Alright, I have to make another admission. When I was in school I enjoyed checking out all the gadgets and cool notebooks, pens, and other school supplies for back-to-school season. Actually, when I was in college I left my husband-to-be dumbfounded because I would take notes on blue, yellow, pale green, pink and purple legal pads.

Cool supplies kept things interesting for me. Even now, I always have plenty of pens on hand. In fact, I just cleaned out my purse from vacation and I found 15 pens, pencils and highlighters. You’d think I strapped one to every finger. When it comes to pens, I might be considered a pen connoisseur. I enjoy writing with the furry pens, the ones that light up, and the ones that write in gel. Our daughter has also begun training to be a pen connoisseur. She has received very unique pens, including one that was anti-gravity and one that could record messages. This summer when we cleaned out our homeschool room/library I found so many markers, crayons, pens, pencils, notebooks, rulers, and so on I now know that if our school district ever runs low we might be able to help them out. Just kidding!

Anyway, what is my point? Homeschooled kids enjoy these types of supplies too! Granted they may not use them nearly as fast as is the case with our daughter’s backpack which will probably last five years. Nonetheless, a backpack can be useful when traveling, visiting with friends or bringing something to do, as with our daughter, when she visits her Dad at work. They can be used for field trips or visits to the library.

Our daughter always has a journal or notebook in hand. Either she is composing poetry, writing a story, or taking notes. For a period of time she counted cars while at another time license plates intrigued her. She liked writing license plate numbers down. Sometimes, when she is in spy mode, she will take notes of people she is watching. There are many, many uses for notebooks besides just taking notes. It is amazing what a child can come up with when given blank paper and a pen.

Since most homeschoolers often fall into the eclectic style, which incorporates different educational styles, office supplies can be very useful. And office supply stores recognize homeschool parents as teachers. So, if you go to Staples, Office Depot, Office Max or any other office supply store be sure to ask about their teacher discount cards. We regularly use Staples which pays a teacher reward in the form of cash back, which we promptly spend at Staples on, surprise, office supplies.

Depending on where you live and what your homeschool laws are for your state you may be asked to provide a certificate or simply a support group card as proof that you homeschool. Often during back-to-school shopping they may also have special teacher shopping days with gift bags. And let’s face it, discounts are great but free is even better!

So, the next time you see a neat notebook, colored gel pens or some cool paper check them out. See if your child might find them helpful and then consider making a purchase. After all, you are the teacher and you get to make your own supply list!

Office Depot Star Teacher: http://www.odstarteacher.com/

Staples Teacher Rewards Program: https://www.staplesrewardcenter.com/SORC/UserManagment/Login/Login.asp/