Every family who has embarked on the homeschooling journey needs a handful of essential materials and tools around the house to help them succeed on this daring adventure. Of course, we use the term “essential” here loosely, as all anyone really needs to learn anything is a curious mind and a motivation to seek out knowledge. Even still, any parent and student can benefit from the best homeschool supplies covered in this post.
Let’s dive in!
The Ultimate Homeschool Supplies List
Whether your family does the majority of your learning in a dedicated homeschool room or just everywhere and anywhere around the house or backyard, here are the homeschool essentials (and some bonus nonessentials still super helpful) to have in your home school.
Your Curriculum
This goes without saying, but unless your family is taking an unschooling approach to homeschooling, you need a homeschool curriculum to know what to study and to keep your family on track toward your learning goals.
Read: “Different Homeschool Methods Explained”
Writing Utensils, Notebooks, and Accessories
As far as writing utensils, make sure to have an ample supply of pens, pencils, and highlighters as well as colored pens, pencils, and highlighters. While some families have preferences when it comes to brands and pen point sizes, know that any writing stylus will do the trick.
Of course, you and your student will need something to write on. Consider keeping several stacks of printer paper, construction paper, and college-ruled notebook paper in your home for miscellaneous projects and assignments that arise. And to keep your student organized, invest in quality notebooks or binders for each of their subjects.
Whiteboard and Markers
A modern upgrade from the traditional one-room schoolhouse chalkboard and chalk (although those materials will work just as well) is a whiteboard and markers.
Although more of a nice-to-have than a homeschool necessity, drawing on a whiteboard can be especially helpful for visualizing math problems, quickly mocking up graphs, or doodling along during a read-aloud.
Art Supplies
Every child will benefit from having a supply of art materials on hand in which to draw, create, and paint. Tools such as paint, brushes, clay, scissors, beads, construction paper, glue, and string are excellent to keep a stock of in the home, especially if you are a parent of a young student in the Classical Conversations® Foundations program.
Read: “The Joy of the Foundations Program”
Reference Materials
While less common in homeschool households today due to widespread and high-speed internet access, reference resources like a dictionary, thesaurus, atlas, and even a world globe or map can be incredibly helpful to keep in your stock of homeschool supplies.
Although it’s never been easier to look up a term’s definition or city’s location on Google, learning how to read and navigate reference materials like these remains a valuable skill. And, aside from preparing your student to research challenging topics for college projects and papers, learning to read a reference book will, if nothing else, demonstrate how fortunate we are to have the internet as a tool.
A Family Computer
Speaking of the internet, it’s basically a necessity to have some sort of computer in the home. This is especially true if you plan to make use of online resources, such as those on CC Connected (although you can just as easily access this platform from your phone or tablet).
Aside from using a computer to write research papers and persuasive essays for assignments, this tool is invaluable if your student takes an interest to learning digital skills outside the scope of your curriculum, such as programming or graphic design.
A Printer
Although you can print off school papers and other assignments at a local library or office supplies store, nothing quite compares to being able to print directly from the convenience of your own home.
Scientific Calculator
Yes, everyone has a calculator app on their smartphone these days. But as your student enters the high school years, it’s important for them to be able to use a heavy-duty scientific calculator, such as the Texas Instruments TI-36X Pro. Higher-level math like pre-calculus will be very difficult without one of these tools, as will performing well on standardized tests like the SAT.
Science Tools
While not strictly necessary for your home school, scientific tools such as a microscope, magnifying glass, glass beakers, and even a dissection kit or telescope are amazing resources in helping to teach your student about biology, chemistry, and astronomy. These tools aid in hands-on learning that, especially when experienced together as a family, creates invaluable and memorable experiences.
Learning Games and Building Blocks
For families of young children, games and building blocks such as LEGO® that encourage learning and creativity are staples to include in the homeschool supplies. Aside from helping your student develop fine-motor skills and perhaps learn a things or two about math or engineering, these kinds of hands-on learning tools are an excellent way to have fun together as a family.
Books
If nothing else, your home school needs books. From fiction novels to history books to science textbooks, there is so much we can learn from others who have taken time to distill their knowledge, ideas, and stories into written form.
Fortunately, books these days are readily available and, for the most part, inexpensive when purchased used or from online on sites like our own bookstore or ChristianBook.com.
Read: “Best Books for Homeschooling Parents”
What’s in Your List of Homeschool Supplies?
What homeschool supplies have we missed? Let us know by tagging us on Instagram or Facebook with what homeschool necessities your family keeps in your home.
Not yet a Classical Conversations member and interested in our community-based approach to homeschooling? We’d love to hear from you! To learn more about us, click here.
