6-7. A decent pencil and pencil sharpener.
Okay, I know that’s technically two things. But they go hand in hand. How many minutes, over how many days, over the lifetime of your child’s home education will he sit fidgeting, dropping, breaking and sitting with a broken pencil tip? Give him one less thing to distract him. For us, that means a box of black Dixon Ticonderogas and investing in an electric pencil sharpener.

5. A clip board.
This was the daily organization tool that we were lacking. By removing the math pages from their binding, having the blank paper ready, being prepared with the necessary schoolwork gave something tangible I could hand off. It helped set expectations and helps us keep track of all the paper. Consider tying a pencil on to the clipboard with string if you don’t have littles around to whom this could be dangerous.

4. A water bottle on hand.
“I’m thirsty.” It was the line used to distract, interrupt and otherwise impede the flow. This isn’t public school. And it may be just the thing to keep her on-task without disrupting her work or her siblings’ concentration.

3. A comfortable place to work.
Never under-estimate personal comfort when it comes to the goal of learning to sit still and work. It won’t be accomplished while being scolded to stop fidgeting on dad’s hand-me-down office chair. Why not a bean-bag chair or his bed or wrapped in her comforter?

2. A personal library.
It doesn’t have to be huge. It doesn’t have to be brand new or expensive. But every child should know the joy of picking out and owning his own books. The love of books is harder to achieve if the child must always surrender ‘the best book I ever read’ back to the library.

1. Downtime.
Just like we don’t want to work all day long, neither does your child. Allow your child to decompress. While life is school and school is life, sometimes a kid just needs time to pursue his own interests. Some of my boys’ most insightful moments have come during play.

Darcy is the mom to three boys ages 8, 7, and 5 and blogs over at Life with My 3 Boybarians. She is the owner of a blog design business at www.graphicallydesigning.com. She and Handy Man live in Iowa…nowhere near a Starbucks.