As we head into our 10th year homeschooling, we learned a few things along the way. Over the years, we had a few school supplies that we love and are now considered a MUST have!
1. Pencils....not just any kind of pencils. We love Ticonderoga pencils. They are truly the best pencils. They sharpen well and the points don't keep breaking when you sharpen them. The erasers are great and actually erase! Forget the cute pencils...these are a must have in our house.
2. Binders.... We use a combination of plain binders (white & colored) and fashion binders that they kids get to pick out. I always try to allow them to pick a few school supplies they will enjoy using. Since we don't really get to do the full back to school shopping, I always let the kids pick out a few supplies they would like to use.
The fashion binders are used for our more simpler subjects like religion and poetry. We use the heavier, sturdier binders for science and history. We don't want the binder to fall apart during the year. Our favorite binders for science and history are the ones from Staples. They hold up well and we've been able to reuse them for a few years now.
3. Paper.....All kinds of paper is needed! Construction paper, computer paper (white & colored), card-stock, art paper, and lined loose leaf paper fill our shelves. We do a lot of notebooking and lapbooking so we love having a variety of paper to choose from.
4. Printer....A printer is a must have for us.
We've had our Canon printer for at least 4 or 5 years now. It has lasted a long time, works well, and the ink is reasonably priced. My only complaint now is I can't find the ink at our local Walmart anymore. Thank goodness for Amazon. I can order ink and have it delivered the next day.
5. Notebooks.....The kids have a variety of notebooks to use for their subjects. Math, English, reports (for note taking), etc. The kids get to pick out all notebooks, except the few that Grandma sends for them. She still enjoys shopping for school supplies, even though this mama has been out of school for 25 years! We have dogs, owls, animals, sports, cars, camo, etc. They get to express their interests and likes.
For preteens and teens....
Therese has a few of these. since she is an animal lover....
Michael chose car this year....
6. Colored Pencils....We the kids were younger we bought Crayola colored pencils.
We found that they worked well and colored evenly. We still use them for map work and simple projects in our school subjects.
As the kids have gotten older, I've purchased better quality colored pencils for their art projects.
.
7. Quality Art Supplies.....Now that Michael and Therese are older, we can experiment with a wider variety of media in art. I now keep quality paint (acrylic, watercolor, oil), paper (painting, charcoal, mixed media, watercolor), pastels (chalk and oil), charcoal, drawing pencils, etc. Creating master pieces is a whole lot easier when you are using good quality materials.
8. Pencil Sharpener....We have gone through quite a few electric pencil sharpeners. They last a few years (if we are lucky). Our current electric sharpener was one we found at Staples on clearance.
It's lasted for few years, so it has been a great one. We now have a back-up in our house. When my grandfather passed away, we were passed down an old fashion hand crank metal pencil sharpener. I'm not sure how old it is, but it works great! All I know is that it is heavy duty and made in the USA.
9.Good Quality Literature....I love filling our shelves with great books. I prefer the classics. We search used book stores, thrift stores, our library's used book sale, and online sites like thriftbooks.com. You can never have too many books!
10. Coffee, Coffee,Coffee..... This is a must have for this mama! My favorite is Green Mountain Breakfast blend. Do you have a favorite? I'd love to hear about it. I love trying new blends!
'
No comments:
Post a Comment