When I started homeschooling, I didn’t know what I needed to include on my homeschool supply list.
So, I ended up accumulating every free book, curriculum, workbook, and random school supply that I could get my hands on. (A big thank you to the veteran homeschool moms who purged their closets for me.)
And while these donations were greatly appreciated at the time, I hung on to them for way too long.
Over time, my homeschool supply cabinets went from stuffed to completely overflowing with materials I rarely, if ever, used. I became so overwhelmed with the clutter, that my ADHD brain became paralyzed and stressed.
So I decided to purge, and I feel so much better. While I certainly have more purging to do, I’m learning to limit my homeschool supplies to the essentials. To help you, I’m sharing the must-haves on my ADHD homeschool supply list.
27 Must-Haves on My Homeschool Supply List
The following 27 homeschool supplies are those that are always on my list. I’ve only included traditional school supplies and not books or curricula.
Because I have ADHD and homeschool my ADHD kids, I know these school supplies should be helpful for both traditional and neurodivergent families.
Please note that I know many homeschool families are one-income households. While I refer to this list as “must-haves,” choose what’s best for your family.
In the end, you can homeschool successfully with paper, pencil, and a few books. Pick and choose what resonates with you, Friend. Now, let’s get to it.
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a nominal fee from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your support. See my disclosure policy for more info.
1. Mini-Pencils
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Even though my son is 8, he struggles with fine motor skills. This is common in kids with ADHD, Autism, or any other neurodivergence.
These mini pencils have made it easier for him to pick up and maneuver a pencil. More importantly, the mini pencils have helped him overcome the “I hate writing” hump.
2. Visual Timer
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When you’re homeschooling a child with ADHD or any executive functioning challenges, a visual timer is essential. One of the many executive functioning challenges that ADHD brains navigate is time-blindess.
Using a visual timer is helpful for kids with ADHD for a few reasons.
- The visual representation helps them understand the concept of time.
- It gives them a sense of control and confidence that they can, for example, work on math for 10 minutes.
- They help them monitor their ability to stay on track.
- (When the timer goes off, it helps them see whether or not they’re on track. If they realize they zoned out, that timer helps them re-focus.)
3. Visual Schedule
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Many ADHD kids are visual learners. This makes a visual schedule important. If you have a non-reader, you may want a picture schedule.
However, some children struggle with visual discrimination and therefore, need a minimalistic schedule. In our home, we use this basic visual checklist to guide my son through his daily assignments and chores.
4. Laminator
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Every homeschool supply list needs a laminator! This is one of those things I didn’t buy at the beginning of our journey. However, as soon as I did, I wish I’d done it earlier.
5. Laminating Sheets in Bulk
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When you are homeschooling and have a laminator, you need cheap laminating sheets for all those projects. These Amazon Laminating Sheets are a staple in my house.
6. Pencil Chewy Topper
Many kids with ADHD and Autism have sensory processing challenges. Some are oral sensory seekers. This means that they often chew on objects.
In our homeschool, both my son and my oldest are chewers. That means our pencil erasers are always chewed up and destroyed. These pencil chew toppers are a fantastic way to provide oral sensory input and save pencils.
7. White Printer Paper
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We use white printer paper for just about everything in our homeschool.
- to work through math problems one at a time
- drawing
- map making
- to print all the things
- crafts, etc.
As mentioned earlier, kids with ADHD often struggle with visual discrimination. This means they need minimal visual distractions.
If your child is struggling with a worksheet of 30 math problems, grab a sheet of white paper and do one problem at a time.
8. A Printer and Copier Combo
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Our printer and copier machine are used daily in our home.
Because of all the copies we make, we must have a printer that can use generic (cheap) ink. This is the latest version of the Canon Pixma printer that we use.
9. Cheap Printer/Copier Ink
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When you make copies and print as often as we do, you must have cheap printer ink on your homeschool supply list. We use this brand of ink for our printer and it’s worked out great for our budget and printing needs.
10. Small White Boards
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We use small whiteboards in our homeschool almost daily. Kids love writing on whiteboards as the surface is smooth and apparently, markers are just inherently fun.
If your child is frustrated with writing spelling words on paper, try giving them a whiteboard and dry-erase marker. That simple shift to whiteboards could be a game-changer!
11. Dry Erase Markers
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Since you’re using whiteboards, you’ll need a supply of colorful dry-erase markers on your homeschool supply list. Using fun colors to practice math problems or spelling words can be highly motivating to some students.
However, if your children are prone to fight over the color marker they use, make it easy on yourself. Just by a bulk pack of black fine-tip markers.
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I prefer fine-tip markers because they mimic the size of a standard pencil. Stay away from purchasing ultra-fine point dry-erase markers.
They tend to dry out very quickly and add more surface tension when writing. That surface tension makes them less fun for children to use.
12. Magic Erasers
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Magic Erasers are a must-have homeschool supply! We use them for the obvious clean-up, and they’re perfect as whiteboard erasers.
13. Clip Boards
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Heather, AHFAS community member, says she uses color-coded clipboards in her homeschool.
I love to organize our homeschool using different colored clip boards!
Heather recommends using color-coded clipboards for each subject.
Another idea she suggests is to use different colors for each day of the week. Fill each clipboard with assignment sheets for each school day.
Using clipboards helps create independence and is great for on-the-go homeschooling!
Heather Purvis
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14. Crayons, Markers, & Colored Pencils
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My kids are creative types. Additionally, it’s common for neurodivergent kids to be creative. In our homeschool, this means I provide my kids with many opportunities to create.
By simply providing the supplies they need, they are prompted to draw, build, and design.
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Additionally, we use crayons, markers, and lots of colored pencils when doing mapwork, artist studies, and history timelines.
