The Most Important Kindergarten Homeschool Supplies that You Actually Need
After 10+ years of homeschooling, I have learned that simplifying as much as possible is best. It can be easy to get carried away seeing all of the bright and shiny things that you can buy, but it’s important to know what you actually need.Â
Today, I will share the most impotant kindergarten supplies that we use on a daily basis in the kindergarten years.Â
Here is the bare bones checklist:
- A Kindergarten Curriculum
- Pencils and Erasers
- Printer, Ink, and Paper
- Basic Art Supplies
- Notebooks
A Kindergarten Curriculum
Your supplies, to some extent, will depend on the curriculum you choose. For example, if you choose one that is entirely online, then you will need a computer and/or tablet in addition to the supplies listed below.Â
Pencils and Erasers
Make sure you have a good supply of pencils and erasers. Regular number 2 pencils are best for little hands. We like these Dixon Ticonderoga. We do not use pens in kindergarten.
You will also need erasers for when the ones on the pencil get used up. These Magic Rubs work awesome.Â
Printer, Ink, and Paper
A good printer is very important for our homeschool. The curriculum we use allows us to print worksheets as much as we need, so we invested in a laserjet. The ink and toner last quite a while, and the quality is good. A combo printer/copier/scanner is very useful.
I also frequently print coloring pages or other online activities and resources. Even if your curriculum is workbook-based, you will still want to have access to a printer.
Sometimes, however, I need to print lots of pages for a project or resource (such as this Holy Heroes Mass Coloring book which we love). For these, it is more cost effective to use a service such as Humble Heart Press. Her turnaround time is quick, prices are reasonable, and print quality is excellent.
Basic Art Supplies
This is the category that you could really go crazy in, but there is no need. Just keep it simple! These are not for art class (that’s a whole separate post). They are just useful to have for worksheets and simple activities.
On a daily basis we use:
- crayons
- child scissors
- scotch
- glue sticks
Notebooks
Like craft supplies, this is another area that can get overcomplicated. I use a very simple system for kindergarten: I keep all of my child’s core work (math, reading, and writing) in a three-ring binder. My kindergartener also has a marble notebook for the other subjects (Bible, catechism, science, history, geography, etc.)
Here are the supplies we use:
- 1-inch, 3-ring notebook
- dividers or divider stickers
- 3-hole punch
- marble notebooks
If you can print your worksheets or curriculum, simply print what your need, and keep it in the notebook. If you buy workbooks, you can rip out the pages your child needs, 3-hole punch them, and put a week’s worth of work in the binder. This is the system I used before we switched to digital. I use the marble notebook to paste in coloring pages or activities for other subjects, or create my own simple activities for my child.
I separate the work by subject, ie. arithmetic, handwriting, and reading.
Kindergarten Homeschool Supplies that You Actually Need
These are the 5 categories of things that you actually need to get started homeschooling kindergarten. You may even already have some in your home. However, I suggest that you get some items on this list that are solely dedicated to homeschooling, such as the pencils, erasers, scotch tape, and 3-hole punch. If you stay focused on keeping it simple, you will see that you really do not need many fancy supplies to homeschool kindergarten.