Amazon Homeschool Favs
Hey homeschool friends! Today I wanted to share some of the best things I’ve gotten off of Amazon this year that have helped us homeschool. I’ve got basic essentials and fun games and manipulatives, and everything in between. Praise be for amazon delivery, especially in the crazy year of quarantining! Let me know what you’d add to the list in the comments below!
Basic must haves
Binder clips - these are life savers if your kids are using workbooks of any sort. I move the clip after each lesson and it saves us from having to flip through their books each day to find out where we left off. Such a simple purchase that has made a big difference!
Latch mate containers - I love these containers! Each one of my kids has one with their name on it that holds all of their individual books, specific manipulatives, and supplies. You can sometimes find these cheaper at Michaels!
Dry erase boards - These come in handy for dictation practice and spelling words. Much easier than always searching (and wasting) a piece of paper. They are also helpful in keeping a certain 4 year old occupied!
Planner - I searched and searched for the perfect planner, and I absolutely love this one. Bonus: it’s only $10 (compared to the ones 5x the cost that have basically the same lay out). I use this to plan for the week (in pencil) and then record what we actually accomplish. It has a space for attendance if you need that, curriculum purchases, reading logs, goals, etc.
Bulletin board - perfect for hanging up art work or vocabulary words from our science units. Cheaper than any I found in local stores!
Stapler - Anyone else’s kids love to staple all the things? I use this regularly, but they always bust it out for their homemade books! My youngest likes to just waste a million staples for fun too, so there’s that (go ahead and grab a box of staples while you’re at it. Trust me.)
3 hole punch - We keep binders for each kid, so this is a must!
Laminator - I don’t know why laminating is sooo satisfying, but it is! I feel like all my childhood teacher ambitions came true when I got this!! It works so well and is really simple to use. I use the amazon brand laminating sheets with it.
Binder rings - I love these for flash cards or for small printable books.
Paper cutter - This ranks up there with the satisfaction of the laminator. There is A LOT of cutting out things in homeschool. And if you’re like me, straight lines are not your strength. Do yourself a favor and grab one of these (it’s only $25) and thank me later!
HP printer - The priciest item on this list, but 10000000 percent worth the investment. I print so many things out each week for my kids. I’ve had mine for over a year and have yet to need to refill the ink!! And I print a lot. I also love the ease of it being wireless, so I can print from my phone quickly. It is an investment up front, but you are saving so much money in ink in the long run!! I have seen others recommend the Epson version of this too if you want to check that one out!
games/manipulatives/etc.
Dab and Dot Markers - I got these for my youngest, but both big kids love them, too. It’s a fun way to color and practice some fine motor skills holding the marker. I have some other favorite arts and crafts items linked here if you want to check those out!
Math cubes - I loved these when I was in school, and they’re just as fun now. Hands on is so much better than just looking at something on a flat piece of paper. We use these a lot!
Tangrams - All 3 of my boys love to play with these! Such a fun way to use your brain!
Muffin sorting set - All of my kids have loved this, too. Fine motor practice, sorting practice, math, imaginative play, etc. etc.
Fine motor skills tools - These are great for our sensory bins! Builds hand strength in a fun way!
Water beads - Another purchase for sensory bin fun. And it’s so cool to see them expand!
Shape puzzles - these come with little cards and a set of wooden shapes to make the pictures with. Similar to tangrams, but more pieces and options!
Tiny Polka Dot Game - a fun way for your preschool aged kiddo to learn counting and matching
Word Puzzles - I love these little wooden puzzles. For younger kids it helps with matching skills and letter recognition. As they get older it will emphasize spelling simple words as well.
Osmo - We got an Osmo as a gift years ago, and we still use it regularly! It’s app based, but it’s still hands on learning and not staring at a screen. Our coding game probably gets used the most, but I just got the new little genius set for 3-5 year old age range as well.
Botley - This was a birthday present for my 7 year old, and all the kids love him! It’s a coding robot that uses a remote and not an app!!
Lacing beads - another fine motor skills game! This wooden set is cute and durable.
Magnetic wands - These can be used in a sensory bin, with magnetic chips for math practice, or just with each other because kids loooove magnets haha!
Learning clock - Love this little clock for helping kids learn to tell time!!
Microscope - Great pice point and great quality. It comes with some really neat slides, and I’d recommend getting some blank glass slides as well. This provides all kinds of entertainment and learning!