Helpful Kindergarten Homeschool Supplies

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We recently finished our very first year homeschooling. Let me tell you, I had so many lessons learned along the way. Overall, I loved the experience and am really excited to see how first grade goes, but I’m definitely down to enjoy this summer. If I could do the year over again, I would be sure that I had these helpful kindergarten homeschool supplies in my arsenal.

Obviously, I remembered the pencils, crayons, glue, and scissors, so we had plenty to keep us going. I even made sure my curriculum was in tow, along with the lesson plan guides, and extra practices. If you’re interested to learn how our first few months in the Abeka curriculum went, be sure to check out this post.

It Goes Without Saying,

I’m the type that likes to wait and see when it comes to buying more school supplies or books. I’m down with buying them if I feel like I need it. However, if I think I can manage without (or make it myself), I’m gonna go that route first.

This is why I chose not to buy the posters and visual aids that you can order through Abeka. In my mind, it felt like a lot of money spent on items I didn’t think I would use. I did end up purchasing some items along the way, and there were a few posters I made. So knowing then what I know now, these are the items I would have already had before the year began.

I’m Not Just Talking About Abeka, or Homeschool

Obviously, this is written from a homeschool perspective. And, I’m the most familiar with the Abeka curriculum, so this is what I’m basing this post off of. However, maybe there’s something that public or private school teachers can utilize as well. In fact, some of these items were suggested to me by our church’s Christian school teachers.

The Complete List:

Without further ado, here is my list of essential supplies that are going to enhance your kindergarten school year, in no particular order.

Whiteboard, Markers, and Eraser

For awhile, I was using notebook paper and pencil to help me explain a concept to the boys. The minute I gave in and decided to get a whiteboard (really, the next grocery run), it became a big game changer. The boys were able to mark their vowels and circle the special sounds a lot faster. It surprised me by how much quicker they picked up on it.

It was easier to explain how to form letters and numbers as well. In fact, for the younger years, if you really wanted to go all out, buy these ones too. Because they’re lined, you can really help them with forming letters and numbers.

You Won’t Regret It

Honestly, I don’t think there was a concept that I didn’t use a whiteboard for after that. The nice thing is now that I have it, I’ll only have to replace markers.

If you wanted to take it a step further, there are these super cool boards you can order for yourself and the kiddos. They don’t require ink and are something you can erase quickly as well. They work perfect for church time as well, because it’s something you can use to keep them entertained without a lot of rustling papers.

Pencil Holders/Helpers

Secret: I’ve never held a pencil the right way before. I know, I’ve survived 29+ years just fine without being able to hold a pencil right. But, I still wonder how much more successful I would be if I could. Kidding, obviously.

You can imagine my level of intimidation when I got to kindergarten with my 5 year old and realized I had to teach him how to do something I didn’t know how to do myself. Y’all, I literally had a conversation with our church’s kindergarten teacher about how to teach a child how to hold a pencil right.

And then, I caught wind of these gorgeous beauties. These truly have been very helpful in teaching my boys how to hold a pencil right, straight out of the proverbial gate. Save yourself the stress and an embarrassing conversation with a teacher; buy them.

Thick Pencils

Since we’re on the pencil train, thick pencils are also life savers. Kids place a lot of pressure when they’re writing on paper, especially new kindergarteners who are so new to learning how to write. Having a thicker pencil that can handle the pressure better than a typical pencil is helpful.

Star Stickers

It surprises me how much these sticker sheets became necessary. To be honest, when I went out shopping for school supplies, I bought a package of star stickers out of habit because I remember my mom having them on hand. It was one of those, buy because that’s what everyone does, sort of thing.

Now, I understand why. You know, there are just days that your child has lost all sense of motivation and inspiration and school has become a chore. Cue the star sticker.

I let little man pick out his favorite color star sticker and place it on his sheet when he gets every answer correct in numbers and letters. He’s much more likely to try his best on worksheets and lessons when we do that.

Play Money/Coins

“I don’t need that. I can just use real money and coins to show them how to count money”. Famous last words. You would think with the experience I had as a bank teller I would remember just how dirty real money actually is.

When we got to the money lesson, we did one lesson and I decided then and there I would go purchase some play money and coins. I opted for these, that I can place on the refrigerator for them to play with throughout the day. The downside is there’s not as much money as you would get if you ordered this one instead.

Flashcards

I started to make my own addition flash cards, and honestly it worked well enough at the beginning. I bought one of those pocket flip from the top notebooks, and had a different sheet be each addition fact. We would flip through them at the beginning of each lesson.

It worked great for us until I got behind on making new flash cards as we introduced the next numbers. What can I say, I’m kind of a pro in the ‘crastination department. By the time we hit subtraction towards the end of the year, the goose was cooked.

If you’re artistic, like bold flashy colors, and feel like spending two-three hours making flashcards, knock yourself out. Otherwise, buy the flash cards from Abeka. Or, find some good ones on Amazon or Mardel Christian Bookstore (my go-to store for so many teacher supplies).

I ended up purchasing this aid, recently, in preparation for first grade. As I haven’t used it yet, I can’t tell you how well it works yet. In theory, though, I’m very excited about it, and like having the flashcards that comes with it as well.

Clock

Thankfully, I saw this in (you guessed it) Mardel about a week before I started school. Once we got to the telling time section of Numbers Skills, it made an appearance practically every day. A few things I love about this particular clock? You can write on it with a dry erase marker. It also has every five minutes labeled for easier understanding.

Numbers Chart

I made my own. Actually, I made three. The third one finally fit perfectly and had even boxes and started at the right spot. Who knew writing out one to 100 would be so hard. I ended up highlighting different boxes in different to show how to count by twos, fives, and tens.

It ended up working out perfectly and I’ve used it ever since. This is one that I say do it yourself, but a lot of people don’t have as much patience. You can also print a numbers chart off of google, or save the time and order one.

History and Science Aids

I really wasn’t that impressed with the Abeka Science and History for kindergarteners. Honestly, I wanted something a bit more … detailed. So, I decided to focus more on places and animals for kindergarten, and had great results with it.

I’ve already written a more detailed explanation about why I love them on this post. But, I do feel this post would not complete without giving them another shoutout.

States Bingo and Floor Puzzle

Because we have family from all over the US, and because we go and visit family on a fairly regular basis, my boys have lots of questions about where everyone lives. I purchased these as way to help our boys understand where we live and where everyone is in relation to us.

The states bingo cards are really fun to explain the different industries that occur in the different states. This Melissa and Doug states floor puzzle is my favorite. It reinforces the layout of the United States for them on a larger level.

Science

I found these animal devotions for kids and am really happy I purchased it. I love using these as a way to learn specific facts about different animals. The fact that it applies it to daily struggles kids their age can face makes it so much more neat.

After reading the section and talking about it a little bit, we tend to watch videos of that specific animal on YouTube, Instagram or TikTok. It really makes for a simplistic family moment that doesn’t require a lot of effort for already busy moms.

That’s It!

I’m sure there are tools you can think of that you found incredibly useful when you taught kindergarten. Go ahead and share them in the comments below!