(This post contains affiliate links.)
It’s almost back to homeschool! Or… starting homeschool for the first time for many parents right now. I’ve always loved shopping for school supplies. Everything about back to school feels so new and exciting. When I first started homeschooling, I was a little bit overwhelmed without one of those handy school supply lists they always have at the store. I ended buying a lot of my supplies piece by piece because I didn’t think of things I really needed.
Well… we deserve our own homeschool supply list! These are the bare essentials of my homeschool practice. I do get extra little things (especially Montessori-style learning toys), but if you’re starting from scratch, this is a great starting place so you can stay on budget!
This list may seem overwhelming (or expensive) to newcomers. But almost all of it can be used year after year! Even if you only homeschool for one year, all your supplies can still be used for art, play, and supplementing classroom learning in the future.
*Note: I’m all about saving money. I’m a pretty uptight budgeter. It’s true that some of these can be found at the Dollar Store for a little bit cheaper. Overall, I’ve found that most homeschool supplies at the Dollar Store are just cheap quality. I still buy many homeschool posters there, but other stuff hasn’t been worth it to me. The crayons break easily, the dry erase markers dry out quickly, the whiteboard cubes stain the first time they’re used… things just seem to fall apart. I prefer to get things that I can use grade after grade.
Preschool & Kindergarten
• Crayons ($15 for 152, amazon.com)
• Watercolor paints ($3, amazon.com)
• Colored pencils ($6 for 36, amazon.com)
• Washable markers ($12, amazon.com)
• Glue sticks ($7 for 30, amazon.com)
• Washable tempura paint ($43 for 11, amazon.com)
• Paint cups ($23, amazon.com)
• Paint brushes ($12, amazon.com)
• Construction paper ($12 for 500 sheets, amazon.com)
• Wooden craft sticks, colored ($3, amazon.com) and plain ($6, amazon.com)
• Do-a-Dot Markers ($17, amazon.com)
• Butcher paper for painting ($13, amazon.com)
• Erasers ($1.50 for 3, amazon.com)
• Liquid glue ($16, amazon.com) & Borax ($15, amazon.com) for making slime
• Toddler training scissors ($7 for 6, amazon.com)
• Dry erase markers ($10 for 15 with erasers, amazon.com)
• Dry erase pockets ($29 for 30 + markers, amazon.com)
• Small blank white board ($18 for 6, amazon.com)
• Small lined white board for handwriting ($18 for 5, amazon.com)
• Fine motor tool set ($13, amazon.com) & toddler tweezers ($13, amazon.com)
• Plastic counters ($8 for 500, amazon.com)
• ABC puzzles ($19 for uppercase only, amazon.com; $15 for uppercase and lowercase, amazon.com)
• Kindle ($130, amazon.com)
• Math manipulatives ($13 for linking cubes, amazon.com)
• Dry erase blocks ($14 for 4, amazon.com)
• Magnetic wands ($12 for kit, amazon.com)
• Pocket chart for reading ($19 for 4, amazon.com)
• Emotions flipbook — it’ll help you so much with social and emotional learning and behavior management! ($17, amazon.com)
Elementary School
• Crayons ($15 for 152, amazon.com)
• Watercolor paints ($3, amazon.com)
• Colored pencils ($6 for 36, amazon.com)
• Washable markers ($12, amazon.com)
• Glue sticks ($7 for 30, amazon.com)
• Washable tempura paint ($43 for 11, amazon.com)
• Paint cups ($23, amazon.com)
• Paint brushes ($12, amazon.com)
• Construction paper ($12 for 500 sheets, amazon.com)
• Wooden craft sticks, colored ($3, amazon.com) and plain ($6, amazon.com)
• Do-a-Dot Markers ($17, amazon.com)
• Butcher paper for painting ($13, amazon.com)
• Erasers ($1.50 for 3, amazon.com)
• Liquid glue ($16, amazon.com) & Borax ($15, amazon.com) for making slime
• Training scissors ($7 for 6, amazon.com)
• Dry erase markers ($10 for 15 with erasers, amazon.com)
