After 8 years of teaching in a brick and mortar school building, my family took the plunge, so to speak, into the world of home schooling. It was something we had been praying about for quite some time, but after I experienced a beautiful “calling” at Epiphany Mass, we finally decided to take the leap! As a bonus, our kids (ages 5 & 7) were so excited to start a new adventure! We have had NO regrets and are now preparing to start year #2!

Unfortunately, making the decision didn’t take away the anxiety I felt in getting started. I had a lot of questions and was overwhelmed by all the options out there. Thankfully I had a lot of friends and family to rely on, but, recognizing that not everyone does, I decided to take their wisdom and advice (mixed with things I learned) and create a “Back to School List” for the beginner.

Before we get to daily supplies, I’d like to break down the areas I focused on (in order) in an attempt to help you find some peace of mind in your own homeschool preparations. If you’re like me, that is - VERY Type A - you like lists and enjoy crossing things off, OR checking boxes - such a satisfying feeling! And if you’re not a list person like me, hopefully you can read through this and get an idea of what you need to accomplish for your first year.

I’m calling this, the readiness checklist:

🏠 Choose your space

I have been in a lot of homeschool “rooms” in the last year and let me just say - there is no limit to where you can homeschool. I know some families that have a dedicated room, which is amazing, but not everyone has an extra room and they have to get creative. Have school in the dining room, school in the living room, school outside - No matter where you homeschool, I highly recommend some kind of cart or storage shelf that is specific to your homeschool materials. Your brain will thank you! 

A rolling cart like this is easy to tuck away when not in use, AND a great space saver! Rolling Cart

If you want a more permanent solution that looks nice added to a room, consider something like this Storage Cabinet

We do school in our basement. Thankfully it is finished so we just added some cabinets with a countertop, an old kitchen table, and a whiteboard to complete the space!

📚 Pick your curriculum

I am a bit nerdy about curriculum and am still learning a LOT, so all I’m going to say for now is: Do what YOU think is best for your child. There are so many options out there and so many people that have an opinion about what’s best. But let me tell you, after spending a year second guessing my choices, only YOU know what your child needs. After you’ve gotten through year one, you can reevaluate and switch things up if you want, so don’t worry - You’ve got this! 

⏲️ Make a daily schedule(ish)

As previously mentioned, I am a Type A person who spent 8 years teaching various grade levels (K-8) - I thrive off of schedules! The summer before we actually started school, I had every hour planned out from 8AM to 1PM. It didn’t take long for me to realize that while this works well (and I would say is necessary) in a brick and mortar school, it doesn’t need to be so rigid at home. One of the things I love most about being home with my kids is the freedom we have to change plans as we please or as fun opportunities present themselves! That being said, kids thrive off schedules and routine so at least setting the precedent of having school in the morning or afternoon is something that will help everyone! My kids know that our goal is to start school by 9AM. Do we achieve that goal every day? Nope! But it’s been good for them to know the expectation and plan accordingly.

🗓️ Make a yearly schedule

Just like the daily schedule, planning your 180 days is fluid and can change as your family needs. BUT having your breaks pre-planned can give you and your kids something to look forward to. When I sit down and plan out our days, I usually work in an extended weekend once a month (for our sanity) and often try to coordinate that day with my husband to take some time off work for us to do something special as a family. Just don’t forget that if you need to take a day off - you can! 

✏️ Buy supplies 

After a couple years of buying school supplies to send my kids to PreK and Kindergarten, I can’t help but wonder: “WHERE DID ALL THE GLUE STICKS GO?” I kid you not, my pre schooler’s supply list required 24 glue sticks. TWENTY FOUR! Multiply that by 15 kids - you have 360 glue sticks! How is that possible? My two children had a combined 4 regular sized glue sticks for the entire year of home school and we still didn’t use them all up! Oh well, it’s a mystery I just have to live with! And here we are spending significantly less on school supplies and loving it. That being said, here are the things I bought to put in our homeschool space that got regular use and I will buy/use again for years to come.

*Note - this list does not include things you might need for the individual subject areas

♻️ Items You Can Reuse Use Every Year:

• Printer/Copier ( HP Printer Subscription - We use this printer subscription and have saved a lot by doing so)

• Laminator and Laminating Sheets (This is the one I have and it’s the perfect size - Target Link ) 

• Visual Timer (Like this one! Amazon Link )

🛒 Items to Buy Every Year

• Copy paper

• Bright colored copy paper and cardstock

• White cardstock (homemade cards are the best!)

• Glue sticks

• Craft supplies (I buy a kit like this one at the start of each year to cover the basics - Walmart Link ) 

• Play doh

• Tempera paint and brushes

• Ticonderoga pencils (this brand ROCKS - Amazon Link ) 

• Crayola Washable Markers (trust me - splurge for the big box - Amazon Link )

• Crayola Crayons (You have to have that built in sharpener! - Amazon Link )  

• Crayola Colored Pencils (Amazon Link ) 

• Folders (I use one folder for each kid, but you could organize by subject area!)

• Composition Notebook (I love this one for elementary - Rainbow Resource Link )

• Child scissors

That’s it - seriously! There are some big items, but those last a while and then all you’re replacing year to year are the “consumable” products. I was pleasantly surprised at how inexpensive my back to school shopping was this year compared to the hundreds that we previously spent. Now don’t get me wrong, if it’s on a teacher’s list, it’s getting used and has a purpose…I just appreciate it more now that it’s getting used in my classroom. Plus - I don’t mind spending a few extra dollars to get the name brands that are totally worth it (in my opinion) when I know they’ll be used for my own child and not dumped into a communal bin at school.

So I say go for it! Live out your childhood fantasies of scented markers (or gluesticks now!) and sparkly crayons and you’ll have one happy kiddo 🙂

I hope you have as much fun back to school shopping this year as I did and are looking forward to the new freedom that comes with homeschooling! There will be challenges, but remember that there are plenty of people out there to offer support when you need it - have a great start to the year!