Homeschooling preschool is a great option to consider for your little one!
More and more parents are considering starting to homeschool from a young preschool age.
It may not be as structured or follow rigid curriculums as you might with older children, but it can be super beneficial as your little ones begin to learn new things and refine their skills.
This article may contain affiliate links to products that may help you when homeschooling preschool.
However, it is important that you have certain supplies on hand.
So I have gathered below some of the must-have homeschool preschool supplies that you’ll want to have readily available.
All of them are used frequently in our homeschool preschool lesson plans, so if you’re following those, be sure to have the items below!
Homeschool Preschool Supplies
Unlike when your child heads off to preschool, homeschooling preschool is all about experiencing the world around them – at home.
That means that different textures, materials, and creative supplies are essential.
You can store everything in one giant tub or organize them in clear plastic boxes stored on a bookshelf or in a cabinet – whatever works for you!
Playdough
Playdough is a lot of fun for toddlers and older preschoolers.
While you may associate it with playtime it is actually really useful to help strengthen your child’s grip.
The pincer grip and other fine motor skills that you need eventually lead to holding a pencil, etc.
There are so many things you can do with playdough aside from playing with it such as using it for color recognition, shaping letters and numbers, comparing sizes, and more!
Pro Tip: If you don’t want to buy playdough, check out this list of 100 Playdough Recipes from MamaTeaches.com, our homeschool teaching site for older kids!
Counting Beads and Blocks
Counting is another thing your little one will learn!
Using counting beads and blocks can be a great way to help a child visually understand the concept of counting.
They’re both a great tool to help with fine motor skills as well.
We recommend using an old-fashioned abacus for young preschoolers as it helps to eliminate the worry of them putting the beads in their mouths.
Plus, they enjoy sliding the beads from one side to the other!
Wooden blocks are also a favorite of ours, but if your child is prone to throwing things, you may want to just go with some softer blocks instead!
A Word of Caution: Never leave your child playing with counting beads or blocks on their own.
They pose a choking hazard and you must supervise their use at all times.
File Folders
File folders will help you stay organized in your homeschool room.
You can use them to house papers and crafts, store different activities that you want to introduce, or keep completed work separately so that it can be filed away.
File folders are also great for making lapbooks!
We like to use colorful file folders, but plain manila folders would work just as well.
Book Lists
One of the best things you can encourage with homeschooling preschool is reading.
At this stage, children are just exploring books.
They’re learning how a book works, connecting images and words, understanding that there’s a story or information inside, and just generally cultivating a love of printed work.
Finding book lists that you can refer to will help you to track and understand what books your preschooler is enjoying and also enable you to get a glimpse of the progress they make.
Activity Books & Packets
Having a good selection of reading books is one thing, but you might also want to include some activity books and packets.
This could include things such as dot to dots, word searches, and drawing books.
They’ll encourage your preschooler to try and do different things.
These activities will not only be fun for your preschooler but they’ll also be beneficial in terms of pencil control and building letter and number recognition skills.
Craft Supplies
One of the most important homeschool preschool supplies is definitely craft supplies!
Your homeschool space should be filled with opportunities for crafting, writing, and reading.
Having a good selection of the following materials is always a great place to start:
- construction paper
- glue sticks
- age-appropriate scissors
- pipe cleaners
- tissue paper
- paints
- brown paper lunch bags (they’re awesome for so many crafts and activities!)
The more invitation you give your child to be creative through access to different materials and apparatus the better!
Markers, Pencils, and Crayons
Finally, alongside the craft supplies, it is a good idea to have a selection of:
This gives the invitation to be creative and encourages your child to increase their confidence with pen and pencil control.
Building up those fine motor skills is so important at the preschool stage!
Hopefully, this will help you if you have been wondering what the must-have homeschool preschool supplies are that you might need.
Don’t be afraid to pull other materials into the mix as well.
Remember, oftentimes the best preschool materials are the ones that don’t cost much at all!