Homeschooling on a REALLY tight budget?

You have the library and failing that, the world! and there are dozens of resources on the Internet. Don't let finances stop you. If I had the money a school gets per student I have no idea what I'd do with it all.

Lynn Siprelle, Editor

If I could give you a one-word answer, I would say: Internet.

At one conference I attended, I saw a manual created by a homeschooling mom which had gathered in one place many, many 100% FREE resources available on the internet for every subject. I found my old literature and it's this one: Using the Internet in Your Homeschool, by Cindy Prechtel. It covers all grades and all possible subjects. If you register when you buy, you get free quarterly updates as well. All for $20. Combine that with your public library and the annual used book sale at your state homeschooling conference, and you're all set.

The early years of homeschooling are really the cheapest, because to teach your child to read, add and subtract, tell time, etc. you don't really need a curriculum at all. By the time you get to upper elementary age, you may be doing better financially. I found a good site detailing exactly how to teach your child to read using phonics...absolutely free. All you need are index cards and some magazine pictures, markers...stuff you probably have lying around the house already.

The best thing you could ever do with your kids "education"-wise anyway is to read aloud to them all the best of literature, biography, history, etc. I've found at least two sites *full* of expired-copyright books online, and of course, there's the library for the rest.

...but here are the sites that I visit with DD3/get work sheets from for DD3:

http://www.literacycenter.net (It has a curriculum in English, Spanish, German, and French)
http://activitypad.com/preschool-activity.html
http://www.enchantedlearning.com
http://www.learningpage.com
http://www.dltk-kids.com

--For some reason some of the web addresses don't turn into links no matter what I try...

But a couple of good books to get started are:
Teach Your Child to Read in 100 easy Lessons
and the Core Knowledge Series are good, and inexpensive. The Core books are called "Everything Your child should know in Kindergarten" or something like that, and there is one for several years (6th grade maybe?).
The Teach your child to read book is really good. My daughter was reading well before she started Kindergarten the summer she turned 5. Now in 2nd grade, is on a 4th grade level.

And the web has TONS of ideas:
http://www.kinderthemes.com/
http://www.letteroftheweek.com/
http://www.preschoolbystormie.com/
http://www.cstone.net/~bcp/BCPIntro2.htm (this one goes with the Core Knowledge books. Lots of activities and plans!!)

I don't mean to add more than my two cents' worth, but keep in mind that with public schooling comes many hidden costs. For what you spend on required school supplies, fees, sports equipment, classroom parties, teacher's gifts, field trip costs, school lunches, fundraising efforts, etc. you could probably homeschool for a whole year.

Does it matter if your local library isn't that big? We have one an hour away, and the one close to me isn't TOO bad, but it's 10$ for a year since I'm out of state. In other words, do the small libraries have all I would need, or are there rare books I'd only find in a big place?

Also, how do I get started, as far as what do I need to do to make sure I'm "legal?" Do I have to tell somebody that I'm homeschooling, or do I just keep them home from school?

Those of you who do it, do you find it a lot of work to keep organized and do everything that's required, or does it pretty much keep pace with the rest of your at-home lifestyle?

One thing I like about around here is that DH said that many of the sports teams now days don't come from within the school (until high school), so most homeschoolers around here are on the teams. That's one thing I like since I would like to expose my kids to sports, even if they don't stick with it later.

Also, are there ways to find the "free" things in your area that might only apply to kids or, perhaps, even to homeschoolers. Like a ballet, or concert, etc. Or at least no expensive...(homeschooling discounts, I guess.)

And, if most of what I want is on the internet, do I have to worry about "fake" or "cheap" (meaning not carefully done) sites or is pretty much everything top-notch. In other words, sometimes when you look something up, the information I tend to find is like a child wrote the page, when what I wanted was a historical account that I can depend on.

NHEN. From there you'll be able to find out the laws for your state. $10 a year for a nearby library sounds like a bargain to me. To find out about free things in your area, look around for community newspapers and websites for your area. Sometimes city park departments have low-cost programs like this--we do in Portland.

As for researching on the Internet, you have to consider the source and consider more than one source. Not everything on the Internet is accurate; there's no Internet Police going around making sure that everything everyone says is accurate and true. Except of course here. Everything said here is 100% accurate and true.

