We all learn through experience what we may need (or not) for our unschooling journeys. I’ve found that the following items are essential for a smooth-running household that has become the centre of a child’s learning environment.
1. Workspace
Do your children have a place where they can do their work? The kitchen table works for most of us, but if you’re working on a long-term project, it’s not a good location to leave things lying around.
If you don’t have a good spot for your children to get their work done, consider buying a table with collapsible legs-that way it can be easily stored when not needed. Also useful are TV tables and lap trays, like the one here
2. Dictionary
Access to a solid print dictionary is a great place for a child to explore a world full of words, and to look up terms when needed. We can’t always have access to a computer, and by having a child-appropriate dictionary allows a child to understand words at his/her level.
Some children’s dictionaries with good reviews:
Merriam-Webster Children’s Dictionary
Scholastic Children’s Dictionary
(These dictionaries target children in the 9-12 year-old range.)
If you’d rather have an online source, try these:
Yahoo Kids Dictionary Search
Wordsmyth Fact Monster
3. Internet Connection
As Shakespeare mentioned in his play The Merry Wives of Windsor, the ‘world is your oyster.’ With the Internet, we have so much information at our disposal, that we’ll never live long enough to even begin to make a dent in it. Use this to your advantage to search information and resources for whichever activity you and your children are working on.
4. Website
Many people think that setting up a website is a waste of time when, in fact, it’s a great place to track what you’re doing for your homeschool and for use as a creative output (this is what prompted me to begin this blog).
If you have a blog you’d like to try, a website your children want to build, a good site with a reliable host is needed. I have a great host and some recommended ones which I’m not going to list here, but should you be interested, please drop me a note.
5. Library Card
As with the Internet, libraries are treasure chests full of information, stories and lessons to be learned. Check your local libraries schedule for activities such as story times or Dungeons & Dragons groups.
6. Arts and Craft Supplies
Need to get some work accomplished? Vacuum before your mother-in-law arrives? Keeping a stash of arts and craft supplies on hand is a great way to keep children busy when you need those few minutes of ‘you-time’. I purchased a large plastic briefcase-like bin and keep it stocked with dollar-store craft supplies. These are things that the children beg me to have access to, so when I pull it out, it’s almost guaranteed to keep them busy for a while.
7. Attractive Pencils, Paper and Notebooks
If unschooling, keeping an interesting-looking supply of these on hand are a great encouragement for children to use them to write things down or draw pictures. If homeschooling in a more traditional way, they have the same effect. I’m an adult and I’m still in love with stationary!
8. Journal
Keep a running tab of your activities in a journal. A few quick notes jotted down every day about your children’s activities is all you need, and should anyone ever challenge your right to homeschool, you have documented evidence of what you do from day to day.
9. An Open Mind
Homeschooling/unschooling requires that you constantly think outside the box. Are your children obsessed with playing ‘house’ all day? They are learning valuable skills in sharing, cooperation, getting along and how a family is run. Little Johnny is playing with Legos and not doing anything else? He’s learning about colors, math and physics…not bad lessons to learn for a typical day. Be flexible and remember that our children will learn in spite of us. By giving them the tools to explore their world, they can do so in a way that is fun and exciting!
10. A Copy of This Blog Post
100 Essential Web Tools for Homeschoolers has some awesome links that homeschoolers will find both useful and valuable. Go ahead and explore!
11. Calendar
This is an obvious one, but somehow, a lot of people seem to miss it. Keep everything in order with a good old-fashioned calendar. Always make a point to write down everyone’s appointments, play dates and field trips. Just as important is to be sure to check it daily to make sure you’re not missing anything.
Looking for some neat calendar ideas? Try these:
The Home Schooler’s Journal
Kids Art 2010 Wall Calendar Draw Your Own Picture
12. Your State/Provincial Home Laws
Know your responsibilities and your rights as far as your state/province/country is concerned. It’s of utmost importance if you wish to homeschool your children with as little hassle as possible. Beginning with Alberta, I’ve recently started a section on this blog called ‘Homeschooling Around the World.” If you’d like to contribute as a guest blogger, please contact me through the ‘About‘ page and let me know which part of the world you’d like to cover.
13. Outside Socialization
For a healthy upbringing, it’s of utmost importance that your children have contact with other people. Bewing holed up in the home 24/7 is depressing for the best of us, don’t let your children shrivel up! They in no way have to play with children of the same age, but they should be out and about in the community meeting other people and getting a chance to interact. This is what happens when they are alone for too long.
14. Petty Cash Fund
“Mommy, Aleena and Carrie want to go the library to check out some DVDs, can I come?” It would be really cool if your daughter could join them, but there’s one problem with that…you don’t have any cash for her bus fare and a snack. Don’t be caught short-changed (pun intended), keep some cash on hand for unforeseen expenses that will otherwise have you getting into the car and heading to the bank–though the girls will probably score a free ride out of the dilemma!
15. Imagination
This goes with the whole thinking-outside-the-box routine. Encourage your children to think about what could be. Many a great person started off his/her life imagining seemingly-impossible things.
16. Support Group
Get in touch with other homeschoolers. They aren’t only a great opportunity for your kids to play with like-minded kids, sharing your fears, worries and successes with parents in the same boat is a great way to help each other along.
17. Time
Spend time with your children. When they watch a movie or TV show, don’t just let them sit while you go about your own things, but sit alongside them and watch it together. When they want to try something new, sit with them and learn together. There is nothing more priceless than the time you spend with your children and the time you spend with them makes the things they learn all the more valuable and meaningful.
Sandra Dodd a well-known radical unschooler drew up this graph to illustrate how much time a parent should spend with a child. I suggest you pay good attention to it…I believe this to be the key to successful unschooling.
18. Storage Shelves
I have yet to meet a homeschooling family who has not amassed a huge collection of books, craft supplies and equipment. Don’t get to a point where you are disorganized to where you’re living in a disaster zone. Invest in some heavy-plastic storage shelves. They are cheap (around $35-$45), easy to assemble, and an easy way to keep the clutter down.
19. Storage Bins
With the same logic behind the storage shelves, invest in some storage bins to keep your supplies in check. There are hundreds of styles available and how you use them is only limited by the imagination!
I have a large tote bin for our monster Lego collection, and then keep their craft supplies in a briefcase-like bin, and their paper in a scrapbooking box.
Here are some sites that sell storage bins:
School Outfitters
Ergo in Demand
20. Patience
This is something that many of us, myself included, need to work on. Children will make messes, destroy your possessions and get in trouble as long as we are in existence…no use crying over spilled milk. With the “spend time together” philosophy in mind, just go with the flow and clean it up as a family.
21. A PC and Printer
Most people own a personal computer these days, but not as many own computers. Invest in a good laserjet printer (the cost of ink in terms of printed pages/cartridge is much less than with other types of printers), and when you find useful resources, experiments, worksheets, etc online, you’ll just have to click the mouse to have a copy (or two, or three) for your children to use.
22. Recycle Bin
I don’t know a single homeschooling family who doesn’t go through copious amounts of paper, newspaper, etc. Keep a recycle bin on hand from an early age so that children grow up knowing the importance of recycling. I like to use my paper twice. Once for whatever activity was planned with it, and another time as scrap paper for colouring or painting. After that, it gets tossed into the recycle bin.
23. Monkey Platters
A monkey platter is a platter of finger food made available to the children throughout the day. Kids like to graze and by having healthy food choices available to them, they always have a place to go to grab a nibble. Read more about making money platters here.
These are the essentials of my home when it comes to schooling my children. What are your homeschool must-haves?
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