to create A Simpler Homeschool. And if we need to purchase something later, Target isn’t going anywhere. Tell me: what supplies are on your homeschooling list?