School looks a lot different this year for so many people. A lot of decisions being made by parents to either send their children to school full time, part time, virtually or homeschool and it hasn’t been easy. For us, we are choosing homeschool and possibly virtual through our school district depending on what their days will look like. I am waiting to hear back from the Principal for more information. This decision was not made lightly and a lot of pro/con lists were made but we finally feel confident in our decision. My oldest is Kindergarten age and though we had contemplated homeschooling pre-covid, we still want to throughly review all of our options.

Photography was not something I ever thought would be a business for me, just a well-loved, expensive (ha!) hobby. I initially went to school to become a teacher and/or School Psychologist so I have a degree in Psychology, minor in child development and a Masters in Education. With that said, I must say I am a tad excited to be able to fulfill a dream of mine in some capacity.

I have spent the Summer researching curriculum after curriculum, the type of learner that my son is, our states guidelines for homeschooling and so much more. I have thought about blogging here and there about our journey but for today I will show you some of the things that will get us through the school year no matter how it’ll look! I will be updating this list as I continue preparing for school to start on 8/31 when our district begins classes.

Printer

I recently upgraded my printer to this Brother HL-L3210CW Color Laser printer. Between the things I will be printing to hang on the walls to all of the worksheets, manipulatives, information sheets, etc, I wanted a high quality, fast, heavy duty printer. After a lot of research I landed on this one, and so far I have loved the quality! Plus I purchased it on Amazon and it came with Amazon Dash Replenishment Ready Toner so it sends me toner before I run out so I am never without it! Score!

Laminator

Pre-k and Kindergarten age students plus a 2-year old brother, papers get ripped so easily! This is where a laminator can save so many flash cards, manipulatives and other paper items from being ripped to shreds. I also secretly love how ‘official’ it makes things look! Again after some research, I found this one to be a great quality for the price.

Pencil Sharpener

I can still remember sharpening my pencil on the wall mounted metal pencil sharpener in every classroom growing up. It wasn’t until I was in high school that pencil sharpeners were no longer in the classrooms because mostly everyone used mechanical pencils or if there was a pencil sharpener it was an electric one. I wanted to mimic an elementary classroom as much as possible so affordable this vacuum mounted one is perfect on the edge of the printer cabinet!

Flash Card & Other Learning Tools Organization

To have a successful school year I think it is important to be prepared and have everything at the ready. This means having designated places for things like flash cards, play money, etc so nothing gets loss. I had this photo organization box recommended to me from a Homeschool Mom and I love that things like these are a perfect fit!

Binder Pockets

Another great organization tool I discovered were these clear binder pockets. They are perfect for housing all of the puzzles we’ve accumulated as well as pieces to board games/memory games like the Frozen matching game shown. My end goal is is to have them hanging from an Ikea rod but of course they were out of stock last time I went. Hopefully they get them back in soon and I can show you how it’ll look!

Felt Money

Again, having little ones (especially the 2 year old) paper gets ripped or crumbled and no longer useable. So when I saw this set of felt money in the Target Dollar Spot section I just had to have it! It is much more durable than just paper play money and will be a great learning tool until we can use more realistic play money.

Project Boxes

These cute storage boxes are perfect for containing their project tools. And as of right now they are on clearance for $4.49!

Composition Books

I was sure ‘Spark’ was a Target brand but I found these Primary Journals at Walmart in the school supply section, perfect for little hands to practice handwriting/journaling I can’t wait to see the stories and pictures my kindergartener writes in these!

Utility Cart

Can you tell I love a good organization tool? I had this utility cart (they no longer have my color but I love it in white!) in my studio holding all my newborn wraps/blankets but I moved them into a nearby cabinet so I could use this in the school room. It is great for holding all of their bigger school essentials and being able to just roll them over to their table is even better! I also purchased an accessory kit at Walmart that included the hanging bag, hooks, and buckets hanging off it.

So far these are some of my favorite buys but I’ll be sure to update with things I find in the next few weeks or so before we start school so check back!

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