Go to Yahoogroups and look around for homeschooling groups in your area, or even national homeschooling lists of people like you. For instance, if you're a politically progressive homeschooler there's the list ProgressiveHomeschool. If you're a religious homeschooler you'll find tons of lists that cover different religions. You'll find lists for African-American homeschoolers, homeschoolers interested in classical education, and so on. Get on a group and start asking questions. Don't be cowed by the idea of teaching your children yourself. It's just you and the kids; it's not about creating school at home in a particular set way with a blackboard, a pointer, desks, a globe and a flag.

Lynn Siprelle, Editor

HSLDA. I know they're not Lynn's favorite, but they have all the forms and information you need right online for your state. They will also have links to your state's organization(s).

This is what we do (keeping in mind that three of mine are still preschoolers):

1. We joined a co-op. Through this co-op, we can do weekly P.E. classes, yearbook, newspaper, 4-H (although my DD's aren't quite old enough yet), band (ditto), art classes, sewing classes, lego club, craft days, Christmas party, Valentine party, Kindergarten graduation, high school graduation, field trips, science fair, biography fair, etiquette tea, etc. If you don't have a co-op near enough, locate other like-minded homeschoolers and form one! Even if it's just a few of you, it's better to do it together.

2. As for discounts, if you go in a large group that's when you usually get them. You can also buy annual passes to things like museums and zoos if you live nearby and think you'll go a few times. It's usually a better deal. Always mention that you're homeschooling and ask if you are eligible for an educator's discount (I know you can often get these at bookstores & etc.).

2. We joined the YMCA (in the next town). Through the Y, I have signed the girls up for gymnastics classes starting this month. They also offer many different sports opportunities. And, best of all, they have a pool.

3. We take advantage of the recreation dept. in our own town. So far, we've only done swimming lessons and a guided hike in the local state park. However, they also offer baseball, soccer, football, art classes, gymnastics, etc.

4. State parks are wonderful, by the way. We live near Hartwell Lake and I like to take the kids swimming at the man-made beaches. They have excellent nature programs you can take advantage of. Children are born naturalists and they eat that stuff up. It's $2 entry fee, but Wednesdays are free and we can also buy an annual pass which is a good deal because it lets us into any other state park (this is in GA).

5. State botanical gardens are also great and often charge only a parking fee. A couple of years ago, we went to a big Bug Day at the one in the next city (45 min. from us). It was cool. They even had a Bug Cafe where they cooked 'em up and you could eat them if you were brave enough. I passed, but the kids tried the chocolate-covered cricket cookies.

6. Historical sites nearby are often free. We just went to Traveler's Rest over Christmas, an inn dating from the 1820's. They had people demonstrating deer hide tanning and various other things; people dressed in period costume; people serving beef stew, corn bread and "tea cakes"; musicians playing the dulcimer; and of course the tour of the inn, with all its fireplaces blazing. All for free.

7. Other than that, we're homebodies. Too much running around can burn us out. Let the kids run outside in the sunshine. Help them catalogue the things they find in a nature notebook (draw a picture, write the name under it). Choose their toys carefully; the Elijah Company recently had a good article about this. Read, read, read, read, read out loud as a family. Bob and Tina Farewell have great suggestions for family read-alouds. I recommend James Herriott's Treasury for Children, any children's book by George MacDonald (texts available online or through library), A.A. Milne's Complete Works of Pooh, Beatrix Potter's Complete Works, Rev. Awdry's Thomas the Tank Engine stories...well, my suggestions would make this post far too long.

8. Speaking of small libraries . Royston must have the tiniest I've ever seen! But they have recently joined the statewide PINES system and I can do an interlibrary loan for something like 20 cents per book. I can even place holds and renew books online now. Go to your library and ask about interlibrary loans, etc. The Bill Gates Foundation has recently helped many small libraries with donations of computers, etc. They may offer things you don't even know about yet. Ours has a nice free story-time/craft day every week for preschoolers. I don't go anymore, but it was great for when the girls were little.

9. Did I mention, read aloud? LOL! I really think that's the most important thing. Don't forget the Bible.

If I think of any other suggestions, you know I'll speak up!

We do have interlibrary loans, 1$ for books out of the system (but at least they'll get them...)

We're also homebodies, but at the same time, I LOVE traveling and seeing what's out there. That's one reason I DIDN'T want to be living here. I know many things are over rated and kids do TOO much now days. But I would like to at least show my kids what IS available to do, much of which I was never exposed to. Not that they'd get that in school, but I just get afraid that I won't find the resources to give them ANYTHING "cool."

