It’s that time of year—the time when all the school supplies are on sale. Pens! Pencils! Notebooks! Glue! It’s almost more than I can stand—I love all that stuff.
It’s tempting to run around and put ten of everything in your cart, isn’t it? But for the most part, homeschoolers aren’t all that wealthy (why is that, anyway?) and we often need to shop wisely for the things we need. I encourage you to think about your family dynamics as you make your shopping list.
Children who are homeschooled don’t have a daily need for backpacks and lunchboxes, so don’t get caught up in the cute patterns at the store—you won’t use those items unless you have some trips away from home on your schedule. In addition, you may find that your children don’t need school clothes in the fall—they may need them in the winter, or the summer, and they might not be specifically school clothes. They might be church clothes or pajamas—homeschooled kids don’t need special clothes to attend school.
If your children are artists, like mine, you’ll want to stock up on paper, pencils, and crayons. Right now really is the best time to buy crayons—in a lot of instances, they’re forty cents a box for Crayola, or cheaper. (Serious colorers know Crayola is the only good kind.) We don’t spend money on paints—we’re more crayon-marker-colored pencil people.
Yes, there’s a lot of good stuff on sale, and it’s all cute and tempting. But only you know what you really need, and you are the one to best decide what supplies are right for you and your family. With planning, you can avoid some of the price traps and still supply your family for the coming year at a fraction of the cost.
Related Blogs:
The Euphoria of School Supplies