As I was getting ready to start our homeschool journey last year I was glad that we had a fairly robust collection of preschool and homeschool supplies already in our closet, but it got me wondering…what are we missing?!!
Over the course of our first year of homeschool preschool, I found a few gems I adore and a few homeschooling supplies that we couldn’t live without. So to save you all the time to score the internet for ideas I listed them ALL here plus some new discoveries that I am excited to try out!
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BASIC HOMESCHOOL SUPPLIES
These basic homeschool supplies sort of feel like the bread and butter of homeschooling. Could you get by without some of these, Yes definitely. Will it most likely make your life a little easier to include these homeschooling supplies Yes.
- Dry erase pockets – these are so worth it, you can use them with dry erase markers for resue or as a quick way to make a printout more durable without laminating
- Whiteboard and markers – I prefer the fine tip, but kids might do better with the chisel
- Ticonderoga Pencils – we grabed the chunky ones to start with but I hear great things about the golf pencils as a way to help teach pencil grip!
- Pencil grips – This one honestly depends on how much pencil work your preschooler will be doing, you could also add them to markers or paintbrushes
- Electic pencil sharpener – You’ll thank yourself.
- Pink pearl erasers – again these are really only needed if you’re going to be doing a lot of pencil work but still worth having in your homeschool supplies I think
Flash Cards can be perfect to add to your homeschool supplies…if you know how to use them!
- Flash Cards – I don’t recommend using these indeed traditional sense of like memorizing what’s on this last card but sometimes it’s nice to have a little card with a visual representation of a letter a number a shape a color a simple word you can probably print these but I found that investing in a quality set was worth the money
- 3 part Cards – Essentailly the same concept as flash cards with with a much more focused topic, and that topic can be everything from different herbs to construction vehicles to animals of the amazon rain forest. The internet is FULL of examples and many of them for FREE! I do recommend some kind of tray for holding all the parts.
HOMESCHOOLING MAMA SUPPLIES
As you take on a teacher role you will find there are a few homeschool supplies that you can’t live without.
- Planner– I am still working on figuring out exactly how I want to plan and document everything. This year I will be usng my happy planner but if you have a system that you LOVE leave a comment down below!
- Laminator and Laminating pouches – be responsible and dont laminate EVERYTHING, but I love it as a way to make something multi purpose/reusable
- Printer – We selected this one as its color acuracy was very good, and it has HUGE ink tanks
- Photo paper – I prefert o print on this for most things, the color and crispness is far better than on cardstock
- Astrobrite – beautiful birght colored cardstock for printables
- Paper cutter
- Corner punch
- Scissors
- Wet erase pens
- Post it tabs
- Flash card box
HOMESCHOOL SUPPLIES FOR THE HOUSE/ROOM
Whether or not you have an actual homeschool room or not there are a few other homeschool supplies that you are likely to want available to you
- Magnetic white board
- Shelves
- Trays and Baskets
- Pocket Chart
- Easel
- Wall Calender – We chose a dry erase calendar so that it was reusable you could use a standard paper wall calendar or you could get a pocket chart calendar, whatever suits your family best
- Supply cart or drawer cart for storage
- Globe
BOOKS FOR HOMESCHOOLING
Your homeschool supplies are not complete without so many books! Non-fiction, fiction, poetry, board books, chapter books. Doesn’t matter, the more they hear the more they absorb. The more interactive the book, the better though! Make use of your local Library for sure but there are a few books that will serve you well to have them at your disposal!
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- Kids Encyclopedia and Animal Encyclodedia
- Childrens Illustrated Atlas and Animal Atlas
- National Geographic Kids – Little Kids First Big Books and Early Readers
- Usborne look inside books – amazing non ficition lift the flap books
- Usborne big books – oversized non fiction books with big fold out pages
- Usborne all about – great in depth books that explain and walk you through complex topics like diversity & feelings
LANGUAGE HOMESCHOOL SUPPLIES
Your preschooler will likely spend most of their year figuring out what letters sound like and learning the letter symbol It is possible you’ll move into early reading but don’t pressure them and it let happen with natural curiosity.
- CVC Blocks
- Salt tray
- Rhyming work – 2 peice and 3 peice puzzles, and Rhyming objects
- Opposites puzzles
- Kibbit game
- Sequencing cards or puzzles
Montessori Language Materials
When teaching language and letters with a Montessori perspective, you focus on phonics first and foremost. So your language homeschool supplies will be few but well used!
- Sandpaper letters
- Moveable alphabet
- Phonics objects – You can totally source these on your own from just things around your house but be warned some letters are harder to find than others.
MATH HOMESCHOOL SUPPLIES
While teaching your preschooler early math you need to think hands-on they need a physical representation of all of the concepts you’re teaching with your homeschool supplies
- Mathlink cubes
- Geometric solids – the more tradional montessori option or a plastic set that would be super fun with a light table
- Pattern blocks – you could go wooden or plastic and you can find tons of design cards online too
- Fake Money – your looking for as realistic as possible
- Geoboard – I would also pick up more bands in more colors
- Scale
Montessori math materials
- Colored Beads – enough for 1-10 and the teens , if your up for the investment the decanomail set of beads is a great number of beads to work with for many years
- Golden Beads – If you want something a little more budget friendly that teaches the same concect base ten blocks will deffinetly get the job done
- Bead frames – you can start with 1-9, but of your preschooler is ready for bigger numbers the 10-19 is the next step
- 100 board
- Number Rods
- Trinomial cube
Your Homeschool Supplies Should have SO Many Manipulatives!!!
