Aaaaah, the school bus has come and gone, and now it's time for mom to sneak back to bed. In a couple hours, it will be time for a leisurely shower, and then off to the mall for lunch with a fellow mom, a quick trip to the chocolate shop, followed by a manicure and pedicure. Then back home to eat bon-bons while watching a soap opera, until the little darlings arrive home.

Yeah right. Maybe in all those homes where the school bus carries the kiddies off to school, but not in the home schooler's household! In the home schooler's household, the beginning of the school year signals MORE work for Mom, not less. And the work to prepare for the school year may begin many months before school begins.

I should note here that many home schoolers operate on a different schedule than the public school system. Some families school year-round, with little or no differentiation between school years, because they live in states where they are not required to report days of attendance to anyone. Some begin counting their days (180 is a common requirement in states that require a certain number) as soon as the calendar reaches the date designated by the state as the allowed starting date. I live in a state that says I can begin my 180 days on July 1, and we do begin counting then. We have a relaxed schedule over the summer (okay, we ALWAYS have a relaxed schedule), but we do start some formal schoolwork in July.

So what is on the home schooler's back-to-school list? That also varies widely from one family to another, but here's my list, with comments:

Curriculum: A few families borrow curriculum from their local school district, but most purchase their own, at their own expense. Choosing curriculum is almost as nerve-wracking as choosing a spouse, at least until you find one that is perfect. Remember that saying about kissing a lot of frogs to find the prince? Well, that goes for curriculum, too, except that these frogs ain't cheap or easy.

Pencils and pens: You'd think that since they stay in the house instead of being carried back and forth between home and school, they wouldn't get lost as easily, but this is not so. Of course, if we just turned the couch upside down once a month, I bet we wouldn't need to buy nearly as many!

Lined paper: With more than one child, we need more than one size of lines, so the beginning of the school year finds us trying to figure out where to store all this paper.

Art supplies: Including crayons, colored pencils, markers, paint, different weights and colors of paper, scissors, tape, ruler, paper fasteners, and stapler. If all of these art supplies are purchased, you will find that most art assignments call only for common household items, like egg cartons and food coloring. But if even one item on this list is missed, it will be essential to the first ten lessons.

Folders: To organize papers as you go, especially if a portfolio is required. It took me hours to come up with enough unwrinkled papers to fill my daughter's portfolio last year, so this year, everything goes into a folder immediately!

Thick three-ring binder: For the portfolio.

Other supplies that may be needed for a portfolio include index tabs and photo pages for pictures of the field trips; and, for those who are craftier than I am, scrap booking supplies to turn the required portfolio into a work of art.

Math manipulatives: Such as counters, cubes, fraction pies, solid geometrical shapes, protractor and compass, flash cards, etc. (Optional, depending on grade and learning/teaching style.)

Memberships in the Science Center, Zoo, local historical society and YMCA: It's a lot cheaper to just buy a family membership, which will pay for itself in two visits most places, than to pay each time we take a field trip to one of these places. And the YMCA meets our physical education requirement very nicely, to say nothing of the fact that very soon, my nine-year-old will be able to teach me to swim!

New pajamas: For those days when nobody feels like getting dressed for school. (And a new robe for me, just in case someone comes to the door on one of those days!)

Unlimited budget: To buy all the odds and ends the science experiments and art projects call for, as well as everything forgotten earlier.

Okay, so maybe those last two weren't really on the list, but as you can see, home schoolers buy the same things as everyone else, plus a little more. And while we don't get to go back to bed, go out to lunch, or eat bon-bons in front of the TV while the kids are at school, my friends whose kids go off to school assure me that they don't either. After all, we're all moms, and we all know that a mom's work is never done!


~Dini HJ has been a Pennsylvania home schooler for four years now. This year, she is teaching 4th and 2nd grades, as well as kindergarten and potty training 101. And she has found her prince, both in marriage and in curriculum.