I'm going to cry

[Stacy350]

I haven't ordered yet, but I'm an organization nut. I can't do this without a supply list! Is there one anywhere?

I got one from a facebook group, but it's chaotic to me... It lists out the supplies one day at a time. I need to be able to go to the store and KNOW that I need colored pencils, a toy boat, etc. So I can sort through what we have and what we don't.

I seriously feel like crying and I haven't even started yet

[StephanieU]

What guides are you going to be using? You can print the introduction to each guide from the HOD website, which lists most of what you need (all of the "big" things). Then, there are also "Getting Ready" posts for many of the guides, linked in that guides board here (go to Board Index and then the appropriate guide).

[Stacy350]

Thanks!!!! We will be using Bigger

[Jennymommy]

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5531 This might help.

[bethelmommy]

Most of the supplies are usually everyday things you have on hand and for less common items Carrie usually lists several options. We are halfway through the guide and I can list what we have used so far that I remember.
Crayons, markers, colored pencils
White paper, construction paper, cardstock
Scissors, glue, tape, masking/painters tape
Tempura paint, water colors, paint brushes
Play dough, clay
Rocks, sand, cornmeal, tweezers, clothespin, pliers
Foil, wax paper, plastic ziplock baggies
Coffee, flour, berry/fruit juices, eggs, milk, salt, food coloring, candy/cereal pieces/raisins/chocolate chips
Whip cream, pudding or shaving cream
Blocks, stuffed animals, blankets, toy boat, plastic army men or Lego men

Honestly, the only times I have been caught off guard were with the eggs (3 of my kiddos have egg allergies) and the sand (it was raining that day so we substituted cornmeal). Usually I look a couple days ahead at the rotating and science boxes to see if anything is listed that I don't have. Otherwise I prep the night before and usually have what I need or an adequate substitute. Having said that, I totally understand how you feel! I was the same way when we first started with HOD. However, now that we are in our third guide, I have a good basic stock of supplies on hand and have learned to relax about the rest. If you are doing the math in the Bigger guide, there are a few other supplies you will need that I can try to help you with as well. Just let me know. You will love Bigger!

[Nealewill]

I have also found I rarely don't have what I need. And when there is an uncommon item, Carrie lists options. I never plan ahead and just have regular school supplies in the house. I have never not been prepared for an experiment. Day 3 and 5 are the science experiment days and usually there is one art item each week. You could easily check through and see what you need. I am also an organizational nut! But ever since I switched to HOD, I have been able to let go of a lot of that planning. I rarely am ever not prepared and Carrie does a fantastic job of using things that are already on hand or in your house.

[MelInKansas]

I am now the queen of improvising when there's a supply I don't have (at least I seem to manage pretty well). As others mentioned, especially if you've already been homeschooling and doing any crafts at all, you probably have most of what you need at home. IMO aside from basic things like paper, pencils, notebooks, paper you don't want to buy everything up front anyway just look at each week ahead and get what you need.

[gardenmama28]

I haven't done Bigger yet, but my experience with the earlier guides is that I don't need a supply list. If you read through the intro, and the first week of lessons, you will know what "school supplies" such as notebooks, index cards, pencil crayons etc. that you need. The lessons throughout the guide follow a predicatable pattern so there aren't too many surprises. For other supplies, most of them are simple things that you already have in the house, and most activities are easily adapted if you do not have one item on hand. For example, if you don't have Cheerios you can also use noodles, raisins, chocolate chips, or cotton balls. A bit of simple prep or reading ahead for the week can give you a heads up - like if you are out of aluminum foil and need to pick it up, or if you will need to use playdough you can make some....... or just improvise. So many of the activities are totally adaptable to what you have and are not high tech or complicated.

[Carrie]

Stacy,

Please don't feel so frustrated! The key to your frustration right now is that you do not have the HOD guide in hand! Once you receive it and are able to see how straight forward it is supply-wise you will feel MUCH better! Once you start teaching it, as the weeks pass, you will actually begin to feel encouraged about just opening up and teaching. It will be a different experience and very freeing to simply open a guide and teach.

I am a supreme planner, and with my oldest son (who graduated last year and was only able to pilot things for us but never use the HOD guides as written) I gathered endless supplies in trying other curriculums. When I wrote our guides, I wanted to be sure this wasn't the case anymore. I'll paste a former response of mine below, so you can ponder why there aren't supply lists in our guides!

One thing to keep in mind as you use the guides is that we specifically choose not to put a supply list in our guides for several reasons. One is that often many of our activities will suggest several variations of an item for you to use. For example, an activity may allow you to use chocolate chips, or raisins, or Oh-shaped cereal pieces. You would not need to have all of these items, as any will do. Or, another activity may mention using a bean bag or a rolled up pair of socks. If you made a list and gathered all of these items, you'd quickly discover that you only really needed two items from all of these listed! This makes a supply list daunting and confusing at best to make and to follow.

Next, we do not include a supply list because we simply intend for you to open your guide and teach. This means that we actually write the activities intending for you not to have to shop for special supplies. Not having what you need will then be the exception rather than the rule. This thinking stems from my past experience in supply list gathering with many other curriculums through many years of teaching. I was always daunted by the supply gathering, amazed at the expense once all of the supplies were added up, and challenged to find a place to store the supplies to have handy as the year progressed. This is not the experience we desire for you!

A last reason is that we know many families have multiple children and the gathering and storing of multiple supplies for multiple kiddos can really be a deterrent. Rather than requiring you to read a supply list in each guide that you are using each day, we simply expect you to gather at the moment the experiment or activity arrives. If you are a planner by nature, and I certainly am, then you may find this shift to working without a supply list a challenge at first. But, I encourage you to try teaching the guide as written, without the fervor of supply gathering. We've seen families make supply lists for our guides, only to ditch them as they realized they weren't necessary.

One last benefit of foregoing a supply list is that it enables you to make quick substitutions as needed. The longer you use HOD, the more you'll discover that even if you don't have the exact supply mentioned in the guide you can often easily think of something else that will substitute equally well and is right at hand. This is a wonderful part of teaching right within your own home and was a benefit I could never reap in the public school classroom!

I will also share that it has been a huge blessing for me to see my older kiddos learning to gather their own supplies as they work, put things away after they're done, and think of substitutions that may work when the situation occasionally arises. These are all organizational skills that every kiddo needs to learn and are a by-product of using the guides that I was thrilled to see in practice daily as my kiddos matured.

While there are exceptions to every rule, there is a rhyme and a reason (and much experience in teaching) behind everything we do. If the planner in me can make this transition, it is possible you can too! If you really feel the need to plan ahead, simply look over the week (or day) before it arrives and jot down the few things you may not have. It will be cheaper on your budget and quicker than gathering for 140-170 days ahead of time and will still allow you to quickly substitute things you may have on hand for those you might be missing from the guide.

Guides that do have unusual supplies (like CTC and its paint supplies or MTMM and its science kits) do have specific supply lists. The Introductions of our guides make sure to mention these things. The rest should be things you really do have in your home.

Blessings,
Carrie

[Rice]

One thing that would have been nice to know, though, is that we should have brought a supply of sand into the house before the ground froze! From November through till the end of March, at least, we can't access anything for dirt or sand or outdoor growing things!

Blessings,

[Stacy350]

Wow! Thanks ladies! I seriously can't wait to start!!!!!
We are almost done with our things from this year, just another month or two and I will be placing my order. What a comfort you've all been

[PrairiePeace]

This may help you. Part of post removed per board rules by board moderator.
She shares how she organized the whole year. There is still no supply list though.