Paper, pens and Plexiglass: Practical tips for homeschooling

19 Aug 2020 Paper, pens and Plexiglass: Practical tips for homeschooling

Posted at 12:55 PMh in 501 Kids by Brittany Gilbert

Some of you may be taking your first homeschooling journey this fall, whether it be deciding to homeschool your children on your own or as part of public or private school virtual learning.

This school year will bring all kinds of new challenges, so I’ve pulled together some of my favorite homeschooling tips to inject some fun and practicality into your homeschool setup.

Cover the kitchen table in kraft paper

Whether your kids do their schoolwork at the kitchen table or not, this is a great way to keep your table protected from markers bleeding through paper or the markings that go off of the paper and onto the table. I keep our table covered most of the time so that my kids can feel free to grab paper and supplies whenever they want and have a space to be creative.

We also do our homeschool work at the kitchen table, and sometimes the kraft paper ends up being a space for me to write instructions or help them with different school problems. I order my kraft paper online.

Plexiglass covered tables

While we do most of our schoolwork at our kitchen table, my kids do have desks in our school room. I went to a home supply store and had them cut Plexiglass to fit the top of their tables, and it has been really helpful. I place maps or handwriting sheets under the plastic so they can trace or write in a way that can easily be erased.

I also leave my kids notes or checklists on this to save paper and make sure they don’t lose it. Writing on paper often means the paper is misplaced.

A rolling cart for school supplies

These carts are all over the place and available at quite a few stores. They’re small enough to fit in a lot of places but big enough to be able to hold lots of things. All of our school and craft supplies fit on the top level, then whatever else we need fits on the next two. Wherever we decide to do school that day, we roll the cart to that room and everything is there for us.

My 4-year-old has been able to roll it into the kitchen, where the table is, and she can help herself to the markers and paper or coloring books.

This cart has been so helpful in our freedom to do school wherever we want to that day without feeling stuck to a certain room or area of the house because of the difficulty of moving supplies around.

Frixion pens

If you listen to the podcast I’m a part of (The Deeply Rooted Homeschool), you will notice that our guests mention Frixion pens and highlighters a lot. These pens are exceptional because they erase. As a teacher, I used to tell my students all the time to “write in pencil so you can erase.” It would be frustrating at times because kids gravitate to color, as they should, because color makes things interesting and grabs their attention. There’s so much research on the value that colors make in a child’s education.

A friend of mine who is an occupational therapist has taught me that pens can be better for kids to write with because pencil tips are constantly changing as the lead wears. Pens don’t have this issue, so finding a great pen that erases is the perfect solution.

Avoid schedule/curriculum overload

Start slow and simple. It’s so easy to add to your plate. There are lots of amazing resources and curricula out there, but you’ll find that it will only add stress to your plate. Add one piece of curriculum at a time and feel free to adjust as you go. I can’t tell you how much money I’ve wasted on things that were great, but not necessary or helpful for our homeschool.

At the end of the day, yes, I want my kids to learn, but I know I don’t need every single good thing out there for them to do that. I want them to enjoy the freedom that comes with homeschool, which also includes time with friends and learning other important life skills.

These are just a few of the many things that have been helpful in our homeschool journey. Feel free to reach out to me if you need or want more suggestions. There is a huge community of homeschool families in the 501 area, and we’re all in this together. If you don’t homeschool, these tips can still be helpful.