Wondering how to get the most affordable homeschool supplies? This article will give you hints and tips to point you toward some of the best deals in homeschool supplies. Keep reading for great information on homeschool supplies.

The More the Merrier

As with many types of products, homeschool supplies such as:

• writing paper
• types of art paper, such as construction paper, tissue paper, fingerpaint paper, manila paper, tracing paper, etc.
• printer paper
• pencils
• pens
• crayons
• paints
• markers
• scissors
• tape
• glue and/or paste
• index cards
• binders
• notebooks
• folders
• rulers
• highlighters
• staples
• stickers and other incentive items
• sticky notes etc., are cheaper when bought in bulk.

With this in mind, you can either buy large amounts of homeschool supplies and use them over multiple years (if they're the sort of things that will last) or find other homeschoolers (or people who don't homeschool but want to have these materials at home for their children) and order your homeschool supplies together.

To find other homeschoolers in your state, check these websites:

Home School Legal Defense Association - hslda.org

A to Z's Cool Homeschooling: Laws and Support - homeschooling.gomilpitas.com

About.com: Homeschooling: Homeschool Support Groups by State - homeschooling.about.com

Sales

During August, many retail stores have sales on school supplies. There's no reason you can't take advantage of this occasion to stock on homeschool supplies. The bigger retailers of office supplies that also serve students and teachers, such as Staples, as well as discount stores such as Target, Walmart, and Kmart.

Don't forget to check online stores, such as Amazon.com, which carries far more than just books. Also consider the special shipping plans, such as Amazon Prime, for which you pay a flat fee and then get free, two-day shipping for a year. If you have a deal like this and can purchase most of your supplies (and possibly books, too) from one supplier, you may save a large amount on the shipping and handling of your homeschool supplies.

Discount School Supplies Sellers

Try doing a Google search on “discount school supplies.” Then check the sites for customer satisfaction ratings and check with others to see if they're reliable outlets. Using Google checkout (find it here: google.com) and/or PayPal (find it here: paypal.com) can help protect you from fraud.

Teachers' Discounts

Some stores, like Borders, offer discounts for teachers. And, at Borders at least, homeschool instructors are included in their regularly scheduled Educators Weekends. Check with local booksellers and office/school supply stores to see if they'll give you a price break.

Shop Where Large Is a Given

Costco has made a business of selling supersize everything at reasonable prices. At Costco, you can have the extra advantage of saving gas and time, as you buy groceries and school supplies under the same roof.

Rewards Programs

Borders Rewards - and similar programs - offer you a break for customer loyalty. This is another avenue to investigate in purchasing both homeschool supplies and books as inexpensively as possible.

Use Your Imagination

Thinking outside the box can help you get school supplies in unconventional ways.

• What do schools do with their old supplies at the end of the year? If they're restocking with new crayons and markers, perhaps they'd be happy to give you their discards . . .
• Paint and wallpaper stores turn over their samples regularly. Paint chip cards and out-dated wallpaper books make excellent homeschool supplies for your art projects.
• Check with local printers for leftover paper. When I homeschooled, I got rolls of pink and white paper that were too small for a print run but plenty large enough to keep my children in drawing paper for a long, long time.

Sources

The Washington Times, “Borders Supports Homeschooling” http://www.washingtontimes.com/weblogs/home-school-galaxy/2008/Sep/26/borders-supports-homeschooling/