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Crayons
Twistable crayons are awesomesauce. They’re much more convenient than regular crayons, and more durable thanks to the plastic barrels. We love our Crayola Mini Twistable Special Effects Crayons (pictured above)! But kids love glittery and shiny things, so we also use Crayola Metallic FX Crayons regularly. These don’t come in twistable form yet, though I’m sure they will one day.
Watercolour Paints
The Faber-Castell Watercolours we use seem to last forever, so we haven’t tried other brands. The colours come out wonderfully! Watercolour cakes are also much easier for young children to use on their own compared to liquid watercolours.
Poster Paints
I can’t tell you how much I love Crayola Washable Paints. It comes off any surface or fabric easily and the soft bottles are easily squeezable. They also come in glitter and neon shades. When H was a tot, we used the equally awesome Crayola Fingerpaints. And oh, spill proof paint cups! What would I do without them? We use them to hold water (for mixing with paints).
Markers
We use our Expo Low Odor Dry Erase Pen-Style Markers on a daily basis. Many of the worksheets I give H are reusable, so I slot them into sheet protectors or her Crayola Dry Erase Activity Center. The ink erases cleanly even after it has dried out days later. We’ve also tried the Crayola dry-erase markers that came with the center, but they don’t rival Expo’s. For non-reusable worksheets, I let her use markers too, for the fun factor. (Anything to encourage a preschooler to write!) Crayola Broadline Washable Markers are great; our set has lasted us a couple of years and the ink is really washable!
Erasers
I’m pretty sure Faber-Castell Dust-Free Eraser was designed for artists and designers, but the large size and super erasibility makes it great for kids too. If this eraser existed in my childhood, it would’ve saved me a lot of frustration.
Craft Glue
Crayola No Run School Glue works for us. It dries quickly and holds strong.
Scissors
Scotch Kids Blunt Tip Scissors for the world! H’s first pair of scissors was a child-safe pair with plastic blades that didn’t cut well. Then we tried this Scotch scissors (it was included in a free craft pack) and I was pleasantly surprised when she started using it with ease instantly. Although the age recommendation is 4 and up, H started using it at 3 years old with supervision.
Other Stuff
Plain old white index cards are boring. We love using blank multi-coloured index cards to make word cards and such.
Do-A-Dot markers opened up a whole new world for us. We have the rainbow, brilliant and shimmer sets and I see them lasting for quite a long time. (I do not dare to buy the fluorescent set as it seems like the ink is not completely washable.)
As you can see, most of the supplies we use are geared towards preschoolers since we’re at that stage right now. This list will evolve to fit our needs, for sure. What do YOU use in your homeschool? Is there anything you particularly love that we don’t use? Share with me in the comments.