My dream idea of homeschooling would be to SHOW my kids stuff rather than just TELL them it. I think that's one big reason I want to homeschool; I think that a lot of the traditional teaching doesn't go into the different learning styles that reach different children.

I want to do hands-on, do-it-yourself type of teaching. And in the process, I'll probably learn more than I did in school, much of which I forgot because I memorized it for a test, then "dumped" it out of my mind...

How overwhelmed did you guys (gals) feel when you first started? Were you confident you could do it? Or did it take awhile to get in the swing of things?

I don't doubt that I can teach...I'm just not sure I'll be able to get the stuff I "NEED," for the state, for my materials, etc. So if I can figure all that out, I'd probably be fine.

That's the thing. Just comply with your local laws (or not--some people fly under the radar, but I'm not advocating breaking the law) and see what's out there.

Lynn Siprelle, Editor

I wanted to to speak to this.

I felt overwhelmed to begin with. I'm a classic S.H.E. I do not do well facing beaucoup decisions. It seemed like, when I first looked into homeschooling, I'd never be able to decide from all the certainly wonderful, but endless, options out there. I felt paralyzed with indecision. (There's also the money factor; you hate to waste it on something that might not work.)

The only answer I can give is that you have to feel your way through it. You just have to step out of the boat and trust. ***I'm experiencing deja vu right now because I know I just wrote this on another thread. I can't remember which.*** I strongly recommend bathing the whole process in prayer. (I know I can recommend this to you personally, Debbie, so I don't think I'm violating the site's policy on this.) I felt like I was flying blind at first, because even when I asked others, "What are you using? What do you like? What method do you recommend?" I felt I was getting *their* answers, not mine. Does that make sense? Not that it was completely unhelpful asking others. In a way, it did help, because it gave me a close-up look at different materials and how they might possibly work for me.

Looking back on the first three or four years, I realize that commitment (a.k.a. faithfulness) is more important than "what you use." If you are committed to loving, training, learning with your children, you'll do fine no matter what methods or materials you use.

This is not without its challenges. Some days I think God is using the homeschooling more to train me than the children. (I'm not joking here.) I'm still feeling my way through this, but this is the first year I have been satisfied with the "stuff" we've used. I realize it's just a vehicle for getting across what I need to, and I've found a vehicle that works well for me and my limitations and strengths.

Just be aware that you are going to doubt yourself, you are going to run up against challenges, and ultimately, you are going to do well.

Three or four years? Wow.

I just got a book from the library, and I hope it will help sort a lot of questions out. I hadn't even thought of curriculum yet...so I know I have a lot of work ahead of me, and that's somewhat scary.

Also, Lynn, you said once (years ago!) that you knew some people who taught in public schools but homeschooled their kids. What do they tell their co-workers? I don't know if Jim has thought about it yet, but especially since we live (literally) right next door to the elementary school, I'm sure we'll get asked a lot why we don't send them there...how do you explain that you don't mind working and teaching there, but it's "not good enough" for your kids (though obviously it's not exactly that, it's everything else, and that's my point - how do I communicate that?)

kids to private school.......that is a good topic!

Some people don't care, don't ask and some want to change your mind and make you go to public schools and some just think you (I) are down right snobby and SOME take it personally, like I am saying something about THEM for sending their kids to public school. I have learned to just smile and say I do what is best for my family and leave it at that. For some that just want to talk and talk....I just answer "you have an interesting point" or "that is good that you feel so strong about that". I do not get sucked into "their issues". I have enough of my own, thank you! It can be hard if you have family against your decision or live in a very small place where everyone knows your business but you have to do what you feel is right for your family. AND just let a lot go....as far as peoples comments.

I feel very strongly about teaching according to the child so I applaud you for thinking and researching and getting opinions on this issue. You are doing your homework, girlie, and that is wonderful. Don't get to overwhelmed. You can do it!

Jana

Hi Debbie

I'm not sure I have much wisdom to offer but I had to chip in just to say that you CAN do it on a small budget. Mine is very small, and my DS13 has been homeschooled for just over two years.

Most of the homeschoolers I know don't spend vast amounts of money on it. The internet and library are great resources as others have said. Items such as computer software, stationery, tickets to zoos, museums etc can often be given to your child for a birthday or for Christmas, either by yourselves or you can maybe recommend such ideas to relatives.

It helps to put a small amount of money aside each week to cover homeschooling costs - which for us is mainly bus and train fares to get to events, and the occasional book. You could try thrift stores for books - I have picked up a lot of books secondhand that have been useful.

