Alas, school is out and these kids are finished learning for the summer. Ha, sike, you can’t press pause on your education or learning new things in your life. As a homeschooling parent, my small kiddos and I do not follow the “quid pro quo” with the public schooling system, their schedules, and so on.

In fact, this is the perfect time for me to stock up on certain school supplies and other learning essentials for my mini homeschoolers. Here, I’ll show you what I mean.

Focusing on fulfilling needs rather than wants!

As a mother of four small kids, it is important to get what your kid need instead of what they want. Wait, let me rephrase that! You can still surprise them with a few wants, but we need to give them the essentials if they’re going to grow up to be successful teenagers and adults.

It’s okay to get uncomfortable while learning!

The biggest thing I keep in mind while shopping online and in-store is how to make them uncomfortable while learning. Yeah, weird to say, but there’s a reason behind that, too! It makes little sense to keep getting the things they already know the answers to repeatedly. Those same simple addition problems won’t improve them over time. They’ll run circles around smaller kids, but those their age or older will continue to run circles around them.

I have to think more on the lines of an “advance and engage” mindset. If what I’m getting them will help them grow (advance) and engage with the lesson more, then I did my job as their home school teacher. This means, if the material makes them uncomfortable, like two-digit multiplication problems or constructing proper English essays with double-spacing, then I did my job as their mother and home schooling parent.

When is it best to go shopping for school supplies?

It’s almost mid-June, most kids are out of school, and parents are slaving away with their dreaded full-time job (or jobs) just to make ends meet. The last thing on any parent’s mind is to show for schooling supplies for the kid before the back to school sales and pennies on the dollar discounts. Still, it’s great to act now than wait until later, especially if your homeschooler is a natural hard worker during their independent lessons.

My eldest daughter goes through at least three pencils every two days. By the end of the week, she has gone through nearly 12 pencils, not including the dud quality ones where the pencil doesn’t sharpen or the lead isn’t worth 15 cents.

The best time to go shopping is anytime between March through August. By then, when most classes resume in August and September for the following school year, you’re already ahead of schedule, rebuilt your points or discount savings, and not have to worry about the “Out of Stock” signs throughout the store and online platforms.

Which school supplies should I get my home schooler?

Every home schooler should have these foundational essentials:

• College and Wide-Ruled Notebook paper

• Pencils and Pens

• 24 or 64-Count of Crayons

• 3 or 5-Subject Spirals

• Clipboards

• Folders with and without the Prongs

• College and Wide-Ruled Composition books

• Rulers and a Protractor

• Markers and Color Pencils

• Regular and Safety Scissors

• Graphing Paper

• Mini Whiteboards and Dry Erase Markers

• Large and Mini Calendars

• Liquid Glue and Glue Sticks

• Construction Paper and White Copy Paper

• Relevant Learning Books and Work Books

Most of these items are very easy to come by. After shopping for these items, your home schooler can get started with their learning session and independent activities. Make sure you have a large tote to stuff these items in, especially if your little one loves school supplies. Like, if they’re crazy and want to color and mark on everything they see.

Final thoughts?

Learning from home isn’t as hard as what many folks make it out to be. You can buy and restock these supplies every three to four months. The only time you should restock more often is if they’re doing lots of independent activities and, like our eldest daughter, go through pencils like it’s chocolate. Other than that, go get busy shopping and subscribe to stay in the loop with updated homeschooling tips and advice.

Trust me, there’s a lot jam packed in my head waiting to come out! :)