# How much homeschooling can be done for free?



## Vashti (Dec 22, 2006)

I have a two year old and a 7 month old that I plan on homeschooling. I've started some wonderful montessori things with my two year old, and have printed much from the internet, and have also recieved some things for free from the schools in the area during their "purges". I would prefer that my homeschool is somewhat structured, I want to make sure that my girls learn specific age/year appropriate materials on time and want to refrain from doing a mostly "unschooled" approach. How much of this can be done for free? Do any of you homeschool for little or no money and still have a semi-structured school environment? 

If it isn't possible to do this, then I'm prepared to invest whatever is necessary. I do want my girls to have the best education possible. However, if it can be done in a thrifty manner then my family would certainly be the better for it. 

Also, I prefer not to debate about unschooling. It's really just not my thing, I understand that it is a wonderful fit for some families, and although my homeschooling will have some free style elements to it, unschooling without structure isn't my cup of tea. Also, I DO NOT want to participate in the free online schools that are provided. I definately want control of my child's learning, and do not want to relinquish that to a state, district or other entity and don't want my children spending hours in front of a computer screen either. Thanks!


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## bluefish (Jan 27, 2006)

There is a book out there called Homeschooling Your Child for Free that has a lot of internet sources for things. There is also a yahoo group called homeschool reviews or something like that. It was started by the same lady that wrote the book. People post sites that they found that they likes and you can also go on and ask for resources for whatever subject you want. If you are interested in that and can't find the group on search, let me know and I'll dig up the link.


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## RiverPines (Dec 12, 2006)

I dont see how one can provide a full and thorough curriculum without spending money. We spend around 1,500 per year for our 2 kids in 3rd and 5th grade.
We provide all the subject matter the schools do and then some.
We provide all the hands on too like science experiments that you need to buy supplies for.

Schooling isn't cheap if your teaching all that the schools teach and thoroughly.

Books and supplies are not cheap.

Our state has laws for home schooling, you have to provide at least 6 subjects, outlined by the state, every year. You have to follow your local schools sessions too.

How can you provide a thorough, grade appropriate curriculum of, Language Arts, Reading, Science, Math, Health, and Social studies for a kid without spending some bucks?

A good education is an investment even if you go through the school or do it yourself.

I couldn't give a good education without spending the money. I would be cutting my kids short. All our materials are up to national and state standards. Those materials that meet the standards are not free and rarely cheap.

So, you need to know your homeschooling laws. Some states are stricter than others. 
Our state is fairly lax but we go beyond their basic requirements because I want my kids to learn a lot, and about many different things.


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## Vashti (Dec 22, 2006)

Our state is very lax (perhaps too lax) when it comes to homeschooling. All that is required is a bi-yearly test to make sure that the homeschooling child is up to par with their peers. 

I had originally thought that perhaps I might get the books "What your 1st grader should know" etc., and follow those roughly for the education premise in our homeschool. I figured teaching most of English and mathematics could be done for free...especially if you are a creative and well educated parent yourself. For me, this means teaching all but trig and calculous (I hated both of those subjects, but all other math was a real joy for me). Literature is easy with a local library. Also, to further enforce the reading joy you could act out plays and have indepth character portraites and focuses and also book reports. 

For the logistics of the English language and grammar, punctuation, etc., I thought that I may like to have curriculum for this, just to make sure that the material is covered fully without missing rules. I am also planning on a foreign language (that we're actually planning on beginning immediately for the encouragement of bilingual children) and I'm going to purchase materials for that because my husband and I will be learning along with them. I have plans to begin Latin at 3rd grade, but I have all the materials necessary for that as both husband and I are well versed in the Latin language and have our old learning materials saved.

Other subjects like History, Geography, Civics, etc. For these, I'm expecting to ether purchase materials or just take it unit by unit utilizing our local library, the internet and field trips for a well-rounded learning experience. Is this just unschooling with structure? LOL

Perhaps I am trying to be too cheap, or I'm so bent on not allowing anyone else to have control that I have a bit of an aversion to someone else's curriculum. 