I have a book, the 'Complete Idiot's Guide to Homeschooling', which I bought online a year or so ago. Most of the content is more applicable to the US than the UK and so I rarely use it - would you like it? (Not that I am calling you an idiot! ) I have another you might like also - 'Honey For a Child's Heart' which is a lovely book about children's literature. I found that most of the books it recommended were difficult for me to get here. I'm happy to send both of them to you as a gift, just email your address to me. It will be nice if you can use them. My email is honeybtnh@hotmail.com

DD4 (who will be five by then) for kindergarten and probably DS13 too for 8th grade. I can't wait!

I'm leaving teaching (at public and private schools since 1989) to be at home and homeschool and help DH with his business. I tell everyone who asks that I know what my children need best and no one can care more than me how they are educated. That usually shuts them up!

I will use a "canned" math program because I am least confident about that, especially since DS will be in Algebra, but the rest will be as real life and hands-on as possible.

We will join the local homeschooler co-op and make liberal use of the library, which is about 900 square feet! They do have a wonderful, free interlibrary loan system, so we are lucky.

Our state also has a law that homeschoolers can make use of local public school programs "cafeteria style" so DS can play in the band or on the sports teams, or whatever, if he wants to.

I think your feelings of insecurity and being overwhelmed will lessen once you start. It will also really help if you can get some more experienced home-schooler buddies. Maybe we should have a regular homeschooling forum here. Just a thought. This is a great place to pose questions, because everyone is so generous with their time and experience.

I hope it goes really well for you. Be confident that no one could give your child what you can.
-Jo

P.S. A long time homeschooling mom friend of mine said her top ten most essential homeschooling items are:
a US map
a globe
a children's encyclopedia
a dictionary
the library
the internet/computer
her kitchen
nature
her car
her art/craft supply tote

Her total homeschooling budget each year was $250 and that was for three kids and included gas!

Here are some of her favorite websites:

http://www.thewritesource.com/models.htm for samples of kid's writing

http://www.enchantedlearning.com for all kinds of stuff

http://www.exemplars.com for math problems and puzzlers

http://www.lonelyplanet.com for geography stuff look for the world guide

I have some more downstairs, will post them later.

http://school.discovery.com/sciencefaircentral/jvc/surpscifacts/index.ht... for science fun

http://www.carolhurst.com/ for literature ideas

http://www.mathcounts.org/webarticles/anmviewer.asp?a=142&z=7 for more math problem solving fun

http://www.saxonpublishers.com/activities/index.jsp;jsessionid=A022804AF... for online math and phonics activities

http://members.aol.com/donnandlee/SiteIndex.html for social studies ideas and resources

http://www.startwrite.com/ for a downloadable program that lets you make your own personalized handwriting practice sheets. It has print and cursive and costs about $40. She called this "indespensible."

This is Deb's essential homeschooling bookshelf:

Drawing With Children: A Creative Method for Adult Beginners, Too
by Mona Brookes

Janice VanCleave's Chemistry for Every Kid: 101 Easy Experiments that Really Work -- by Janice VanCleave

Janice VanCleave's Physics for Every Kid : 101 Easy Experiments in Motion, Heat, Light, Machines, and Sound (Science for Every Kid Series) -- by Janice VanCleave

Janice VanCleave's Biology For Every Kid : 101 Easy Experiments That Really Work (Science for Every Kid Series) -- by Janice VanCleave

A children's encyclopedia

A children's World Atlas

An Atlas of US States

A dictionary

A thesaurus

Hi there,

Sorry I haven't introduced myself, I've been reading the forums like mad since I joined last night. I currently homeschool three kids. I have two daughters and a son. The girls are in 3rd and 6th grade, my son just started 9th this year. I've been HSing my son for 2 years now and the girls for about... 9 months.

It's super late here but I wanted to say real quick that I use http://www.edhelper.com/ (19.99usd a year) and I also use sites like http://www.discovery.com/ and http://www.historychannel.com/ to get ideas, show times etc.. Where we live an awesome show comes on the Science channel on our Dish Network called "How It's Made" and the kids all love it. I also have a Barnes & Noble discount card for homeschoolers. You get a 20% discount on anything that you buy there for HSing. It's terrific and the discount may seem small but it sure does come in handy.

Anyhow, sorry to just butt in but I thought I'd toss out a few ideas that I didn't see.

Best of luck...

SweetHope

It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow. ~ Robert H. Goddard