I love gathering fresh school supplies with my children! They enjoy browsing the variety of materials and selecting their favorite binder and pencils for the new school year. All the preparing cultivates expectation for each of us. This time of the year always feels a little bit like Christmas. New books arrive in mail, fresh pencils and paper fill our drawers, and full jars of paint load organizing baskets. We keep our supply list simple as well as always being conscious of space and budget when purchasing new things for the homeschool.

Prioritizing preparedness before school helps me better plan, organize, and welcome the new homeschool year with joy. The children each go through their books, organize their little spaces, sharpen pencils, arrange binders, and overall grow excited (maybe a bit nervous) for the homeschool days ahead.

It seems like so many supplies! But setting everything in its place at the beginning of the year is key to not quickly losing papers and interest altogether. I’ve noticed that we need to be stocked with the basics to better use our time and keep track of our work during the year.

Sometimes (we have plenty from last year) we’ve purchased watercolor paper and watercolor pencils, sketching notebooks, graphite pencils, wooden rulers, quick-dry modeling clay, several sizes of paint brushes, —-We like to keep a large variety of art supplies because if the children have access to the good-quality materials, they’ll naturally want to use them.

These are the specific things we did this year to prepare for school:

• Scrubbed the desks with magic erasers. It was the only way to get rid of crayon marks and other markings.

• We went through every book on the shelf in the schoolroom, every puzzle, game, toy, craft, etc.

• The children started taking zinc, vitamin C, and echinacea for immune system support. It should help with the transition of being outdoors in the fresh air to a couple days a week in a room with 10 other kids.

• We went through all the fall/winter clothes bins and filled the gaps with Old Navy or Costco basics.

• Replaced and replenished school supplies. I threw away dried up paint brushes, old paints, broken crayons, dry markers, and bought lined paper, 3×5 cards, tracing paper, binders, notebooks, pencils, erasers, glue.

• Stocked up on simple, quick breakfasts: oats, frozen cooked sausages, eggs, bagels, bread for toast, cereal.

• Stocked up on easy, nutritious lunches: healthy nuggets, eggs (we love egg salad), tuna cans (we love tuna salad), crackers, sandwich bread, deli meats, sliced cheeses.

• We (first alone and then with Nathan) went through each of the children’s daily tasks and then went over it with them.

• Prayed alone, with Nathan, and with the children over the year as a whole, for patience, diligence, understanding, compassion, focus, growth, spiritual maturity, and joy in all the tasks.

Lastly, God is using these verses in Galatians to calm my heart as I face a fresh new year and grow my trust in Him. I pray this Scripture can be uplifting to you today too!

“Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

Galatians 6:6-10

with love, Damaris