I will look into that book & yahoo group, but knowing that other moms feel that it is important to purchase curriculum for a decent education is valuable to me as well.


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## halfpint (Jan 24, 2005)

For many of your subjects, you can home educate fairly cheaply. You can often find old textbooks in thrift, goodwill and used books stores that will serve you quite well. Some of the college professors I've talked to would prefer you find really old math textbooks if you want to teach math well. For many subjects you can get a copy of a curriculum suppliers scope and seqeunce, and cover those from books at the library. This works especially well for science and history. Another thing for history is to use a timeline and the library and work over it a certain number of years. I have chosen 6 years, that way each of my children has covered each time period twice. We also study the art and music of the period we are studying. and I often ask their music teachers to teach a couple of songs over the year from the periods we will be studying. Writing assignments can be taken from whatever you are studying in science, history, possibly math and other elective courses.

Grammar and sometime spelling are probably better served with a textbook, but you can also find those fairly cheap when used.

If you teach Bible, then you already have the best textbook for that. Curriculum for that can be fun, but we've had more fun doing things like building a model tabernacle, making our own timeline, making foods that are discussed, and even getting into science topics from our Bible study.

Another possibility is co-op, where parents get together and teach different subjects. Sometimes this is done in core subjects, and sometimes just extra courses, but usually a mix. I've done both large and small co-op's and there are benefits to each. There are also many courses offered around here for high school students, and often tutors for courses you have difficulty teaching. Over the years I have both tutored and taught many science and math classes (I'm a little strange in that I think Calculus, Chemistry and Physics are fun), but sent my students to others for their english classes. Most of this was done on a swap type basis where no money was exchanged (except for the large co-op).

When considering swaps, consider your other talents and hobbies. I've swapped for meals, other classes and music lessons. I have a friend who likes to sew who has made dresses etc. for others teaching her children and she also made our family one weekly meal for tutoring her son.

To be honest, the majority of my budget for home education is not spent on textbooks (however I am using many of the same books that my older son's used also), but on things like our music lessons, enrichment materials, art supplies for both art and projects for science and history, field trips, durable materials and such. I have over the years gathered a quite nice setup for science experiments including a very good microscope and mass scale.

Become a friend of your local librarian! Because it is mostly home educators who use our local library, ours tends to purchase what we want. 

Dawn


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## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

There are so many ways to teach without spending a lot of money. I spent a small fortune on supplies and didn't use a lot of them. I ended up selling most of it on ebay to recoup some of my investment. 

Join a homeschool group. You'll learn a lot from parents who have been homeschooling. If you want to have public school at home, then you'll want to buy a strict curriculum to use. I chose to go with a relaxed atmosphere. My son learned foreign languages from friends and neighbors. A nice little old lady a couple houses down taught him to speak fluent Italian, an old man across the road taught him to speak fluent French, and he learned German from a boy from Germany who spent a year visiting his extended family in our town. Often they helped each other. The German boy learned a lot of English from my son while my son was learning German from the boy. 

My son learned about WWII from WWII veterans. He learned things that never made it to the history books. He learned about the Vietnam conflict from a BIL, and the Korean conflict from my father. He learned about the bombing of Pearl Harbor from a lady who was a nurse on the island at the time. We lived in Hawaii and he talked with a lot of old timers who lived thru that attack. He also learned about a Tsunami that hit the island many years ago. He learned about the War Between the States by joining a reenactment group for a couple of years. It was a "button counter" group and all members were very strict to study history and give a very true to history accounting of the time. He learned how to load & shoot a cannon. We visited museums and living history events every time we came across one. There is history all around us if we look for it. 

We went to the local art museum every two weeks. That's how often they changed the displays. He learned to appreciate fine art much more than I do. 

That was his early years. When he got into the senior high years, around age 15, we ordered books from the state college and used them. He had to send in his homework every week to have it graded. By the time we got that far I felt like I wasn't capable of teaching subjects like geometry, trig, etc. I shouldn't have worried. He read the college books and did the homework like it was fun. Maybe I was lucky and school came easy for him, and maybe it came easy b/c learning is a normal function for children, the hard part is being a parent that can teach without stifling the child's natural desire to learn.


