A Few School Favorites

As I get ready for back-to-school time, I love seeing what has worked for other families.

Frugal tip: I set up an ongoing wishlist on Amazon of things I hear about throughout the year.  That way when a holiday or birthday or some room in the budget comes up, I have a list of product ideas ready to go.  Amazon is an easy way to organize all the things, even if ultimately, I end up buying them off of other places. (The links below may include affiliate links. When people use our Amazon links and make a purchase, we receive credit. Then we buy things on our wishlist. Thank you!)

Here are some of our favorite “bonus items” for the school year.

Universal Yums

We’re on our second year of Universal Yums subscription. Definitely a great gift idea. (Thanks, Grandma!) Every month we get a box of snacks from a different country. Here’s our referral link if you want $5 off . I check out a few books on that country from the library, and it’s the least effort unit study possible. Weirdest thing we’ve tried: Dried Seaweed Snacks from Thailand. Yummiest: Dutch Stroopwafels

The Best Pencil Sharpener

After going through several pencil sharpeners in annoyingly short amounts of time, we have had this one for YEARS. It has an extra-large shavings tank, so it doesn’t have to be emptied all the time.

Easy History My Kids Love

The Story of Civilization CDs/MP3s from Tan have been a favorite.  We don’t have a complete “set” with the tests and maps and activities…the audio stands alone pretty well.  Story of History Series – TAN Academy

Anything from Home Science Tools

Science materials from Home Science Tools are pretty affordable (think owl pellets, dissection kits, geology fieldtrip in a bag, magnifying glasses ) Science Supplies for Homeschool & Classroom | Home Science Tools

A Little Kid Show My Bigs Love
Have you heard of Bluey? I thought it was just another kids’ show until I sat down and watched it with my kids. It’s from Australia and adorable (not just because of the accents). I can vouch for the first season. My older kids watch it and laugh along, too. “I slipped on da beans!” Having some benign screen time for our preschoolers is priceless in getting things done.

Catholic Virtue Education

PACE Manual (catholicpace.com) is about the least fancy looking curriculum ever. But it packs a big punch. We will be using this as a spine for our morning time once again. We did not get any of the grade specific “workbooks.” From book lists to suggested activities for each virtue, this book is THE BEST. And it’s $30. We used it last year and can use it again this year because there is just SO MUCH goodness. Has my overuse of capitals convinced you to buy it yet? 🙂 I’m considering getting some of the other offerings just because it has been such a win.

Rapid Fire Random Things

It takes a lot of clicking to make links look pretty. So here’s a bunch of lazy linking.

– My kids have developed surprising amounts of number sense playing with these calculators (they don’t use them for school-school) The littles like pushing buttons. https://amzn.to/3bZEQRo
– Dover historical coloring books are always a win https://amzn.to/3bWar6n
– Play doh for keeping little hands busy https://amzn.to/3yivtUk
– These doodle pads have held up well for us https://amzn.to/3uxThm3
– Glory Story CDs/MP3s from Holy Heroes Glory Stories – Audio Stories of Catholic Saints for Kids – Holy Heroes
– Tape, tape, tape (our kids go through so much!!!) https://amzn.to/3IobfNu    
– Cardstock https://amzn.to/3NTyU9Q
– This Life Cycles Book is super cool https://amzn.to/3NMqv80
– Our kids just pour over the Julia Rothman books https://amzn.to/3Pc3Y5B (We can vouch for Ocean, Farm, Nature, and Food)
– We love PicWits Silly & Sweet to play as a family of readers and non-readers https://amzn.to/3akPvFT
– This guy is another way to keep hands busy during read alouds https://amzn.to/3o6wB93
– These shaky eggs are both fun for playing kitchen and as musical instruments.

– Mad Libs as a family are always a win. https://amzn.to/3bgf8Ie
– And our favorite CD to listen to in the car https://amzn.to/3Pgv4ZA

Any favorite homeschool “bonus” items to share? Let me know!

PS– In case you are curious, my dad has had the stem cell transplant and is now waiting for his blood counts to start to bounce back. Prayers are appreciated.

PPS– We are still trying to navigate life without Joseph. He should be here by now, and everyone in our family feels that absence. It bubbles up in different ways and at different times for all of us. Prayers are appreciated. I’m on the prowl for an artist who would be able to take our limited photos and paint a portrait of Joseph for us that’s less sad and in color. Also, I’m looking for someone who can make a copy of our footprint molds with a 3-D scanner. No luck so far. Any recommendations are appreciated.