As homeschool moms we have a lot to juggle. We manage households, our families, our children, and we educate them as well. Sometimes, when you find something that makes life easier or more interesting you just want to share it with the world. When our homeschool supplies also double as a resources for other parts of your life, you know it’s a good resource to have.
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Which is why I wanted to bring you my favorite homeschool supplies that I think are super amazing. Because they fill more than an just an educational need. They fulfill needs for other areas of our lives as well.
8 Homeschool Supplies for Every Part of Your Life
1- Small Binder Clips
Ok, so maybe you are thinking that these aren’t that amazing. They are sort of commonplace aren’t they? Yes, they can be. But, I utilize binder clips all the time. I buy them in all my favorite colors and then use them for a wide variety of things.
▬ I clip them to my Thirty-One bag that I carry from home, to FLL, to field trips to Bible class. When I have a binder clip there I can utilize it to clip a note, an address, a receipt, or any other thing I want to keep track of before I make it back home.
▬ I use my binder clips to close up bags in the kitchen, like a bag of popcorn.
▬ Of course in the classroom, you can clip the binder clip to the bottom of a clipboard, to keep pages in place while little ones are practicing writing skills.
▬ Or clip art work to the bulletin board without damaging the art with thumbtacks. All you have to do is hook the wire part around the tack.
▬ We’ve even used small binder clips as clamps to hold together my son’s STEM project, Bridge Building with Toothpicks, while the glue dried.
Ok, that’ s just a few of the ways that I’m utilizing a simple binder clip around my home, and homeschool. They just make my life easier and I know they’ll make your life easier too, when you think of them as an all-purpose tool.
2-Desktop Laminator
A desktop laminator is great! You can laminate flashcards, report cards, visual aids, printable maps, and so much more for your homeschool needs.
They come in so handy elsewhere in the home.
▬ Use them to laminate recipe cards, insurance cards, or other ID cards that don’t come pre-laminated.
▬ Laminate your vehicle state registration.
▬ Laminate Bible study aids
▬ Laminate photographs. I laminated a photo of Beloved and Young Man along with a small magnet. This way I was able to put it on the fridge without worrying about sticky fingers messing up the image.
3- A Tronfy 1080p Projector
If you are using an online curriculum, or program that you want the whole family to be able to see this little projector works great for just about anything you’d need to project. You can even use it to work with older kids you can help them learn the art of creating power point presentations, and practice their public speaking skills. It’s much more affordable than most projectors on the market.
Another homeschooling idea is to use the projector to create an at-home planetarium. Use a web-resource such as Celestia to download free space simulations that lets you explore our universe in three dimensions.
▬ I use it to project Bible images for creating custom Bible class graphics.
▬ Stencil a mural onto an accent wall.
▬ It can also be used for a fun family movie night on the back lawn.
4 – Glue Sticks
Glue sticks are a must for any schooling situation, whether homeschool, Bible school, or regular old public school. These handy little sticks keep glue contained for little hands, or even bigger ones, and make keeping projects in order and on time. Teenagers can use them for project presentations, and little ones can use them for crafting and cutting pasting projects.
These glue sticks can make quick work of a lot of household projects.
▬ I’ve used them to temporarily glue laminate strips back to furniture until I can get the wood glue to do the right job.
▬ I’ve used them to glue a quick hem to a curtain.
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The possibilities are endless, anytime you might need to adhere something lightweight you can grab a glue stick to make quick work of the project.
5 – White Erasers
Erasers are a must in our homeschool. My son goes through pencils like a thirsty camel drinks water. He sharpens often but uses them til they are just tiny stubs and won’t fit in the pencil sharpener any longer. Thus, the eraser is consumed long before the pencil is used up. That’s where erasers come in. I keep them on-hand, because we go through a lot of pencil work, and colored pencils.
Plus, they are great for art project erasing too. Did you know that you can use them for your child’s chalk pastel art projects? My son is a perfectionist! Thus… if he feels something is messed up, he’ll throw is away and start over. When doing chalk art, or colored pencil art, however, he can simply grab an eraser and erase the messed up portion.
5 Household Uses for Erasers
Erasers are also useful around the house.
▬ Use them to erase skuff marks on walls or vinyl flooring. (This is why white pearl erasers are preferred, leaves the wall, clean).
▬ Remove sticker gunk from products and packaging with an eraser.
▬ Polish costume jewelry with an eraser.
▬ The rubber absorbs oil and grime from the jewelry and can buff away smudges with ease.
▬ Did you know you can remove stuck-on grime from computer keyboards and mouses with a small eraser. Then, just use a blow dryer to blow away the debris.
6- Dry Erase Board
A dry erase board has many uses in the classroom. A small one can be utilized by students to practice hand writing skills, copy work, memorization of facts, or math practice. A large wall-mount one can be used for daily quotes, to-do lists, or lesson plans for the day.
Household Uses for a Dry Erase Board
But a dry erase board also functions well throughout the home.
▬ In the kitchen use it to keep a running shopping list, meal plan, or a recipe resource.
▬ As a calendar to track family happenings.
▬ A magnetic dry erase board can function as a way to keep track of important notes, receipts or addresses.
▬ In the garage a dry-erase board can help to keep a running list of household work that needs to be accomplished, like cleaning out the gutters, getting an oil change, or buying a new belt for the vacuum cleaner.
7- Dry Erase Markers
Obviously markers are needed for that dry erase board. But there are some great things you can do with them too. For example, have you see this fun Dancing Spiders idea? This could totally be a fun science study to figure out how it works. Write vocabulary words on a window, sliding glass door, or shower door. Print lined papers, laminate them, and use for math, vocabulary, spelling words, etc.. These are especially useful when doing plot-line graphs on graphing paper.
▬ Write a love note to your husband on the bathroom mirror. Or, write encouraging notes on the kids bathroom mirror.
▬ Laminate or use packing tape to cover an index card and you’ve created an instant dry-erase board that is pocket-sized. Slip it and a marker into your purse. Then your kids can use it when bored. Or use it to take quick notes when your out and about.
▬ Track miles or date of next service inside your car’s windshield.
8- Post-It Notes
We all know that Post-It Notes are the best invention since, sliced bread. O.k. maybe the best invention ever! Now that they come in a myriad of colors, shapes, and sizes, we use them all the time, don’t we moms, in homeschool. They are great for quick notes in a text book for guiding a student to see, or do something in particular. I often use them to explain a concept for my son in his text so he doesn’t have to stop his reading rhythm to ask me. In our homeschool we use Post-It notes for calendar notes, reminders, and even as bookmarks. Once, my son used them to create a wall-sized periodic table.
Of course they can be used around the house, in the car, or wherever you need to take a note. But they can be used for so many more things. Here are just a few, but did you know that there are entire books written for unexpected uses for the simple Post-It note?
▬ Use them for a quick, disposable coaster.
▬ Use as wall-paper in a kid’s bedroom.
▬ Create a wall-mural.
▬ Use them to create a mural of your child’s favorite video character. Perhaps Minecraft Steve, Creeper, or even Mario from Mario Brother.
▬ Print on them with your printer, to create a customized banner, (Here’s How).
Homeschool Supplies are so versatile. When we think creatively, and outside the typical usage of an item it’s really amazing what we can come up with. What about you? What fun, purposeful, ways are you utilizing you homeschool supplies to make your everyday life a bit easier? I’d love to hear your ideas, just leave me a message in the comments section below.
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