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## Sonshine (Jul 27, 2007)

I think it all depends on how much time you are willing to put into searching out resources for free. I use a lot of free resources, but having a special needs child I have also spent money in areas that others wouldn't need to. Just remember, the internet and the library are you friends.


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## ajaxlucy (Jul 18, 2004)

We never used a purchased curriculum, but if we'd kept homeschooling into high school we might have. For younger (<10?) I don't think it's necessary, but we had easy access to museums and a good library system. I did buy math textbooks and pay for music lessons (neither DH nor I is musical).


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## deaconjim (Oct 31, 2005)

When you consider the cost of sending your kids to government schools, you can usually buy a good curriculum with the money you save. School lunches, fees, uniforms, field trips, back to school supplies and clothes, etc. all add up. At one point we figured we were nearly breaking even with the ACE curriculum we were using at the time.

Look around for used curriculum and books. Freecycle, Craigslist, and Ebay are good places to try.


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## Vashti (Dec 22, 2006)

Thank you so much everyone, for your honest and helpful answers. I have some time to mull all of this over, obviously as my eldest that I'd like to homeschool is still only two. I'm currently focusing on montessori methods and the basics of numbers, letters, colors etc.


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## p1gg1e (Aug 20, 2008)

You can ask your local school for text books and work books they usually will provide them.


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## WhiteChristmas (Dec 13, 2006)

My school system actually will tell you they have none to loan out. {found out an hour ago from the school sec. that they refused to loan out any to anyone homeschooling through the law says they do}
So heads up not always the case,not all schools are as nice as mine. Very case of sarcasm here. Angel


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## themamahen (Jun 26, 2005)

I just posted this not too long ago my dd's elem school is having a Purge sale getting rid of old textbooks even tho some are just last years i got a FULL 2nd 3rd curriculum teachers resource books 8 activity books (worksheets pasting cutting matching rhyming math reading lit exc) for .10 each so for grades 2 and 3 cost me 2.30  plus i got world atlas' paul bunyon poem book with frost tennyson exc. MANYYY gr8 books. Look around I agree go with the thrift stores too, most books can be bought for .50 to 1.00. 
i started Buying GOOD books and got some free cardboard boxes in the attic each marked K-12 whatever grade it is gets tossed in the box when you have a nice collection in these boxes got thru the box and see what you are lacking ie: 3rd grade you may need science and have No social studies write it on a paper tape it to the box and the next time you go shoppin take it with you. If you save money on the books spend it on art supplies field trips music foreign languages exc. 

My DD is in Kindergarten and loves it. I am letting her attend school now because she wants to. when the school system reches a point (AND they are very close) of pushing my dd too hard or I disagree with the teacher (again very closeeeeee) then she will be homeschooled. I am prepared as I said i do have my boxes and i would prefer she be homeschooled 

Best of luck it can be done Cheaply


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## Seeria (Jul 21, 2006)

The less money you spend out the more work you do to find the materials you want. Borrow, FreeCycle, Internet, Libraries, etc. 

In our case and that of family (most of extended family are second gen homeschooled) we rarely spend money on pre-made curriculum. Money definitely goes out to projects, especially science. We do spend money on books (actual books, not textbooks) that we can't get through interlibrary loans.


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## noname (Dec 31, 2004)

RiverPines said:


> How can you provide a thorough, grade appropriate curriculum of, Language Arts, Reading, Science, Math, Health, and Social studies for a kid without spending some bucks?


Because you don't necessarily need curriculum to provide a good education.

If you use curriculum, like it, and it works for your kids, great, but it's certainly not the only way to homeschool. I have never used much curriculum, and my children have done just fine. 

Check out www.homeschoolingonashoestring.com and www.ignitethefire.com for ideas.


