5 Things You ABSOLUTELY Need To Homeschool
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure statement. Thanks for visiting!
If you're new to homeschooling, you are probably wondering what you will need to make your first homeschool year run smoothly. If you're a veteran, you're probably wondering what you need to make this year a success. Either way, I'm here for you homeschooling mama.
I'm here to encourage you to have a fantastic homeschooling year. And that's only possible with these 5 things that you ABSOLUTELY need to homeschool.
5 Things You ABSOLUTELY Need To Homeschool
5. A Laminator
The first thing you should have or will need to purchase in your homeschool journey is a laminator. The specific model isn't important. You don't need it to last. You just need it to work that first year. You. Will. Laminate. Everything. Why? Well, because it's so much fun. Is it useful? In the sense that everything looks beautiful and crisp when you start your homeschooling journey. And in your second year of homeschooling, you will dig that puppy out and realize it doesn't work anymore. That's ok. They cost $19 at Wal-Mart. It's in the budget. Buy a new one. It is a must have for, say, when the youngest wants to do her worksheet with a dry erase marker instead of a pencil.
4. Desks
These are crucial to your homeschool journey. You probably went through 12 or more years of school sitting in one of these or one similar. Every student needs a desk. I found mine in a barn. I cleaned them up, painted them and even created a dry erase board for the desktop. My girls LOVE them. And really, don't let it bother you that your kids will only use them when their cousins come over and want to play school. I'm still waiting for mine to tire of doing school work in the Amazon Prime box and want to get back to their desks.
3. Books
Now, this is a tricky one. I'm a firm believer that one can NEVER own too many books. My husband is not. I didn't realize that we would be on opposite sides of the great Book Debate when we were dating. It came up one year after we were married when I ordered a bookcase from Pottery Barn. Pottery Barn ships all bookcases with easy to build instructions.....for my husband (I'm not good at following directions or identifying tiny screws).
This is where we realized we might be compatible in many, many ways, but book ownership isn't one of them. By the third bookcase, he vowed never to put together another one. Don't worry; I know he's all talk. And so, I keep ordering books. We ARE a Charlotte Mason Homeschool, after all.
2. School Supplies
Ah, school supplies. The crack of all homeschool moms everywhere. I am not exaggerating when I say that I get a little light-headed, and a feeling of euphoria comes over me when I walk through the school supply aisles in the local Wal-Mart.
This time of year, when all the Back-to-School sales are in full-swing, I have to be extra vigilant. My daughter and I work as a team to keep each other from falling prey to the bins of overflowing glue sticks and shelves of sparkly notebooks. So far we've discovered that "school supply addicts" shouldn't depend on each other for support, but we got some really cool backpacks...you know...for when we need to carry our school books to the park or whatever.
1. An Exceptionally Comfy Desk Chair
Of all the things you need to homeschool, this one is the most important. You see, you're going to spend a lot of time in this chair staring at a computer screen (ok, maybe you're lounging on a couch with a phone, but you get my point). This chair is going to see you through it all.
Through the endless searches for the perfect be-all-to-end-all curriculum, through the mountain of emails from bloggers who tell you how to have the "perfect school year", through the Facebook posts that describe how your going to ruin your child's life if you don't use this one product...until you find what you actually need to homeschool.
That one thing is your tribe.
[bctt tweet="5 Things You Absolutely NEED To #Homeschool @atlsjkdm. Discover what ALL #homeschoolers truly need! #20DaysHSEncouragement #ihsnet" username="busyboysbrigdade"]
What You Actually Need to Homeschool
You need other homeschool moms. You need the veteran homeschool friend who can calm you down when you're overwhelmed. You need the crazy homeschool mom who can make you laugh on the days all you want to do is quit. You need the supportive homeschool friend who will listen to your complaints and let you vent, even if she has no idea how to help you fix your problem. You need the therapist homeschool mom who knows just what to say to you in those moments that you are convinced your kids will grow up and go on the Dr. Phil show. And here's the best part...you don't actually have to know them IRL (that's In Real Life for those of you without teenagers).
My best homeschool friends are women I met online. These women get me. They have been there, are there or can see they will be there shortly. They are my number one Need to homeschool, and I couldn't homeschool without them.
And that's where the encouragement part of this post comes in. You are going to be just fine. It doesn't matter what curriculum you do or don't use or what style of homeschooler you are. It doesn't matter what things you have in your homeschool. As long as you love your kids and are trying to do what is best for you and your family, you are going to be alright.
So stop worrying, homeschool mama. Stop telling yourself you need just one more thing to make your homeschool the best. You need to believe in you. That's one thing you ABSOLUTELY need to homeschool.