10 Homeschool Kindergarten Must Haves

Are you wondering if you have everything you’ll need to start off a successful year of homeschool kindergarten?

I’m so glad you clicked through to this post because I think it’s going to give you some awesome ideas to take your year to the next level!

I actually started homeschool kindergarten with my middle child this past spring, because she was so eager to get going.

I was caught a little off guard, so I didn’t have a lot of the stuff listed below ready to go for her.

I wouldn’t say we struggled, but I know I could have done better if I had the time to collect all the things I would normally have on hand.

After a fun summer break, we are about to start school and my little homeschool kindergartener is so excited to get started!

10 Homeschool Kindergarten Must Haves

1. Ticonderoga Pencils

Nope, I can’t pronounce this brand name either, but they are the best of the best when it comes to pencils.

I read about them years ago and thought it was ridiculous. A pencil is just a pencil, right?

Well, I bought a box, and I have to say it is true. They erase and sharpen much better than other pencils we have.

My kids actually choose these plain-looking pencils over the sparkly, pretty ones because they are such better quality.

Your little homeschool kindergartener will likely be erasing a lot of mistakes and it will be much nicer to have a pencil that makes it easier.

2. Alphabet Line

This is something that I first bought for my oldest when I started homeschooling her in first grade (she was previously public schooled).

I was really just trying to make our little classroom look pretty, but I quickly realized that this alphabet line has real value.

My kindergartener can just glance up and check her work. This gives her so much confidence when she doesn’t always have to ask me or have me correct her.

It takes years sometimes for kids to completely cement which way B, D, Q, P, S and Z face, so you’ll get good use out of it.

3. Crayola Art Supplies

Coloring and drawing is HUGE for the kindergarten age, so I would highly recommend investing in Crayola Washable art supplies.

Time and again, I have been tempted to buy a cheaper brand and save a few bucks, but the truth is that they do not wash out as well as Crayola. The off brand crayons are also more waxy and break easily too.

Trust me, the box will pay for itself the first time your kindergartener gets marker on her shirt…or the wall 🙂

4. Art Supply organizer

I have a budding little artist, so we have quite an assortment of crayons, colored pencils and markers. For way too long, I tried to get my kids to just put the art supplies back in the box.

This was very frustrating and NEVER seemed to work.

I broke down this year and finally bought something to hold all of our art supplies – game changer!!

It is so much easier for the kids to keep track of the supplies, put them away, and to share them.

This is the one we bought and I love it! It’s sturdy, clear (so they can easily see the colors), and has a handle for easy carrying. It also came as a pack of 2, so I use the other one for pencils, scissors, glue, and erasers.

***Tip: If your kids have a hard time losing marker lids (like mine), tape the lids together like this. It really works! We have not lost a lid or had a tried out marker in weeks – unbelievable for us!

5. Library Card

I cannot say enough about how much a weekly trip to the library will encourage your kindergartener to love reading and learning new things!

It is absolutely a homeschool kindergarten must have.

You may be a little nervous to bring small children to a quiet library, but in my experience, librarians love to see kids! Don’t be afraid to march your little ones right into the children section that was designed just for them!

Be sure to bring a large, sturdy bag with you, so you can carry out all the books your child will want.

6. Hands On Calendar

Understanding the more abstract concepts of a calendar – Days of the week, yesterday, today, tomorrow, months, next week, etc. are huge parts of kindergarten.

My curriculum came with little print out calendars that just did not cut it for a hands on learner.

I could tell that calendar time was quickly becoming boring to my daughter.

I decided to invest in this awesome calendar and I am so glad I did! It came with tons of extras, such as extra cards to mark holidays, seasons, birthdays, and even weather!

My little homeschooler can go up to the calendar every day and change the cards around to show the date and day of the week, yesterday, and tomorrow. So much more engaging than a plain paper calendar!

7. CD Player

Music is such a fun way for kids to learn and get excited about school, definitely a must have for kindergarten!

