heartofdakota.com

Can't wait just one more week until my kids are done at their school and our home education journey begins! I must be nesting because I want to get as organized as possible before we start. Just was wondering if you guys had some thoughts on necessary supplies. I will be using Bigger with extension for my 4 kids. Here are a list of ?s
Do you prefer using notebooks or index cards for vocab?
What is the coolest tool you have found for timeline work?
Do you prefer hole punched paper or journal books for note booking?
How many individual subject notebooks are needed per kid?

I leaning towards having a hanging file box with handle for each kid. I found one that I use for my bill/mail center. There is a tray on the top for pens etc. I would also use a index box for cards for Bible and vocab. It should fit in the bottom of the file box. I would appreciate any info that you guys have found helpful re: supplies. Without actually going through the curriculum yet, it is hard to know what practical things would be good to have. I did highlight any area at the components section of the manual where Carrie indicated a needed supply. I'm probably stuck in my "out of the home" education model where you have to spend the big bucks just to get your kid to school on the first day! Thanks, Monica

I don't know about the supplies b/c I am in the same boat as you are. I am waiting for the last 10 days of school to come so we can finally be home schooling!
So far I have bought or already have on hand:
1. 3-ring notebook for each child
2. 3 compositions books for each child
3. index cards
4. index card notebook with alphabetical dividers (like for phone numbers-but will use for vocabulary)
5. huge pack of construction paper
6. glue
7. scissors
8. pencils and pens of course
9. crayons
10. markers
11. tempera paint in assorted colors
12. watercolors
13. masking tape
Still need to buy some sketch pads. I too am in the public school mode where I feel I need a list of supplies to go out and buy, but I am trying to overcome this obsession and I know that I can look at the wonderful post that someone else did with a printout of things you need by the week and get anything I don't have in plenty of time and not necessarily all at once and break the bank.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3751
Val

Thanks for listing these. I can shop with these lists.
Ginger

quote: What is the coolest tool you have found for timeline work?


I just wanted to share what we use. It is a blank timeline book that we got from Miller Pads and Paper.
Specifically it's called Miller's Blank History Timelines
The website is here:
http://www.millerpadsandpaper.com/default.aspx
We started ours in Bigger and plan to continue filling it in each year instead of doing something different every year.

You are going to lover Bigger . We are almost done and have had a great year with it!! What we found to work best for us is History & Science is a 3 ring binder where we could put in lined or plain paper as needed and could easily replace a page if there was a mess up . For vocabulary just a plain composition notebook worked great. We put each letter of the alphabet at the top of the two page spead as recommended by Carrie so it kept everything together and in a neat order. For spelling/dictation just a plain notebook worked for us. For the copied bible verses each week we punched a hole in the corner on the lined index cards and put them on a ring as Carrie also suggested and it works great. Hope that helps and welcome to HOD!!!

Monica - you won't have to spend big bucks on school supplies with Bigger - hooray! We went through the Introduction to gather our supplies, and we settled on the 3-ring binders with clear sleeve protectors (and tabs) for science, notebooking, and copywork. We used copy paper or wide-lined paper for the paper most often. We had a couple wide-lined notebooks for dictation, etc. We used a file folder for the timeline.

We put our vocabulary words on index cards in a recipe box. We bought a Pampered Chef Tool Turnabout for the art supplies:

You can get these on ebay for about $15. You are going to love Bigger Hearts - it is so much fun to do! I remember thinking, "Oh wow, my little guy is all grown up doing big boy school, and he's loving it!" It was a year full of growth and learning. I hope it is all that for you too!

In Christ,
Julie

We used the 50 cent composition books for science, history notebooking, grammar, and dictation. Copywork is done on notebook paper as are Singapore math practice and review lessons, then place in a 3 ring binder.

Thanks for all the info! There are so many helpful practical suggestions. I have one more week to organize before I bring our education home. So excited!