Homeschool Cart: 17 Items That Made the Cut

What items make the cut in your homeschool cart when you only have 3 tiers of precious space? Here are the 17 items that moved to the final round and found a special place in our…cart.

the container store rolling cart — 17 Items in a Homeschool Rolling Cart

Having a homeschool rolling cart seems like a right of passage these days, right? While you definitely do not need 3-tiers of mobile shelving, it does earn its keep in convenience.

As we head into our ninth year of homeschooling, I just did a big clean out of our cart before the new school year begins.

I’m going to show you everything that made the cut in our 2022-2023 homeschool rolling cart. You will see the homeschool curriculum, mom supplies, and resources that fit into what feels like my little assistant. You may find some ideas to add to your own cart!

This post is all about our homeschool cart, and the items that made the cut.

Which Homeschool Cart?

There are many retailers who sell the infamous cart, such as Michael’s and Ikea. This is the specific one I have in white because I used a coupon and it was convenient for me. Semi-shocking report: I was able to assemble it myself, and it was surprisingly easy (for a non-handy person). I found these cute pink file folder holders that I use to hold the thick curriculum in place. Also, I picked up these organizer trays, which I use on the 2nd tier for loose supplies.

Benefits of a Homeschool Cart

After using my little assistant for years, here are the benefits I have seen so far:

Durable: As I have said, I have used my cart for 8 years, and it has held up really well. Little hands, shoving in too much curriculum, and being zoomed around like a toy car at times.
Functional: The greatest benefit is that it is mobile. I can move it very close to me for convenient supply grabs, but I can also tuck it away in a closet out of sight.
Storage: As you will see, this little assistant can hold a lot. I sometimes worry I put in too many heavy books, but so far, so good.
Affordable: For all of the purposes it serves, this is a purchase I do not regret at all. I highly recommend one of these if the benefits listed sound helpful to you.

Homeschool Cart Tier 1: The Curriculum

The top tier has traditionally held the teacher manuals for our curriculum. Each of my kids has a cubby and a transportable file bin that they use to store their materials and favorite narration notebooks. I do like that the file bins are easy to grab and go if we need to school out of home, and they are also super sturdy so books do not get damaged.

So excited to start Cycle 4 with A Gentle Feast!

1. First File Holder

Lightning Literature Teacher Manuals for grades 3rd (my daughter is technically 2nd, but she has worked quickly in language arts and math), 5th, and 8th grade.

2. Second File Holder

Simply Charlotte Mason Middle Ages, Renaissance, Reformation, and Epistles
A Gentle Feast Cycle 4
Timeline cards for The Kind Kingdom
IE W – Fix it Grammar Level 2 (for my 5th grader), and Finding Narnia (for my 8th grader)

[RELATED POST: Our Go-To Homeschool Writing Curriculum]

The Peaceful Press — Timeline Cards from The Kind Kingdom

3. Third File Holder

Beautiful Feet Around California with Children’s Books – we started this in early summer, and think we’ll continue on if time permits.
A Reason For Spelling Teacher Guides for Level C and E (use code Trisha20 for a discount!)

4. Fourth File Holder

Our art curriculum’s teacher guide from Yellow Spot Sun
Beautiful Feet History of Science – this is another one we completed half in the last school year. It was too rich that we decided to spread it out to two years.

[RELATED POST: Mid-Year Review of A History of Science]

CM Simple Studies — Nature Study and Science Resources

Among the Pond Creatures from CM Simple Studies guide
Sabbath Mood Homeschool Magnets study for my 2nd and 5th graders
Apologia Physcial Science Answer Keys and Tests for my 8th grader

5. The Daily Extras

White board and LCD writing tablet – these get used often for math or games.
Our Read Aloud Family Journal – after we complete a family read aloud, we all write a little review of that book in here.
2 Book of Centuries – one affordable one from Simply Charlotte Mason, one pricier one from Riverbend Press.

Homeschool Cart Tier 2: Mom Supplies

This is where I store items use almost daily. A stapler, sticky tape, a couple journals, a mini photo printer (this actually can move since I only use it maybe once a month), and my brush pens and washi tape zippered pouch.

Here is where I use the little storage trays. It holds a calculater, my checkbooks (does anyone else still balance a checkbook?), and white out (does anyone else still use white out?).

Homeschool Cart Tier 3: Resource Books

Books upon books. This was probably the hardest tier to narrow down! I have a strong feeling you can relate to this. Here are the reference books I narrowed it down to:

Geography Books

Read Aloud Books

The Read Aloud Family: Making Meaningful and Lasting Connections with your Kids by Sarah Mackenzie

Nature Books

Handicrafts

Wild and Free Handicrafts: 32 Activities to Build Confidence, Creativity and Skill by Ainsley Arment

There may have been more than 17 items in total there, but when it comes to books, I lose count! This is just one way to set up a homeschool rolling cart, and has made the rhythm of our days a little more convenient.

Typically, it needs a little clean out every 3 months. Usually because I add random things to the cart, or forget to put something back in its place. I have seen some families use a cart primarily for art supplies. How fun would that be!

This post was all about how I organize the items in our homeschool cart for a prepared and smoother school year.

Update!

If you’d like to see the udpated homeschool cart for the 2023-2024 homeschool year, check out this video:

Homeschool Cart: 17 Items That Made the Cut

Which Homeschool Cart?

Benefits of a Homeschool Cart