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## Vashti (Dec 22, 2006)

Thank you kindly, noname for the links. I met with our local homeschooling group for the first time on Monday and it was very informative. There was a mother of five there that schooled very economically and got most of her curriculum for free or very little. She had jus switched from Saxon math to Math Mammoth and was very pleased with the program as well as the price. I'm looking forward to homeschooling so much, and would like to save money while giving my children the best education possible. I suppose it's a journey that each family undertakes and our path may be different from each of yours, but our goals are the same: Well rounded, educated children that are prepared for adulthood physically, mentally and emotionally and have a foundation for success!


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## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

I should have added that your options will depend on what state you are in. Some states are homeschool friendly and others treat homeschooling like it's a crime.

If you are in a non-friendly state, I suggest you join HSLDA.


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## harplade (Jul 14, 2005)

I'd let it be known that you are looking for material but that you don't have much to spend-let area homeschoolers know. Often in cleaning up, if I have just one or two things to get rid of, not worth it to me to put on ebay,etc. I just take to Goodwill. I'd be happy for another homeschooler to have it. 

Look at starting a curriculum swap or give away library. 

I agree with another poster-purchasing currculum, etc saves me loads of time
,looking for good deals, etc is time consuming-time is often a precious commodity when you're in the midst of the busy homeschool life. You're good to start now as you can probably amass a pretty good library over the next 2 or 3 years.

Also I found it much easier to homeschool cheaply when my DD was young-lots of good books from the library, nature lessons outside, etc. As she gets older, it is becoming somewhat more costly.

Good luck


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## Lindafisk (Nov 17, 2004)

I haven't seen anyone mention Ambleside Online yet, so I thought I should. Lots of the books they recommend are online or available at the library. I don't think they have any math or science other than nature sudy so you have to add that yourself but there is a lot of reading and art and nature and music. It's worth a look.....

http://www.amblesideonline.org/ Welcome to Ambleside Online, a free homeschool curriculum designed to be as close as possible to the curriculum that Charlotte Mason used in her own private and correspondence schools.


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

Old Fashioned Education uses online (copywrite free) books. http://oldfashionededucation.com/

Free math: http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mepres/primary/default.htm This one does take a password to use. BUT home schoolers are free to use it just request the password. Or join the yahoo group mentioned on the OFE site and the password is in the file section. Sorry, I don't have it in front of me or I would just give it to you.

There is allot in the libraries, online, etc you can use for no cost. Just be careful because some things are free because they are not good.


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## mpillow (Jan 24, 2003)

I bought used textbooks($2/each) at half.com and workbooks from bookcloseouts.com. In 5 years of homeschooling 3 kids, I've spent less than $500 total. My son started high school academy(geade 9) and tested at grade level 12.9 on everything except writing.
bookcloseouts is having a back to school sale on wkbks right now and lots of kinder-grade 2-3 books.


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## Beaners (Feb 23, 2005)

mpillow just mentioned half.com, which I really like for any kind of textbook. Abe books is another good one for certain books, especially some of the advanced high school classes and foreign language texts.

Kayleigh


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## Mid Tn Mama (May 11, 2002)

I would not use the "What Your __-Grader needs to know" books as your bible. While they are good as a supplement, I have seen a great number of things missing in these books.

Start by looking at your state standards to see what is specifically required in your state:

http://www.education-world.com/standards/

Once you know what is required, look for your materials,texts, worksheets, etc...


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## littlekari (Jul 10, 2008)

I homeschooled one year for free and it was so much work trying to find the information I needed and cost an arm and a leg in printer ink we went to books. I spent hours and hours in the library and on the internet and time preparing every day it seemed.

Local churches here have homeschool book sales in the late spring after school is out for people to unload or buy used books at a very good price. Are there any homeschool groups in your area? I was able to pick up things on e-bay for a reasonable price but you have to be careful because some people will pay more than new price for things.


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## MamaTiger (Jun 11, 2008)

The OFE site mentioned is a great resource. There are links there to Gutenbury and Main lesson which are sites that have books (great ones!) in all subject areas you can print off. Most of these are living books rather than text books, but you can find texts there too.


