The well-stocked shelf
You need far less than the back-to-school aisles suggest. This is the actual list I would hand a friend starting out, grouped by where things live in our house. The single best supply is free and sits at the bottom of the first shelf.
- A simple homeschool planner or binder
- Small whiteboard and dry-erase markers
- A visual timer
- Book bins, one per kid
- Your public library cardfree
- Base-ten blocks and counting bears
- Pattern blocks and fraction tiles
- A kid-friendly microscope
- Magnet and circuit science kit
- Measuring cups, a scale, and the kitchenfree
Read this next
Family Favorites
The read-alouds my kids begged one more chapter of, listed youngest to oldest.
Read it →Unit Studies
One topic, every subject. Six worked examples, and a six-step template for building your own.
Read it →Start Here
Six things to sort out, roughly in order, and what to do on the days when nothing works.
Read it →Get the Backyard Birds unit study
Seven pages, ready to print: a tally sheet, a bar graph, a field-guide page, a nature journal, and a week of plans for you. Free, and yours to keep. I will send the occasional note when I post a new unit study or printable, and you can leave any time.
Where should I send it?
One email, one download link, no nonsense.