Every homeschool family has their own list of basic homeschool supplies. These are the things they use the most. Each family’s list will be unique to that family. If the family is more artsy, then their focus may be on art supplies. If a family is more drawn to nature, their supplies may contain things to do outdoors. It all depends on the interests of your family and also your homeschooling style (Charlotte Mason, Classical, Waldorf, etc.).

My family loves the outdoors very much. We are outside every single day. We also love books. I have a home library of about a thousand books (just in my school room!). I am constantly going through them and donating the ones we no longer want or need and I’m buying new ones from our library sale all the time.

Our basic homeschool supplies are:

  1. Pencils- very good pencils. I use Ticonderoga pencils because they last longer, the leads don’t break easily, and the erasers actually erase very well.
  2. Paper- this includes lined paper, plain white paper, construction paper, etc. We go through a lot of paper because my boys love to draw while I read.
  3. Crayons- I use THIS crayon corral and my kids love it. It has a crayon sharpener and includes over 100 crayons.
  4. Notebooks- I give my boys a spelling notebook, writing journal notebook, and a drawing notebook each. We like to use one subject notebooks to keep things separate and easier for them to not get confused about which section is which. I also have my boys choose a different color each and that’s their color for the year. It helps me to be able to just grab a color and know whose notebook it is.
  5. Whiteboard and dry erase markers- I could not do life without my whiteboard and markers. Actually, I have two whiteboards. They are my life! I write our Bible verses for the week on them as well as the date, our character traits, prayer requests, spelling words, sentences to copy, and so much more. I use THESE fine point markers because they are easy to write with.
  6. Library cards- this is my favorite homeschool resource. We check out at least a hundred books a month from the library. I can easily order what we want online and pick them up when they are ready. We also get more when we get there. We have a total of five library cards. I have two (a regular one and a teacher’s card). It’s such a blessing to have a good library.
  7. Coffee- that’s for me. Ha! I only have one or two cups a day but it makes me able to function on little to no sleep. I don’t sleep well and my boys wake up early. I usually have coffee before school and a few times a week I will have a cup after school. It’s the little things in life that keep me going!

The supplies I have listed are just our basics. That means I could not do any school work without them. I could make a list with hundreds of items on it but that would take me hours to even think about. One of my favorite things about homeschooling is how unique it is to each family. You can go as big or as little as you want. You can spend thousands or nothing. Children learn no matter what environment they are in. For me, having these basic supplies on-hand guarantees that my boys will have a good day of schooling and my sanity will stay intact (for the most part!).