What materials should I buy to start homeschooling?

Question

My two children are 16 months and 3 years - so I have a bit of time. I am planning on starting a preschool curriculum (very loose) with my 3 year old and continuing on with homeschooling through elementary school. I am wondering what basic materials I should be on the look out for - what do you find essential? I am the type of person that looks through educational materials and wants EVERYTHING, and it's hard pick out the few things that are useful verses those that look neat, but are only valuable for a short time.

I'm not asking for curriculua, I have a pretty good grasp of what I'm going for there, but those little extras - pocket charts, art easels, building blocks, whatever else you can think of...

I really am interested in individual reactions - what you personally find needful and why those things are so important in your schooling - esp. in the earlier education years (pre-K - 2nd grade). Any websites you know on the subject would also be appreciated.

Answer 1

Paper and card (coloured and white)

Lots of crayons and colouring pencils (wait for felt pens because they dry out if you get them in advance)

Poster paint (buy big bottles) and lots of brushes

Big rolls of lining paper or spare wall paper for painting

A nice simple world map

A BIG notice board or 2, you can't have too much display space!

Lots of plastic boxes for storing art materials and stuff

Reference books (you've got time to collect them when and where they're cheap)

A small table and chairs for them to work at

A kid's easel (2 sided in your case)

A messy mat! (i.e. plastic sheet)

Lego

A small fish tank

A simple thermometer

Spray varnish

A digital camera

A good colour printer that can do photos

The biggest bottle of PVA glue you can find

Pritt sticks

Sticky tape

Plastic tools suitable for play-doh

A big box for dress up stuff (easier to keep tidy)

A selection of simple musical instruments

A sand box (because the urge to play with dirt is universal)

and start cutting out photos from magazines and collecting them in a box -  great for projects or doing a page of words with a particular sound

I find having lots of basic arts and crafts materials very useful because we can just do and make without having to go out and get anything. Having large quantities of things like paint is cheaper in the end AND means you can be much more relaxed about mess and waste and just let the kids experiment.

Answer 2

Well, I think essential to every early learner are those toys which allow for a great freedom of expression, blocks, legos, marble works, cuisinaire rods...and lots of shelves with bins. Everything should be organized and easy to access. I love having bins with random stuff, strewing as it were. One of our bins right now has prisms, magnifying glasses, sturdy kids binoculars. Another has just plastic shapes with assorted cards for making pictures, with a pentominos set (discovery toys, excellent) One with assorted wooden beads, some large laces, pattern cards.

Every child should have an easel, we have three (with seven kids it's just worked out that way), two have a chalkboard on one side and a dry erase on the other, the third is a plain artists easel that we can do many things with. I think a good pocket calendar works, but we bought a pocket chart for sentences and it was not as useful for the cost. We did use it to set up a daily schedule, so we could rearrange things as we go.

Answer 3

I tried home schooling myself and buying all the books and materials myself until I realized there were online charter schools that make it much much easier and they will provide you with a computer, printer, books, supplies etc. They will reimburse your internet expense as well.

Answer 4

My youngest two children are 16 months and 4 years old, so they are almost the same age as yours.

I think the most important things for homeschooling a preschooler and kindergarteners are an involved parents and good books!

Spend time with your children by involving them in cooking, cleaning, errands and everything else you do throughout the day.  Take them on outings and do fun projects together.  Read to the daily.  Instill good habits and discipline.

What you want to do during these early years establish a strong foundation they can build on in the future.

Here are some tips for creating a learning environment:

http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/...

Here are some tips for teaching preschoolers:

http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/...

This site has many ideas for games and activities:

http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/...

For kindergarteners, I recommend choosing a basic phonics and math curriculum and using a relaxed style for the rest.

The most important thing you can do is enjoy these precious years together.  Keep it simple and fun!

Answer 5

You might want to check out oriental trading for the pocket charts and things like that. I went through them and got really organized for much less money and time than I would have if I went to individual stores. Here is the link...

http://www.orientaltrading.com/applicati...

Hope this helps!

I actually bought (from Oriental Trading) the red pocket chart to hold files over the clear one. The clear one comes with file folders, but both the chart and file folders were kind of flimsy. I went to Sams and bought a box of multiple color file folders and use one color for each subject.

Another thing I bought from Sam's Club was binders (I use them a LOT for planning ahead),pencils, some labels, and the construction paper.

I hope you come up with some great ideas on from the answers you get here!

Good Luck!

Answer 6

I would say you have a very long while before you have to wrroy about anything structured. I think reading books together, playing "eye spy" type games looking for objects, colors, numbersand  letters are great. Playing kids games like chutes and ladders or these type games are also fun and increase knowledge. Going on field trips and focusing on playful learning are the key though. Make sure not to push them too much in the early years. They will have all their lives to learn and try not to worry too much about what "johnny" next door is doing in pre-k or kindergarten. Public schools push kids through the system at such a fast pace and all they care about are test scores. The kids usually burn out more quickly and forget what was drilled into them just to get them through a test. Let your kids sort of direct you as to what interests them at any given time. I have been homeschooling for 7 years so I know it can be difficult to sit back and relax but believe me you all will enjoy it much more if you do. :)

Answer 7

Here is a top-notch website on homeschooling with young kids.  It has oodles of low-cost options for you.

I surely understand the desire for EVERYTHING, lol.  Truly, the best you can give your kids is YOU, time, real life, and the library.

All the best.