Give your preschool more to count on than their figures and toes. Young kids NEED that physical representation and bonus points they tend to like tiny things! Anything can work, M&Ms, pinecones from outback, barbie shoes. You name it, so long as they can count, sort, and manipulate it can serve the purpose!
- Tiny erasers – you can find these on Amazon, but I usually find mine at Target in the Dollar Spot
- Glass stones
- Wooden loose parts – Grapat Mandala pieces are great for this as well
- Plastic figures – you can find these in almost any theme your little is interested in
- Pompoms
- Counting Chips
SENSORY & SCIENCE SUPPLIES
When it comes to science and sensory your preschooler is naturally curious about the world! Let them explore, read nonfiction books, watch documentaries and how its made videos, do kitchen science experiments. Ask how and why about as many different things as you can!
- Magnetic wand and chips
- Magnifying glass
- Human Body Magnets
- Play Foam
- Kinetic Sand
- Slime– Ive link a varaiety kit here that we will be trying out soon, but personally I like the slippery stuff, it just seems to be easier to clean up
Montessori specific sensorial materials
Montessori-specific sensorial homeschool supplies you could consider adding would be the pink tower, the brown stair, and the knobbed cylinders, these would be considered an investment. They are not cheap but there is a lot that can be learned through them.
Tools and Fidgets
Great for building fine motor and keeping little hands busy while still playing and learning
- Tongs/tweezers
- Eye droppers
- Scoops
- Pop its – trust me I didnt get it, until we got a couple. We serious love them. The key chain ones are perfect for during read alouds and morning meeting. The standard size are great in the car and can even come with ABCs and 123s on them for learning activites.
- Bunmo streachy strings
- Stretch Balls
PRESCHOOL ARTS AND CRAFTS SUPPLIES
First and foremost the one homeschool supply that you will need obscene amounts of. Paper. SO much paper. Save and reuse as much as you can and never turn away free paper if offered to you!
- Markers – classic, bright, & skin tons
- Color Pencils
- Quick Sticks
- Oil pastels – I much prefer these to traditional crayons
- Liquid Watercolors
- Washable paint – acrylic paint is cheaper but washable is so much easier to clean. So pick what works best for you
- Paintbrushes – variety of sizes and water brushes too!
- Paper Rolls – White first, then craft paper, then colored like black
- Watercolor paper
- Construction Paper
- Glue – liquid and stick
- Scissors
- Google Eyes
- Masking tape
- Simple shapes stencils – Metal Insets are more traditional Montessori or combo unit just make sure to focus on the simple shapes for now
Bonus Craft Supplies
These homeschool supplies are less used or less necessary but well love in our house. If you already have all the arts and crafts supplies mentioned above look at adding some of these items
- Pipe cleaners
- Glitter Glue – seriously we go through this stuff like crazy
- Sticker Gems
- Yarn
- Pompoms
- Stamps and Ink pads – ABC or pictures – I would start with abcs as they could be used in lessons, but pictures would be loved too ( mom hack, most stamps work well in play dough too!)
MUSIC AND MOVEMENT HOMESCHOOLING SUPPLIES
Don’t forget that preschoolers were made to MOVE, get them moving as often as possible and in the best case scenario get them moving in new and challenging ways that have them learning more about their bodies!
- Stepping stones
- Wobble board
- Balance Beam
- Rhythm sticks
- Desk bells
- Dance silks – We like silks personally. You can do mini or standard size. Juggling scarves are a cheaper option, but not as nice to play with
TOYS, GAMES, & PUZZLES FOR HOMESCHOOLING
Learning through play is one of the best parts of homeschool and we plan on adding tons of games as the kids get older, but in the meantime, we have a few fast favorites that are super easy for preschoolers to play!
- Beading and Lacing – Large wooden Bead Sequencing or Pony Beads
- Building blocks – Magatiles, Legos, ands Wooden blocks
- Memory and Matching games – Eeboo I never forget a face and Dino Match these Bones are our favorites
- Peaceable Kingdoms games – hoot owl hoot and alphabet bingo are a couple we really enjoy
- Learning Resources games – Fox in a Box Preposition game, Lil Lemonade Stand, Mental Blox, and Coding Critters, honestly there are tons we want to add to our collection!
- Learning journey puzzles – we specifically have animal heads to tails and a sequencing one
- Jigsaw puzzles – start small if your preschooler isn’t too interested in puzzles and build up to bigger ones. Floor puzzles are also great!
PRESCHOOL HOMESCHOOL SUPPLIES WILL VARY
Depending on your family situation, what curriculum you are following, and what your homeschool style is like your preschool homeschool supplies will be vastly different! This list was created to spark ideas and by NO means do you need all of this! I just started brainstorming and sharing a few of our personal favorites to help out other mamas that feel like adding a new thing or two to their homeschool space!
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