• Dry erase pockets ($29 for 30 + markers, amazon.com)
• Small blank white board ($18 for 6, amazon.com)
• Small lined white board for handwriting ($18 for 5, amazon.com)
• Fine motor tool set ($13, amazon.com) & toddler tweezers ($13, amazon.com)
• Plastic counters ($8 for 500, amazon.com)
• Dry erase blocks ($14 for 4, amazon.com)
• Magnetic wands ($12 for kit, amazon.com)
• Pocket chart for reading ($19 for 4, amazon.com)
• Emotions flipbook — it’ll help you so much with social and emotional learning and behavior management! ($17, amazon.com)
• Montessori clock ($12, amazon.com)
• Math manipulatives ($13 for linking cubes, amazon.com; $16 for fractions, amazon.com)
• Globe ($30, amazon.com)
• Wide-ruled loose leaf paper ($3.50 for 100 sheets, amazon.com)
• Binder dividers ($6, amazon.com)
• Binders ($11 for 4, amazon.com)
• Folders ($14 for 12, amazon.com)
• Rulers ($6 for 6, amazon.com)
• Wide-ruled notebooks ($11 for 6, amazon.com)
• Pens ($11 for 24, amazon.com)
• Pencils ($5 for 30, amazon.com)
• Highlighters ($5 for 12, amazon.com)
• Kindle ($130, amazon.com)
Middle School
• Crayons ($15 for 152, amazon.com)
• Watercolor paints ($3, amazon.com)
• Colored pencils ($6 for 36, amazon.com)
• Washable markers ($12, amazon.com)
• Glue sticks ($7 for 30, amazon.com)
• Washable tempura paint ($43 for 11, amazon.com)
• Paint cups ($23, amazon.com)
• Paint brushes ($12, amazon.com)
• Construction paper ($12 for 500 sheets, amazon.com)
• Wooden craft sticks, colored ($3, amazon.com) and plain ($6, amazon.com)
• Butcher paper for painting ($13, amazon.com)
• Erasers ($1.50 for 3, amazon.com)
• Liquid glue ($16, amazon.com) & Borax ($15, amazon.com) for making slime
• Dry erase markers ($10 for 15 with erasers, amazon.com)
• Dry erase pockets ($29 for 30 + markers, amazon.com)
• Small blank white board ($18 for 6, amazon.com)
• Small lined white board for cursive ($18 for 5, amazon.com)
• Plastic counters ($8 for 500, amazon.com)
• Dry erase blocks ($14 for 4, amazon.com)
• Scissors ($8 for 3, amazon.com)
• Graphing calculator ($40, amazon.com)
• Math manipulatives ($13 for linking cubes, amazon.com; $16 for fractions, amazon.com)
• Globe ($30, amazon.com)
• Wide-ruled loose leaf paper ($3.50 for 100 sheets, amazon.com)
• Binder dividers ($6, amazon.com)
• Binders ($11 for 4, amazon.com)
• Folders ($14 for 12, amazon.com)
• Rulers ($6 for 6, amazon.com)
• Wide-ruled notebooks ($11 for 6, amazon.com)
• Pens ($11 for 24, amazon.com)
• Pencils ($5 for 30, amazon.com)
• Highlighters ($5 for 12, amazon.com)
• Sharpies— what kid doesn’t love coloring with Sharpies? ($15 for 24, amazon.com)
• Kindle ($130, amazon.com)
Teacher (You!)
• Desk organizer ($15, amazon.com)
• Bins to organize all your gear. We use a large cubical organizer with bins ($133 for cubical shelf, amazon.com). If you don’t have a dedicated homeschool room, you can use a smaller organizer ($76, amazon.com)
• Cardstock ($10 for 250 sheets, amazon.com)
• Laminator ($49—includes 200 pouches, amazon.com)
• Extra laminator pouches ($14 for 100, amazon.com)
• 3-hole punch ($8, amazon.com)
• Stapler ($6, amazon.com)
• Large white board ($50, amazon.com)
• Dry erase board cleaner ($3, amazon.com)
• Electric pencil sharpener ($15, amazon.com)
• Homeschool planner ($4)
• Printer — Laser printers cost more upfront, but DEFINITELY pay off in the long-run. We have a laser printer for black & white ($250, amazon.com) and an inkjet printer for color ($89, amazon.com). If I could start from the beginning, I would just get a laser printer for everything ($449, amazon.com). It saves so much money. (No ink! Lots of printables!)
Download the full list as a pdf
What about you?
What are your favorite homeschool “bonus” supplies? Comment and let me know!
