20 Affordable Home Preschool Must Haves (from a Kindergarten Teacher Mom)

home preschool must haves

So you’re thinking about teaching home preschool to your child. But one of your first questions is probably, “What does home preschool cost?  What are the home preschool must haves?”

Well, one of the great things is that it can cost as much or as little as you wish! 

Tiny budget?  Grab a couple essentials and you’ll be set!

No budget? Lucky you! Have fun with all of the preschool materials a gal could dream of!

Somewhere in the middle?  Read through this list and you’ll find just what you’ll need to get started in your home preschool!

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20 Affordable Home Preschool Must Haves

1. Crayons

I mean, it is preschool after all! A fresh set of crayons is always great to have on hand!



2. Markers

…if you’re daring!



3. Dot Paints

Dot paints are such a fave in our house! These are the ones we love!



4. Dot Paint Pages

Speaking of dot paints, you can grab my pack of Apple Dot Paint Pages here! Your kiddo will love dotting these fun pages with their dot markers!

home preschool must haves

5. Dot Stickers

Dot stickers are another all-purpose item to keep on hand! 

I love these ones- there are so many color options!

They’re great for sorting practice and pattern work! Or whatever your child come up with!



6. Workbook

We love using this workbook in our home preschool!  We use a page a day for a quick few minutes of work. 

I have a full review here of this fantastic preschool workbook…even though workbooks aren’t my favorite. 😉



7. Math Book

This little book is a guide to have for any mom who is teaching home preschool to their child! It has quick and easy games to teach critical skills to your young child.

Super fun, super simple. No other math resources are really required!



8. Counting Bears

While you definitely do not need to buy anything else in conjunction with the math book, I decided to buy these bears to go with it anyway.

A lot of the games need some sort of counters or manipulatives. For these games you can use anything around the house like coins, paper clips, etc.

We use these bears for a lot of the math games.

They are great for some of my counter games and sorting games and counting skills.

The bears are really just a great home preschool must have!



9. Little Reader Books

We have loves using these little Scholastic book readers to begin learning really basic skills for reading!

These simple little books are  great for learning about concepts of print which I go into detail about this link here.



10. Letter Sound Book

We love this book!

It matches letters with their sound using a physical motion. Children learn best when movement is involved, and that is exactly what this book does.

Fun fact: Knowing letter sounds is actually WAY more important than knowing the name of the letters when it comes to reading.

This great book emphasizes the letter sounds and helps children remember them by connecting it with motions.



11. Blank Books

These blank books are perfect for beginning writers!

Target Dollar Spot will often have packs of blank books for sale, too!

I go into detail here about how I use books like this to begin teaching writing into my very young child.



12. Letter Manipulatives

Any sort of letter manipulatives are great to have around! Like these magnetic letters!

Target Dollar Spot often has great options from time to time like letter cutouts and mini erasers!



13. Planner

A planner of some sort to make your lesson plans is good to have! 

If the budget is tight, you can honestly jot down your weekly plans on a piece of blank paper.  

If you’re more of a planner junkie, you might like this one!



14. Counting to 100 Sheets

We count to 100 on each of our math days

I grabbed an awesome book from Target Dollar Spot a few years ago, and we’ve used it regularly for 100 practice!

I have not been able to find this book again anywhere, so I decided to make my own!

This pack has five pages of beautiful images your child can use to count to 100.  It comes in both full color and black and white, for your convenience! (The black and white make great coloring pages!)

Grab yours here!

15. Poems and Songs

We start every schoolwork session off with a poem or song. We use the same poem/song for two weeks before switching.

You can learn how we use these poems here!

You can grab these done-for-you poems here! And they come with accompanying activities your kids will love!!

16. Library Card

Unlimited books for free! What more could a homeschooling mama want?!

17. Outdoor Space

Whether you use your own backyard or a nearby park, having regular outdoor time is a huge piece of having kids home during the preschool years.

You can read here about how we spend as much time as possible outside!

18. Flexible Schedule

Like anything else with young children, having a flexible mindset is key! And that is one of the best parts of homeschooling- the incredible amount of flexibility!  

Is your child a little off this morning? Do your schoolwork in the afternoon!

Want to take your family on an outing? Absolutely no problem!

19. Classic Books

We love to read aloud. Honestly, I was shocked how much my three year old loved the stories that really only had minimal pictures.

We loved reading Raggedy Ann and Andy stories last year. This year we’re venturing into the Little House on the Prairie series!







20. Patience

Teaching home preschool to my children is really such a joy in my life. But like anything else, it will at times require just a touch of patience. 🙂 Take a deep breath. You got this!

Conclusion

I love doing home preschool with my children. I hope these home preschool must haves help make your job a little easier so you love it, too!

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