A post on pencil sharpeners? Yes!
Because hunting down decent stationery basics - pencils, sharpeners, crayons - is something I feel I've spent way too much of my time on, and I'd like to save you the hassle.
With home ed, inspiration can strike at any time, so you need your resources to be ready - and working. We've gone through so many crappy ones over the years, which is a problem for a few reasons:
1) You end up spending more money in the long run replacing stuff.
2) It doesn't feel good to use. Scratchy crayons, rubbers that make black marks and sharpeners that perpetually break the crayon mean they get used less often. It helps if writing and drawing actually feel good.
3) When these things don't work or they break regularly, it's actually really frustrating for your kids when they're in the middle of creating something like a drawing or story.
Here are some inexpensive but solidly tried and tested stationery basics. (Just to add, I currently don't receive affiliate income nor do I advertise in my posts, these are just our tried and tested favourites).
Pencils
Though slightly dull looking, these are the classic black and yellow pencils used in schools which are the best we've come across, and they sharpen really well too with most sharpeners, unlike the more novelty-style pencils we've used. If you buy in bulk they'll last you years and you can scatter them about - the desk, the kitchen, the bedrooms, the car and the rucksacks. If your child has had a rough time in school, the sight of these alone might put them off any form of writing or drawing, so go for these Amazon Basics ones instead, they're also pretty good.
Pencil Crayons
Pencil crayons - I bought these a couple of years ago for myself and I kept them separate from my kids' less decent but more roughly used crayons. A crayon hierarchy - oops! Now we all use the same ones. They produce really rich colours rather than the faint, scratchy kind and they sharpen really well too (unless you have a really rubbish sharpener - see below!)
Pencil Sharpeners
This manual pencil sharpener is perfect and catches all the bits, which is great if your kids, like mine, don't sharpen over the bin and find a million different pots and places to do it in! And this battery operated one is handy if you're doing a lot of sharpening and want to avoid painful finger blisters (a common teacher ailment!). However, the cheap, novelty style pencils and crayons, or ones that are dropped regularly, probably won't work in even the best of pencil sharpeners.
Rubbers/Erasers
Whether you encourage rubbing out or are staunchly 'anti-rubber,' they do come in handy for lots of things. Yes, kids should be encouraged to make mistakes and cross things out, but some really dislike doing this, especially when they want things to look 'just right'. Also, for sketching and drawing a good rubber is essential. We've tried loads but this rubber is brilliant - no black marks, smudges or frustrated kids. For the bulk of activities, I'd avoid anything overly cute looking or scented. They're very tempting as a little gift or stocking filler but don't be fooled, they rarely work and will probably be forgotten about in days!
Glue Sticks
You can't beat a Pritt Stick! Annyoingly, the most expensive of the glue sticks but Pritt Stick lasts way longer than the rest - and it actually works. The staff room at my old school was abuzz with discontented glue stick chat whenever we reverted to the cheaper ones to save money. Save your money elsewhere and invest in these. It's worth bulk buying pritt stick, but not too much. I discovered the hard way that they can go mouldy after a year or two of being unopened or if they're kept in a damp place.
One last thing...
Having said all of this, if you have reluctant writers or kids who have really struggled in school, sometimes a few colourful pencils or scented rubbers can help them along and make things slightly more enticing. Go with whatever works for you and your family. But if you are using these things regularly, switch to the decent stuff, for your own sanity!