If you’re new to homeschooling, or just changing your approach and wondering what supplies you need to buy, this post is for you. I’m going to make this simple and straightforward.
Disclaimer: I may receive a commission from the affiliate links included in this post, at no extra cost to you.
No, I’m not going to make a ton of unnecessary and expensive suggestions, but you will need a good printer and if you can afford it, a laminator is great too. Let’s get started!
Supplies for homeschooling that don’t cost money
Before you spend a dime, take a look at the most crucial necessities first.
- Your child needs YOU. And your child needs to see you taking this on with courage, research (which you’re obviously doing right now), all the support you can find and maybe a couple of prayers. A confident parent (whether you feel like it or not) helps the child feel secure and respond better. You CAN do this.
- MOTIVATION. Why have you decided to homeschool? If you haven’t written your WHY down yet, do that FIRST and put it on the wall. You’re going to need it.
- Courage, tons of patience, a teachable and humble attitude and all the love you have in your heart. These things are priceless and you cannot by them. They come by choice and by practice. Get ready for a lot of practicing – the rewards are worth it!
- A routine of some sort – if you don’t have one yet, check out this post for help.
- A plan – check out this post on planning.
- Accountability regarding self-care (you do take care of yourself, right?), or you will over-pressure yourself, freak out and burn out. Remember, your child needs you.
- Coffee. Lots of coffee. Or tea. Or smoothies. Whatever gives you a little extra sanity!
Supplies for homeschooling that don’t cost much
For parents with young children especially, you can get away with a very cheap setup. The items on this list are cheap and you probably already have a lot of these items in your home. Whatever you don’t have, you can get on special and/or second-hand where applicable.
Stationery supplies for homeschooling
- Dry-erase board/chalkboard and chalk/markers
- Fun band-aids
- Glue
- Scissors
- Sharpener
- Ruler
- Eraser
- Crayons, pencils, pens
- Highlighters, markers
- Paint and paintbrushes
- Construction paper, colorful and plain
- Cardboard (recycle!)
- Binders
- Notebooks (buy cheap and decorate them yourself)
- Stickers
- Playdough
- A storage box or two for these items
- Popsicle sticks
- String
- Tape (lots and lots of tape)
- Post-it notes
Basic toys for homeschooling
- Set of plastic animals
- A few stuffed toys or puppets
- Toy cars
- A ball or two
- A few dolls
- Set of outdoor toys (think beach set of spades and buckets)
- Lego and/or other construction toys
- An instrument or two (recorder, harmonica, ukulele, mini keyboard – start small)
Slightly more expensive supplies for homeschooling
- A good quality, economical printer, like an Epson Inktank
- Laminator
- Inflatable globe (or a wall poster map of the world)
- Laptop (for teenagers)
Other essential homeschooling supplies
- Storage (shelving, boxes or crates) for all the above
- Internet access
- Library card
- Museum passes
- Nature reserve passes
- Basic home tools
- Basic gardening tools
- Board games and card games
- Outdoor activity stuff like a trampoline, bikes, skateboards, etc.
Want a free printable of this list? Click on the image below!
Remember, the idea is to let your child have the basics, explore their interests and then you add to what you have depending on what they want to do.
Be resourceful – start with the supplies you already have for homeschooling
Homeschooling is a fantastic opportunity to teach children to be resourceful and create things with what you have, using their imagination. That’s the best kind of play and very educational!
The internet is great, but there are some things it cannot teach you, like the potential in your imagination once you put it to good use.
Parents, please don’t be overwhelmed and feel pressured to buy everything that you see, or that other parents seem to buy/have/use. Do what works for YOUR family and YOUR budget, without feeling guilty.
You have a lot more to offer your child as a homeschooling parent than you think. Chin up!
Do you have any other homeschooling essentials not mentioned above? Share below and let’s help each other out!
