You do NOT need to go out and buy a bunch of stuff to homeschool your children. In fact, I recommend that you don't! But, I do find it helpful to see what items other homeschool families actually use. These are all items we use on a weekly if not daily basis in our homeschool and have for years. They are the tried-and-true items we would rebuy again if we had to start all over again. Trust me, I've purchased many things that we ended up never using, but these are the ones we absolutely love!
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- Wooden Calendar - This is one of the few items we purchased at the start of our homeschool journey that we still use daily. This calendar has been such a helper teaching my kids how calendars work, about weather, about the seasons, and SO much more! We still use it to mark special days and holidays coming up so the kids can see them and countdown. I don't see use every getting rid of it! I'll use it for my grandkids one day!
- Book Stand - We use this book stand all the time to display our week's art print, but I also bring it down to the table almost daily to display a book for all to see for notebooking, science, art, and any other time it makes sense in our day. It folds up flat but we never have to use that feature since it's always in use!
- Craft Trays - I actually have owned these since I was a daycare provider in our home. They are large, super easy to clean, and keep all kinds of messes off our table and floor: beads, paint, slime, playdough, clay, marbles, paper, etc. If it's messy or has small pieces, it goes on a tray!
- Pencil Roll - Whenever we nature journal or the kids want to color with colored pencils, we pull out this roll. It's wonderful for taking on the go for hikes and schooling on the go, but it also works super well when sharing between children at the table.
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Family Bible and Children's Bible - We love the family bible with the margins so we can record any thoughts or things we discussed as we go through the Bible as a family. Our children really love this illustrated full-text Bible. The kids can read from it, follow along, and/or look at the pictures during our daily Bible time.
- Yoto Player and Card Binder - We LOVE Yoto players in our house! Our three daughters (5, 8, and 11) each have a Yoto Mini, but this standard size Yoto lives in our dining room where we homeschool. The kids can use it throughout the day and pull out cards from our card binders that we store most of our cards in that aren't being used or in their rooms.
- Tracing Boards - When the kids were younger, they learned to write their letters and numbers using these tracing boards. We also often use them at the table to help remind them how to form their letters. I also just think they are beautiful and love to have them displayed!
- Teacher Planner and Student Planner - This past year was our first year using the Canva template planners I designed and we have LOVED them. I'll be putting together new ones this summer to use again next year.
- "Vintage" Bluetooth Speaker - I got this speaker/radio for Christmas. We listen to audiobooks during lunch and use this speaker if the book is on my phone and not on a Yoto card. We also use it to play hymns, folk songs, composer musical pieces, and instrumental music throughout the day. It does have a radio as well which we use from time to time.
- Maps and Map Hangers - We added these maps to our pantry door in our dining/homeschool room a year and a half ago, and we reference them multiple times a day. I love the muted colors but also how large they are without being distracting.
- Digital Microscope - We've had this microscope for a few years and it's still a hit around our house! We are able to see SO much more detail than we could in the standard microscope I bought when we started homeschooling. Plus, it's wonderful because we can look at it together and notice details together at the same time, which is nearly impossible with a regular microscope. We often bring it outside or around the house just to see what everyday items and nature in our backyard looks like up close!
I hope you enjoyed! None of these items are essential to wonderfully homeschool your children, but they are items we use and love every day for most of them. I would love to know what your "ride or die" homeschool items are in the comments!