Back to School Shopping

I'm starting to think about next year's school plan. Aside from curriculum, the supplies are always important. One can use less supplies than I chose, but I like stuff and find I prefer to spend more money to may allow things to seem to go more smoothly. I say "seem" because I always hope for one outcome and can end up with another.

I did most of my shopping so far at Target. It was a complete pleasure to visit that store. It was clean, very well-stocked, had great prices, and everything was easy to find. I highly recommend it.

I've decided to take the advice of some other homeschoolers and try uniforms this year. Simple enough--polo shirts or other collared shirts, and khaki colored bottoms. I hope it will reinforce the idea of "school time" versus "play time." I picked up some $5.99 polo shirts (assorted colors), a pair of shorts or a skort, and a pair of pants for $6.99. The kids are kind-of excited about the uniforms. My youngest because it's school-like and the oldest because she's reminiscent for her old Montessori school.

I bought a billion one-subject notebooks (for textbooks that do no come with workbooks), pencils, colored pencils, scissors, rulers, erasors, and other sundries. A Montessori homeschooling Yahoo group recommended Target for educational items in their dollar section. Bingo!

1. There were flash cards for the presidents (passed them up), the states (got them), insects (got them), numbers, phonics, subtraction, multiplication, and division (passed them all up because I already have them),
2. pocket organizers (great for calendar work and putting a schedule on the wall),
3. teacher record keeping and lesson planning,
4. organizer boxes,
5. foam teaching clock with movable hands,
6. work books on science, math, and animals,
7. mini-globes (people suggested painting them to match the continent colors in Montessori),
8. mini-journals good for kindergarten/first grade,
9. write-on/wipe-off cursive practice and continent naming.

I bought loads!