Today, I am joining up with the iHomeschool Network and Angie at Many Little Blessings to share with you my top 10 must have items for homeschooling!
My Top 10 Must Have Items
- Bible – Without it, I would not have an instruction manual for life! We use it in school with our Bible study, in science, etc. It’s one of the main reasons we choose to homeschool! I don’t believe the Bible should be left out of anything, especially not school.
- Van – While I could do without it if I had to, I sure don’t want to! I use it to haul children to karate classes, homeschool activities, piano lessons, etc. While I love staying home, I also love being able to go places when I need to!
- Laptop – I use my laptop for so many things. I cannot even imagine homeschooling without it! Any time my kids have a question about something that I don’t know the answer to, I use the internet to find the answer. Not to mention the many homeschooling ideas that I can find.
- Printer/Copier – We are constantly using this to make extra copies or to print free printables online. I could not survive my homeschool year without it!
- Kindle – I have two kids who are using the free books that are linked to at Old Fashioned Education. There’s an endless amount of free e-books out there that we can use in our homeschools!
- DonnaYoung.org – I absolutely love all the free printables on her site! Lots and lots of planning forms, handwriting sheets, handwriting paper, etc. I go there first when I’m looking for a form for my homeschool.
- Camera – I love to document what we’re working on throughout the year. We use the camera for nature study, to teach photography, for field trips, etc. I love it even more now that I have a dSLR, although I need to make some big improvements in my skills!
- Apologia Science – When we switched to Apologia Science, we have been so happy with 3 things. 1)The amount they learn. 2)The amount they like it (they love it!). 3)The fun experiments. We don’t do all of the experiments, but we do enjoy the ones that we do.
- Teaching Textbooks Math – As my children got older, it got a lot harder to explain the concepts to one of my children in particular. Teaching Textbooks was my saving grace! You do it all on the computer, including the lectures. I normally don’t have to explain much of anything once they’re done watching it. I LOVE it.
- Electric Pencil Sharpener – We had not had any success with pencil sharpeners. I had a little battery operated one that never worked right. So, I bought a manual one that you place on the wall. It didn’t work right either. Eventually, we bought an electric one at a rummage sale for $1 and it has been a keeper! Finally, we have sharp pencils. I was about to go out and buy that thing for $20+, too!
I know not all of my readers are homeschoolers. If you are, what are your must have items for your homeschool? If you’re not, what are your must have items in your everyday life? I’d love to hear it! You don’t have to list 10.
If you’re a blogger, feel free to join us in linking up at Many Little Blessings.
kelli says
Internet! lol- we so forget about the days before internet!
Classic Housewife says
Oh! Camera!
I forgot about a camera!
Good list. =)
Jessy says
We have many of the same things on our Top 10 list! The Kindle is for me though…well, sometimes the kids play the educational apps I've downloaded when we're out-and-about. LOL
Sidetracked Sarah says
Yes, the Kindle is also for me, but I managed to get some kid books on there, too.
stangtx says
I didn't know about that link for the kindle. I'm going to check it out! Love the Kindle 😉
Sidetracked Sarah says
You and me both! I still have a long list of reading materials that I got for Christmas from my sister. So fun!
Judy says
It's hard to imagine homeschooling without the internet! Definitely a must-have for me!
Sidetracked Sarah says
Very true, Judy! 🙂
Sidetracked Sarah says
oh and I forgot to say, when I was homeschooled, we didn't have internet! My mom was just mentioning the other day how we used the encyclopedia's a lot more back then.
Ami says
Electric Pencil Sharpener . . . I almost wrote an ode to ours. Can't live without it. 🙂
Sidetracked Sarah says
lol Ami. Not a bad idea!
Sharla says
Great list! I forgot to include the van on my list, but it's definitely a must-have. Oh, and love donnayoung!
Mary says
Except for B and E (which I don't have) I totally agree with this list. I don't know how I could have forgotten to put 'camera' on my list.
Sidetracked Sarah says
Yes, a camera has a great place in a homeschool! and I have no idea why my list is lettered instead of numbered….I must figure this out! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
Jenilee says
totally agree with the electric pencil sharpener! saves a lot of time for sure 🙂
Sidetracked Sarah says
Yes, we now don't go searching for a maybe sharp pencil all morning! 🙂
Ginny says
Great list. We both have a few of the same items on our lists. Totally forgot about the pencil sharpener since we switched to mechanical pencils, but when my kids were younger it was great. Thanks for sharing. Be Blessed.
Sidetracked Sarah says
Yes, I suppose mechanical pencils would eliminate your need for the sharpener, lol. Thanks for stopping by!
Angie says
Fabulous list! I totally agree on so many of the items.
Teaching Textbooks is so fabulous, isn't it? I can't imagine using a different math anymore.
Sidetracked Sarah says
Yes, I can't imagine doing the upper math courses without TT!