SUPPLIES YOU NEED TO START HOMESCHOOL

Ready to start schooling your children at home?!! There are a few things you will need to purchase or borrow at the start, but it really isn’t as much as you may think. You don’t need, and I recommend not purchasing, a lot of supplies at the beginning. You will find as you go what the supplies are that you need. This will save you a lot of time & money (and space), and you will have supplies that you actually use. That said, I have made a list of supplies that I do recommend you get when you are ready to start your homeschool. Some of these are obvious, but I have included them in the list so that you can just go down the list and check off them off as you get them.

School Supply Checklist

Chairs and desks (or a table) that fit your kids. A proper size is when the child’s feet can be flat on the floor with their back against the back of the chair, without their knees sticking up (legs should be bent at a 90 degree angle). The table or desk should be about 8-10 inches above the chair, or where the child’s arms make approximately a 70-90 degree angle when rested on the desk. If you find that you don’t have chairs or a desk or a table that fits, you can usually find these things fairly inexpensively at used stores.
Pencils and crayons for younger children grades K-2; Pencils, colored pencils or crayons, highlighters, & erasable pens for grades 3-4; Pencils, pens (erasable and nonerasable), colored pencils, & highlighters for 5th grade and up. Also make sure you have a good pencil sharpener. Markers are optional.
Glue (stick and/or liquid) and scissors (appropriate size for age).
Lined paper appropriate for grade/age. I prefer notebooks that have perforated pages so the kids can rip them out. You could instead purchase loose leaf paper and a 3-ring binder.
Blank paper (regular 8.5×11 inch copy paper). If you find a good deal on it, you may also want to purchase colored copy paper, construction paper (mostly for the younger grades) or large size copy paper (like the 11×17). I also like to have a roll of white freezer paper on hand for crafts and projects.
A computer and printer for you and the kids. And flash drives to save their work on. If you know that you are going to be on the computer a lot and your kids are going to be doing a lot of digital school work, you may want to purchase tablets for each of them or at least a couple for them to share. Keep in mind, that Kindles and cell phones are also good for listening to audiobooks on.
Whiteboard(s) and dry erase markers. I recommend getting one large magnetic white board. It is nice to also have smaller white boards for kids to use at their table or desk. I like to use the low-odor dry-erase markers.
Math manipulatives appropriate for the grade levels. Decide on the math curriculum before purchasing math supplies. Then purchase the supplies based on what you will need for the lessons. This may include rulers, compasses, calculators, popsicle sticks, base-ten blocks (or you can make your own), an abacus, fraction tiles, 3D shapes, etc. I recommend only purchasing what you will need for a half year at a time, unless you find large lots of math manipulatives for sale on eBay (or a similar site) for a great price.
Books. Textbooks, workbooks, literature books, and/or reference books. What you buy here depends on the curriculum(s) you chose. Don’t forget to check your local library for literature and reference books (they may also have textbooks for loan). If you don’t find what you are looking for at your local library, ask the librarian if they are part of a library sharing program (where they partner with other nearby libraries that allow you to check out books from other libraries through your library). You can likely find used books (sometimes even unused workbooks) to purchase on eBay, Amazon, or homeschool swaps (online or locally).
Organizers! Even when you start out with a minimal amount of homeschool supplies, you need to be able to keep them organized. You will need something to keep papers and books organized. You will also want something to keep crayons, markers, pencils, math manipulatives, etc. corralled and easy to find. Here are just a few ideas for organizers… 3-ring binders, folders, pencil boxes, paper trays, small totes, file cabinets, and rolling carts.

Where to Find Supplies

It is usually fairly easy to find the supplies listed above, but I thought I listed some of the places that I shop (or have shopped at) for school supplies. Sometimes you can find some great things for the homeschooling home at thrift stores or homeschool swaps. Look for items like desks, chairs, rolling carts, 3-ring binders, books, and math manipulatives at these places. Other stores I shop at…

Office Depot, Best Buy, Walmart, & Michaels. These are all great places to purchase school supplies from that are both online or in-store. They usually have great back-to-school shopping sales in July and August.
Amazon.com. A one-stop shopping place (including books) that is online only.
Zulily.com. Another online only shopping place. Zulily is a little different from the other stores listed here in that its merchandise changes constantly (flash sales). I have found some great homeschool items at Zulily! I have purchased both consumable items like markers and craft items, and found the perfect rolling cart for my daughter.
ReallyGoodStuff.com & DiscountSchoolSupply.com. These are both school supply stores. As far as I know, they are online only.
Dollar Tree. You can find a lot of great items for your homeschool, including organizers and math manipulatives, at the Dollar Tree. Dollar Tree is online, but I prefer to buy in-store so that I can see the quality before I purchase.

This is an exciting time for you and your kiddos! You may want to check out my other posts on starting homeschooling.