Homeschool for Cheap, or even free? Is it really possible?
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I have been homeschooling for 10 amazing years. I’ve been a contact person for most of those years for our local homeschool group. Lots of people have come to me and my friends, wondering how to begin homeschooling, where to buy their curriculum and how they can do it as cheaply as possible. Many of the women contacting me are just quitting a job so that they can come home to school their children. Others have already been home but there’s no extra room in the budget to purchase that $500 all inclusive curriculum that the amazing lady she met in the grocery store raves about. It’s hard for them to imagine how they’ll manage it all, but believe me, it’s entirely possible. If God has truly called you to homeschool your children, He will provide the means! One of those ways could be by utilizing free resources.
There are way too many free resources on the internet for me to share them all with you, but… I thought it was a good opportunity to hone in on a few of the most helpful resources that I know of, in case some of you are just starting out, needing to cut costs, or even just a bit curious about how to go about it.
First off, you’re going to want to know……
What do my kids need to know?
You could buy a book like What Your First Grader Needs to Know
. They make these books for grades K-6 I believe. They are helpful, especially in the beginning. Of course, we’re trying to go cheaper than that.
My main resource throughout the years was World Book’s Typical Course of Study. They have highlighted what is typically studied during each grade level, so you make sure you’re on the track to where you need to be. Of course, if you google “typical course of study”, you may find many more results. I didn’t take the time to do that yet.
After you’ve decided what it is they need to know, you may want to think about the style of education you prefer to use. How would you best teach your child? How would your child learn? Is your child an auditory, kinesthetic, or visual learner?
What method of homeschooling do you plan to use?
There are many to choose from.
- Traditional Textbooks – This would be things like A Beka or Bob Jones, similar to what the public schools use.
- Classical – There’s a lot to this style. A general explanation is on The Well Trained Mind’s website. Or you could order The Well-Trained Mind
book if you prefer….and have the money. 🙂 - Unit Studies – Basically, you pick a subject and study all that there is to know about it. You could use your local library and the internet and plan out exactly what you want to learn and how long you want to spend on it. DonnaYoung.org has a good unit study planner if you’re interested in this route. There are many free unit studies online, too. I will be sharing a huge post of them next Thursday when I post The Ultimate List of Unit Study Resources.
- Literature Based – There are many prepackaged curriculums that are literature based. Many of these use Historical Fiction to educate. The main one that always comes to mind as being one of the best is Sonlight, but it can be pricey! You could use the book lists from one of these curriculums and piece together your own curriculum using the library and inter-library loan.
- Charlotte Mason – In a nutshell, this method using living books, narration and nature study. For a great explanation on this method, read the article: What is the Charlotte Mason Method.
- Unschooling – This method sounds scary to some, but it is the most natural way that we learn. We just learn to turn it off for some reason. Here’s a great explanation: “When pressed, I define unschooling as allowing children as much freedom to learn in the world, as their parents can comfortably bear”. This quote came from the article What is Unschooling? and it sheds more light on the subject if you’d like to read more about it.
- Eclectic – You piece together from here and there, making your own unique style. You like aspects from all of the styles above. You want it all. So you do what works. What you can afford. This is probably the category that most of us fall into.
book if you prefer….and have the money. 🙂That is a lot to think about already. Chances are, you’re not ready to decide on your specific approach quite yet. That’s OK. Pick something cheap or free and you can change it with little regret if you decide that’s not the method for you!
Here’s a few more websites to overload your brain with:
Old Fashioned Education – I love this one. It is a free curriculum that uses mostly free domain books online. She has a weekly and yearly schedule provided for free that you can easily print out to help you.
Ambleside – This is also a free curriculum based on the Charlotte Mason method.
Starfall – A learning to read interactive website
Cool Math Games – All kinds of fun games that help to reinforce the math skills your kids are learning.
Daily Grammar – I just recently found out this was online. I’ve been purchasing the books!
Time for Kids – Current Events, kids online version
Typing – My daughter can type pretty fast now thanks to this program
As you can see there are so many resources online to help us homeschool for as little as possible. The drawback is that you may have to work a little harder to pull all of these free homeschool resources together and turn them into the perfect learning tool for your kids. Overall, I think you’ll find that it’s worth your time! Don’t forget that you can use Google to search for the resources you’re wanting and more often than not, you’ll be successful!
If you’re already homeschooling, what are your favorite free resources?
If you’re just starting out, what method of homeschooling do you think fits best with your family?
If you don’t plan to homeschool, that’s OK, too. You can still use these resources as educational enrichment at home. Especially the math, reading and typing games!
Can I ask you a favor? I’m trying to build my Facebook page up so that I can get the word out about my site to more people. Would you consider helping me out and liking my page? I’m going to be having a Facebook party at the end of the month and there will be several chances to win some great prizes! Tell your friends!
