A Gift Guide for the Homeschool, Vol. 04

I look forward to the Thanksgiving/Advent season all year long, welcoming the shorter days, the candlelight and handmade crafts and food, the warm drinks and countdown to Christmas. When it comes to gift-giving, I am one-part intentional, one-part pragmatic, meaning my favorite gifts are both meaningful and useful. The thought of gifts that might easily break or quickly pass with a trend or carelessly add to the clutter of our spaces ties my stomach in knots. So Mark and I hold to a simple process for support: we set a specific budget, make notes of needs, curiosities, and interests growing within our children that we want to support, and begin planning. It is incredible how quickly gift ideas rise to the surface with this approach, but also how many goods are quickly disqualified, too. Of course, because they are human, our children sometimes have their own wishlists to share with us, perhaps roller blades or a sewing machine, which we always consider, too. Wink. If you’re curious to read more about our gift-giving philosophy, I encourage you to read through the older guides linked below as I share more in them.

This is the fourth year for me to share this gift guide, something I really enjoy sharing in this space and one that is often requested throughout the year. Although it is labeled for the homeschool, the ideas are clearly not restricted to homeschoolers but are a collection of books and goods to support creativity and ingenuity, just like our homeschool. I’m quite certain this is not the first or last gift guide to wander across your screen this weekend, but I hope this one inspires you just the same. For those of you who are new to space, I encourage you to sift back through the previous three guides for ideas, too, as each list builds upon the other. Enjoy, and happy Thanksgiving!

Volume One / Volume Two / Volume Three 

YOUNG ARTISTS + BUSYBODIES

1 A Child’s Introduction to Art   2 Natural Charcoal Pencils  3 Waxed Canvas Scribblers Case   4 Singer Beginner Sewing Machine  5 Paint Brush Set + Case  6 Table Easel with Drawer  7 642 Things to Draw  8 Natural Indigo Dye Kit   9 OMY Paper Beads Kit   10 Animal Friends of Pica Pau  11 Cut Paper Pictures  12 Ring Toss Game  13 Ride-On Sanddigger  14 Nikon Coolpix Waterproof Camera 15 13 Artists Children Should Know

Gifts of Experience / Art Lessons, Parent-Child Pottery or Painting Class,  Children’s Museum Membership

YOUNG NATURALISTS + ADVENTURERS

16 Pocket Map Atlas  17 Mountaineering Lightweight Cot 18 Organic Terrarium Kit or Fairy Garden  19 The Wonderous Working of Planet Earth 20 Watercolor with Me in the Forest  21 Go Find It Nature Scavenger Hunt Cards 22  A Year of Forest School 23 Stellarscope  24 Organic Heirloom Vegetable Garden Kit 25 Butterfly Garden Growing Kit 26 The Stick Book 27 The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs 28 Sunography Solar Powered Photography  29 Lost Hiker Wallet Kit 30 Nature Exploration Games 31 What We See in the Stars 32 Mini Adventurer Exploration Kit 

Gifts of Experience / Rock Climbing Passes, Camping Trip, Rent an RV, Canoe or Kayak Daytrip, Backpacking

YOUNG SCIENTISTS, ENGINEERS, + TECHIES

33 Steam Lab for Kids 34 Bacteria Science Kit 35 Crystal Growing Experiment 36 Date Navigator Wooden Mechanical Model  37 ArchiTECH Electronic Smart House 38 Ada Twist’s Big Project Book for Stellar Scientists  39  What Do You Do With an Idea?  40 Earthrise: Apollo 8 and the Photo That Changed the World 41 Children’s Lab Coat  42 Newton’s Laws Construction Kit  43 Geometry Strategy Boardgame  44 Tinkering Labs Electric Motors Catalyst STEM Kit 45 Solar Rover Kit  46 Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments  47  The Girl With a Mind for Math  48  The LEGO Architect 49  Case Closed? Nine Mysteries Unlocked by Modern Science

Gifts of Experience / space camp, summer science or engineering camp, art lessons, weekly project/experiment hour together

YOUNG FOODIES + WRITERS

50 Alice in Wonderland Zipper Pouch 51 Stripe Denim Apron 52 Blackout Poetry Journal  53 Handlettering 201: Intermediate Lettering and Design Basics 54 Superhero Book Ends 55 LuminoLite Book Light 56 Field Notes Memo Books  57 642 Big Things to Write About: Young Writer’s Edition 58 Paisley Rolling Pin 59  The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook  60 Nadiya’s Bake Me a Story 61 Babycakes Mini Cake Pop Maker 62 Fruit + Veggies Cutting Molds 63 Joseph Joseph Nesting Bowls 64 Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen 65 Library Tote 66 Bear Oven Mitts 67 The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs 68 Kid Chef 

Gifts of Experience / book club, book subscription, cooking class, weekly baking hour, parent-child date to a favorite restaurant or bookstore

Thank you Hannah Walls for your research help on this post. This post contains some affiliate links. Cloistered Away might receive a small commision on the goods purchased through those links.