This post is the third in a series all about preparing for a new homeschool year. You can find the other posts in the series here:
Organizing the Schoolroom
Choosing Curricula
Must-Have Supplies
Finding Time for Quiet Time
Choosing the Read Alouds
So in today's post, with all the wisdom of my 14+ years of homeschooling, I'm going to reveal...five supplies you really don't want to live without. I mean really.
The most important thing that I wouldn't give up, the thing that is absolutely necessary for me to homeschool, is Bible reading and prayer. If I'm not turning to God daily, I'm not going to have the strength to homeschool. I promise you.
This Bible is an awesome one to encourage homeschool moms because it's written just for use. It's a NIV Bible with a whole year's worth of devotions just for homeschool moms, written by a veteran homeschool mom. It would be great for your daily quiet time.
An Awesome Computer With WiFi
If you have a good computer and an internet connection, you can almost homeschool for free. I finally broke down and became a Mac person a couple of years ago when we had the money available for me to invest. I resisted for years.
Having now been a Windows person and a Mac person, I encourage you to go for a Mac if you're able. Two years into it, and my computer is running as well now as it when it was new. I was able to buy a new one, but if you can't, Apple does have used computers that have been totally refurbished and that run very well.
A Great Wireless Printer
Along with your awesome computer, you need a great printer. A few years ago I was given an Epson printer. It's been better than any of my previous printers and more cost effective with ink. A wireless computer is especially great because you can print from any device all over the house. When one of the kids has finished typing out an assignment, they can send the document from their phone or computer.
With all the great freebies out there created for homeschooling by homeschoolers, a good printer can truly allow you to homeschool for free or cheap. And sites like CurrClick have a huge variety of digital curricula that is inexpensive (or sometimes free).
Plastic Bins
People, I love plastic bins. I just do. We use large bins for storing school books and moving them from place to place. I use a medium size bin to organize the living books I'm currently using with the kids. We use small bins for school supplies. My craft shelves are filled with bins of all shapes and sizes that organize craft supplies. Do you get the picture?
There are so many uses for plastic bins that I'm really not sure how we could homeschool without them. They certainly make it much easier to keep things organized and to carry our materials around when we're on the go.
A Simple, Workable Lesson Planner
I have to admit that I'm a long time homeschool planner addict. In this post I cover no less than thirteen homeschool planners that I've personally tried and look at the pros and cons of all of them. The fact is that there isn't truly a "perfect" planner out there. And so we either make one work or create our own system.
One of my favorite planners is one that I reviewed after the above post was written. It's the Ultimate Homeschool Planner from Debra Bell. I like it because I can use it with my own system. I detail my lesson planning system and give away a free digital planner in my book Creating Homeschool Lesson Plans That Work. But if you want a great physical planner, the one from Debra Bell is it.
These five are my top choices? What would you choose to take on your deserted island?
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Great Choices! I want to try Moving Beyond the Page.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad we did because it was a company I had never heard of!
DeleteI was thinking about survival tools, haha. If I were on a deserted island, I'd want books. I can do without the plastic bins and the lesson planner, but not my Macbook, wifi, printer, phone, and books. :)
ReplyDeleteOh yes. Books!
ReplyDeleteThese are useful suggestions. We just started homeschooling our oldest (and she's just in PreK). For us, I've found self-laminating sheets to be invaluable. I use them to cover lots of the activity sheets she uses so they are more durable. You can also write on the laminated sheets with dry erase markers and then wipe them off and use them again.
ReplyDeleteYes! I love being able to use worksheets more than once with dry erase markers. And the kids like writing on them. :-)
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