Must-Have Homeschool Supplies

Over the years, my kids and I have set up our homeschool area in various spaces. We had a dedicated homeschool room, a space in our dining room and even pulled out boxes each day to do school in our kitchen. Even with all the different setups that we’ve had over the years, there are still some must-have homeschool supplies that I love to have on hand.

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Must-Have Homeschool Supplies

Here is a list of my must-have homeschool supplies plus a few extra items that are not essential but that I absolutely love. What things are essential for you when it comes to homeschooling?

Pencils and Pens

When it comes to must-have homeschool supplies, I think pencils and pens are on the top of the list. Your child has to have something to write with when doing their school work.

My younger kids enjoy using Ticonderoga pencils. We go through them fast so I purchase a large supply in the beginning of every school year. My older kids enjoy using mechanical pencils or ballpoint pens when doing their school work.

All my kids enjoy using Frixion erasable pens as well. We only use them on school work that I don’t plan on saving because heat can make the ink disappear. But, they make math worksheets a lot more fun to do!

I also like to have some red pencils that the kids can use to mark their spelling words, writing assignments or use for correcting their own work. And of course, you have to have some colored pencils.

Pencil Sharpener

With all those different kinds of pencils, a good pencil sharpener is in order! I have tried so many different types of pencil sharpeners over the years. My favorite sharpener by far is the Classroom Friendly Pencil Sharpener. It is pretty pricey but it has held up great over the years and sharpens pencils better than any other sharpener I have tried. Other homeschool moms have told me that there is a similar one that is a little cheaper. I can’t vouch for the quality but you might like to check it out here.

Markers and Crayons

From preschool to high school, I have found markers and crayons to be essential homeschool supplies. They come in handy for crafts and projects and for keeping the little ones busy while their older siblings do school work.

Paper

Every homeschool needs paper! I like to have a variety of paper on hand for homeschooling. Depending on the ages of the kids that I am homeschooling at the time, we usually have dotted lined paper, wide rule paper and college rule paper. I also like to keep some printer paper (for drawing) and construction paper on hand as well.

Some other paper related items that are must-have homeschool supplies for us are index cards in various sizes, tracing paper, journals and spiral bound notebooks.

3-hole punch

My kids and I use our 3-hole punch every single school day. I have them store their worksheets, drawings, and other assignments in 3-ring binders which means all those papers need to be hole punched. We have one similar to this one.

Scissors

I need a good pair of scissors for cutting out all the flashcards, activities and crafts that come with the various curriculums I use. I also like to have kid-friendly scissors for my younger kids to use.

Glue and Tape

I use to think that glue sticks and Elmers glue were only must-have homeschool supplies when I had younger kids. As my kids have gotten older I am realizing that these supplies still come in handy for all the projects they have to do. I also like to have some scotch tape on hand to repair ripped worksheets.

Self-Adhesive Laminating Sheets

Many homeschool moms make good use of a laminating machine but I don’t laminate things enough to justify such an expensive purchase. For my laminating needs, self-adhesive laminating sheets work great. I use two sheets when I laminate things. One sheet on each side of the paper or flahscards. Everything that I have laminated with these sheets has held up great.

Small Whiteboard or Lapboard

Sometimes I like to curl up on the couch with my kids to do a lesson. That is when a small whiteboard or lapboard comes in handy. Anything that I may have written on a large whiteboard for them to copy can be written on the small whiteboard.

My younger kids also enjoy doing some of their school work on lapboards. It is a nice break from worksheets. They can use them to work out math problems, practice spelling words and much more.

Large Whiteboard

My large whiteboard is one of my favorite homeschool supplies. I have had several large whiteboards over the years and even made one from shower board. Some years the whiteboards get hung on walls and other years they get propped up during school time. A magnetic whiteboard has to be my favorite. I love that I can hang things on it and write on it.

Dry Erase Markers

I love dry erase markers. I use them on our large magnetic white board and my kids use them with their lapboards. I even let my toddler use them during school time to color on his worksheets that I put in page protector sheets. This way he can reuse the same worksheets over and over again by just wiping the dry erase markers off of the page protector sheets!

My favorite dry erase markers are by Expo. They seem to be the only ones that don’t “ghost” or leave a shadow behind after erasing. I buy one pack of thicker dry erase markers for the large white board and a pack of the smaller ones for the kids.

Binders and Dividers

Ever since I started homeschooling, I have made use of 3-ring binders and dividers. I keep different size binders on hand for all the various uses I get out of them. I prefer the view binders that have the clear sleeve on the front so my kids can decorate their binders.

Any binder dividers will work. I have come to love the ones with pockets. They come in a set with 5 dividers and one with 8 dividers. They have allowed me to organize my younger children’s work in a way that helps them work more independently. You can watch a video on how I organize the binders for independent work here.

World and US Wall Maps

Geography just isn’t the same without being able to see where everything is located. I always have a world map and a United States map on hand. Sometimes we hang it on the wall and other times the maps are folded up and pulled out when needed. I’ve used many over the years but I’d like to snag these ones in the future.

Globe

I love having a globe on hand to show my kids where things are at. Sometimes they have a hard time understanding the size, location or shape of a continent, ocean or country on a flat wall map. The globe is a more realistic look at the earth.

I love this one from Amazon. I have purchased it twice. It is actually quite sturdy and holds up well. The only reason our first one didn’t last more than 10 years is because I accidentally knocked it off of a tall bookshelf onto our tile floor. Surprisingly, the globe itself stayed in tack. It was only the stand that cracked.

Favorite Homeschool Supplies

There are a few homeschool supplies that are not essential but I just couldn’t imagine homeschooling without them. They include “My Student Logbooks“, these wonderful wall mounted file holders that work great for storing iPads, and Ikea bookshelves!