Preparing Home School Materials

How to keep your home school materials ready for learning. Here are strategies for any grade level. 

Here's what you'll learn in this article: 

• Keep your home school materials prepared to invite curiosity and varied learning.
• Three strategies for keeping your home school materials ready for any grade level.
• Answers to common questions about homeschooling materials.
• Key takeaways to better prepare your home school materials today.
• Next steps for keeping home school organized.

Use Your Home School Materials to Support Learning Experiences

The materials you use in home school are tools for your children to learn. They are there to inspire your children, provoke questions, and help them practice new skills. With intention, you can prepare a variety of open-ended materials to support your children.

Home school materials do not need to be complex or expensive. Focusing on open-ended materials across a variety of subjects will give your children the greatest opportunities for their own creativity to flourish. Let your curriculum and children's interests guide your preparation.

3 Strategies for Better Preparing Your Home School Materials to Promote Curiosity and Experimenting

Preparing and maintaining home school materials does not need to be overly consuming. With these strategies you can get intentional about how your prepare your home school materials to create the learning experiences you want:

1. Know Your Guide Posts

There is so much to learn! With so many topics to explore, there are also a lot of materials available from countless books to art supplies to science kits. It can be hard to decide what that topics and associated materials are a good fit right now. Let your curriculum and children's interests be your guide.

Keep 2-3 materials per broader subject prepared at any given time. For example, art, science, math, language arts, culture and geography, and practical life. That amount is usually enough to allow for choice, while avoiding having too many options. For younger children, opt for swapping materials out more often. For older children look for materials that encourage depth and long-term projects that align with the lengthening stamina and abstract ideas.

2. Take a Supporting Role

Prepared materials that invite curiosity and investigating without your initiating are learning wins. What happens if you leave a topographic map book and clay on the culture and geography shelf? As you prepare materials do so with the aim of inviting your children to engage with them and come to you with any questions. 

If your child avoids materials on a shelf, that is giving clear feedback that they aren't interested. After the material has been out for a week with no interest or engagement, ask an open-ended question like "what do you think about that shelf"? If they say they aren't interested or it is too hard, then ask them if they'd like to start it together. Use the time as an opportunity to work with them to overcome a perceived weakness and learn from them what material is of more interest.

3. Know When to Change Materials

If the materials are getting regular use, and you see skills being mastered and new ones developing, then there is no need to make changes. Make changes once the material has been mastered. For example, if your new ready reads the book about sea urchins and shows no interest in more or your middle schooler builds the robot. 

If you put out materials that might be a stretch (think Shakespeare for early middle school), and it proves more frustrating than interesting, then swap that material for something else. Home school lets you tailor materials to your children, so if it isn't a fit right now, save it for next year.

FAQs: Using Home School Materials as Tools for the Learning Experiences You Want

How Much Do I Need?

While 2-3 materials for each broad topic of home school is a general guide, follow your children's lead. If they really enjoy science, then make more resources available to them to explore that interest. You can also have wild card materials that you introduce just to see if it invites a burst of engagement, even for a semester.

What about materials for across ages?

If you have three children in different grade levels, and you did the math that could be nearly 60 pieces of material if you follow a 2-3 per topic rule of thumb. That can be overwhelming! If you have multiple children, then they will see the materials of the other children, so you can reduce what you have out at any given time. Allowing for fluidity in materials is also a great way to learn. Who says your 6 year old doesn't want to sit with your 8 year old's book and look for the words they know? 

Also, focus on open-ended materials. If you set out the map materials, then you can have cue cards of what activity might be a fit for each grade.

Key Takeaways

• Intentionally prepare materials. Use home school materials as a tool to invite curiosity, creativity, and discover in your children.
• Build from a foundation. Use your curriculum and children's interests to select 2-3 materials to have prepared at a time. 
• Let the materials do the work. Well prepared materials will invite exploration on their own, while you are there for any questions or inquiry if your children don't engage.
• Embrace change (but not too much). If the materials are engaging your children, then don't pressure yourself to constantly change them; however, if they end up being too hard or too easy, swap them out.

Next Steps