You may be thinking, “Oh, I don’t need to buy a CD player for the music curriculum. I’ll just use my car or laptop to play CDs.”

Yep, I did that for the last 2 years and it doesn’t work out. I would always forget to turn the music on in the car. When I used the laptop, it seemed to take forever, the sound quality was poor, and my kids were distracted by wondering why there was sound coming from my laptop, but no youtube videos playing. Sigh.

This year I decided to finally invest in this small portable CD player with speakers for our classroom, and I’m so glad I did!

It will make it so much easier to be consistent with using the CDs I already paid for – and the classroom will be so much more fun for a kindergartener!

Btw, the one above is an Amazon bestseller, will not break your budget, reviews are awesome, the sound fills a room, it has a remote control, and it mounts on the wall so little hands don’t destroy it with random button pushing and kidnapping it to their bedroom to stuff with tissues with raisins…as a random example.

8. Stickers

I am still amazed at how much kids love stickers. Receiving a simple sticker on a worksheet can light them up like a Christmas tree!

It is definitely a must-have in your homeschool to motivate your kindergartner!

My three girls each picked out a sticker pack for this year, and they will be used on their individual sticker charts (download the free printable at bottom of this post!)

When the day’s work is completed (with a good attitude), my kindergartner will put a Pixar sticker on her chart. When she has 5 stickers in a row – she gets a reward (see #9).

I probably don’t even need the reward – she is just so excited about her new stickers!

9. Treasure Chest

This is such a great way to keep school fun and exciting for young kids!

Similar to stickers, I am still surprised about how excited my kids get to pick out of our treasure box at the end of the week. It is a real motivator!

As mentioned above, when my kindergartner gets enough stickers in a row, she earns the right to pick out a toy from the chest.

We have done this in years past and it is always a huge hit.

This is the toy pack (stickers from #8 pic were included!) I picked for this year and here is the treasure box I got from Amazon. It is just a simple cardboard box that looks like a treasure box, but the kids go crazy for it! It’s lasted for 2 years and going strong!

10. All Weather Clothing

Especially at the kindergarten level, kids benefit from being outside as much as possible. Regular, rigorous play helps kids with gross motor, social, and learning skills!

So, even when it’s inconvenient or uncomfortable for you, make a point to get your child outside every day.

The purchase of rain boots, snow boots, and other all weather clothing could go a long way for your homeschool (and your sanity)!

UPDATE:

I wanted to pop back in this post and share something I found part of the way through our kindergarten homeschool year.

Kwik Stix are a super fun washable paint crayon!

I love that my kids can get the effect of paint on their projects…but I don’t have to get out the paint, pour it into their pallets, get out the paintbrushes, bowl of water for cleaning the brushes, and then clean up the huge mess when it’s done.

With these paint crayons, you just uncap them and go!

It’s not right for every project, but it definitely a perfect addition to any homeschool kindergarten!

Recap Homeschool Kindergarten Must Haves + Free Printable!

There you have it – Your top 10 Homeschool Kindergarten Must Haves!

I know these 10 things will help you rock your homeschool year!

I have one more thing for you though – my “Getting that Work Done!” free printable.

I mentioned earlier that we love using a sticker chart to help encourage and motivate our kids.

I used to draw the charts out by hand, but I eventually got tired of that and designed this simple tool to make it faster!

I just printed out three charts for my girls to decorate for the upcoming school year:

They had a blast doing it and it got them so excited for school to start!

This simple chart is absolutely a homeschool kindergarten must have for us!

It is so much more effective to motivate kids with positive rewards for quality work (as opposed to negative consequences for refusing to do work).

You can download this handy chart any time you need to for FREE when you subscribe to The Simple Homeschooler (No spam ever, I swear! Unsubscribe anytime)!

You will receive Monday morning emails full of homeschool encouragement, tips, blog post updates, freebies, and laughs to start your homeschool week off with awesome!

 

Be sure to pin this to your favorite Pinterest board and share with your homeschooling friends and followers!

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