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15. Mechanical Pencils
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While we do have a pencil sharpener, I’ve learned that mechanical pencils are the way to go in an ADHD homeschool.
ADHD brains are prone to distraction. Eliminating the need to sharpen pencils is well worth the cost of mechanical pencils. These mechanical pencils are our favorites because the lead is thick, smooth, and doesn’t break easily.
16. Stapler
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It’s a stapler. Nothing exciting about it. We need one. You need one. If you don’t already have one, add this Swingline stapler to your homeschool supply list.
17. 3-Ring Hole Punchers
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In my 12 years of homeschooling, I’ve used my hole puncher a gazillion times. We have two in the house because I was sick of my kids stealing mine. Don’t forget to grab a regular one-hole handheld puncher for those smaller projects.
18. Spiral Notebooks
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Spiral notebooks are a necessity in our homeschool. We use them for everything.
- Math notebooks (a place to work through math problems)
- Assignment notebooks
- (one sheet a day with the date at the top and list of assignments)
- To-Do Lists for Mom
19. Maps
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You won’t believe how useful maps are until you don’t have one. We use the Story of the World as the spine in our Simple Homeschool History Plan. And when we do we’re always reaching for a map.
Because of my adult ADHD, I need many easily accessible maps throughout the house. So, we have a lot of maps in our homeschool. These placemat maps are fantastic and super handy.
20. Globe
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Yes. We love geography in our homeschool.
Using a globe is especially helpful for my son and other kids with learning challenges. Globes provide a more accurate representation of the shape of the earth and continents. A flat map, while convenient, just can’t do that as well.
21. Rings & Index Cards
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I realized the importance of rings and index cards when using IEW’s writing program.
The vocabulary cards in the back of the IEW workbooks are absolutely fantastic.
Once I cut them out and laminated them (yep, with my trusty laminator), I hole-punched them and slipped them onto a 2-inch ring.
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This made it much easier for my child to review her vocabublary cards without losing them.
(Hint: One symptom of ADHD is losing things. This is related to problems with executive functioning.)
Since then, we have used rings for math flashcards, vocabulary, and spelling word index cards, and more.
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22. Scissors (and lots of them)
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They’re scissors. And we never seem to have enough of them in my house.
It never hurts to have a good supply.
23. A Kindle Paperwhite
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We’ve used our Kindle paperwhite with our Kindle Unlimited subscription for many homeschool years.
For a low flat rate, I’ve been able to download tons of books from our read-aloud list. Then I throw it in my purse to pull out when I need it.
For example, I’ll read to the kids while waiting in the parking lot at speech or OT.
24. Lots of Chewing Gum
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You may know that my son chews gum all day long. This is because he craves proprioceptive input and is an oral sensory seeker.
Chewing gum provides him with the deep pressure he needs to calm his mind and body for learning.
If this resonates, give it a try with your child.
25. Fun Educational Games!
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When teaching a kid with ADHD, you’ve got to be creative and think outside-the-box.
One of the main challenges of the ADHD brain is a lack of dopamine. Dopamine is a chemical in the brain that helps us want to get stuff done. It also helps with focus.
One way to engage your child in learning is to use fun learning games in your homeschool. Pick up one or two educational games for your homeschool. It’ll make learning more fun and less stressful for you both.
26. Fidget and Sensory Tools
Another thing with the ADHD brain is that it tends to be “hyperactive.” ADHD, rather than being a deficit of “attention” is the opposite.
Kids with ADHD (and adults like me) have too much attention and notice EVERYTHING. This makes it challenging to zero in on what’s most important.
By providing kids with fidget toys and other sensory tools, they’re able to make small movements without being distracted. These small movements provide the brain with sensory input that ultimately helps improve attention span.
27. Manipulatives
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The ADHD brain tends to learn well when given multi-sensory experiences. Manipulatives are a great learning tool and provide the brain with a greater understanding of the concept being taught.
Currently, my son is obsessed with the Numberblocks MathLink Cubes. However, other manipulatives we’ve used for my children include the following.
- HandtoMind Rainbow Fraction Cubes
- Tangram Pattern Blocks
- Magnetic Letters and Numbers
- 60 Piece Interactive Human Body
- Puzzles
- The benefits of puzzles are too many to count
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In the end, if there is a subject that your child is struggling with, look for a way to make it multi-sensory. Manipulatives are a great option!
Recap: ADHD Homeschool Supply List
These are the homeschool supplies that I’ve come to value most throughout the years.
In the end, you’ll need to use the homeschool supplies that work best for your family.
So, Friend, what should I consider adding to my homeschool supply list? Did I miss anything?
Homeschooling the Dysregulated Child: Self-Regulation, sensory systems in your home and homeschool!
Homeschooling An ADHD Brain?
Grab FREE ADHD Homeschool Teaching Tips Cheat Sheets!
So many good items! Thanks for sharing!
A visual timer is a great idea! One of my kiddos actually asked for a bell schedule this year, so this might be something that would work well for him. Great list!
Thank you so much! And I love that your kiddo asked for a bell schedule! Who knew that would be exciting?!! Yay!
This is a great list for all homeschools! Thanks for sharing. And, I had no idea you could use Magic Erasers on a whiteboard! I’m going to give that a whirl today!
Katie!! Yes! Magic Erasers are the best whiteboard erasers around!! Even the generic ones work! Thanks for your approval on these essential homeschool supplies. 🙂
Thank you so much for your list, I am so excited and nervous about starting homeschool next school year for my son. I will be looking out for more help. Will be my first time.
Oh, Tina, This is so exciting for you. Your boy is blessed to have you homeschooling him for the first time. Does he have ADHD as well? You’re going to love it. Please join our community of moms on Facebook. We’d be happy to support you as your homeschool your neurodivergent child for the first time. Yay!!