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## ginnie5 (Jul 15, 2003)

I buy all our curriculum used. I do unit studies for the younger 4 for science, history, language, and Bible. I bought a multi level math program that can be used all up until 6th grade. I also use free internet resources as much as I can. Miss Maggies site OFE is great! Last year we had almost no money for school and we used quite a few things from there to round out what I bought from a used book sale. There are usually several used sales in my area that I go to every year. I did have to buy Chemistry for my 17yo and had to buy new last spring. I almost died paying full price for that!


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## happyooper (Dec 8, 2002)

Riversides' comments are sad, to say the least, and a good indication of why our country is going down the tubes. People have been processed through the system and cannot think for themselves. Homeschooling can be so inexpensive and so rewarding that way. And h/s on the cheap teaches everything you would need to know about managing your finances! You don't have to compete with the national debt to homeschool. If you want to use the standard books, that is fine, and in some circumstances it is the best, but you don't have to do it that way to be successful.
We didn't use a curriculum and our oldest will graduate from a select university next year and moslty stayed on the Dean's list. Our son is in a private university and one of our daughters will be majoring in piano. We spent our small h/s budgeted money on music and a big library minus the fill-in-the-blank curriculum. Yes, that "public school, manufactured book system" will work, but you certainly don't have to have it to provide an excellent education. You just need to teach exceptional reading and math skills. Then your kids will take it from there and will know how to think without having to take a class with that kind of title. 
Our niece on the other hand went to p/s, graduated with honors, was a 4.0 in high school, and college, was in Who's Who in America and can't bake a cake without a box! To top it off, she mostly reads romance/mystery books. She's nice, a good mother, but well educated? I guess that depends on how you define that. 
If all interested new homeschoolers would just read about the way education was taught years ago and stop being brainwashed and intimidated into using only those strict public schooly books, (unless they want to)they could have less stress, and would be less likely to feel pressured all the time to keep up with whatever the "experts" say you have to do. I believe that right now our country is near the bottom of the line in education ratings and yet, new homeschoolers still feel that they want to follow the path of the failing public school. I remember feeling that way too, but it didn't last long. Start reading about the school system and how it got started and you will understand. Every home school parent should read Samuel Blumenfelds' book Trojan Horse in the Classroom. For parents who don't want to delve into the history of education, then the standard curriculum will most likely work for you. And your kids will learn the book work for sure, but those who go that direction should not assume it is necessary to use that for a good education. There's more than one way to skin a cat. Home schooling should be fun and does not have to be costly. But if you are going to homeschool, you owe it to your children to do the reading yourself on the subject, join a h/s support group and help your kids be all they can. Joining home school legal defense is good too. Try researcing more on the subject, and considering things like the classical educational approach,if that is your bent.
I was writing a homeschool article for Nathhan News and came across this site. It will help you with free downloads. It is internet4classrooms. you can find more than you can have time to read. good luck, it is nice to see parents so concerned with their children's future on this site. :clap::clap:hp


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## Vashti (Dec 22, 2006)

Oh you all are so awesome! I've pulled my 7th grader out of public school. We're going to begin soon. I purchased Easy Grammar/Daily Grams new, and the Handbook of Nature Study. I got a used 7th grade science book on Ebay, and am using my HS four year Latin book. I found some wonderful books at the Library's book sale for $1.00 each and a lot of internet resources to round things out. I'll be doing unit studies that encorporate everything else. I'm very excited, and didn't spend too much either. Just over $200 and that includes my membership to HSLDA. I've also joined the local home school support group, and have found some wonderful resources though them as well.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

I haven't read through all the responses, so maybe someone has mentioned this:

My state requires local districts to provide texts to home school families, free of charge. Of course they are the texts the school is using. (I _detest_ our Math series! I've always been a Saxon devotee. But Reading and Science are both excellent...) 
And I don't believe there's anything in there about providing teacher's manuals. 
But it's a start.

So far as what kids should know by which age, people might also check their state's dept. of ed. website. 
Ours has our state standards listed, by grade level, and those are what I used as a teacher to design my scope and sequence for the school year.


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## Vashti (Dec 22, 2006)

I have found a couple more excellent online resources that I thought I would share. I'm currently hoping to get Saxon, but it's not in my budget just yet. So, I've been looking for an alternative. My mother won a year's subscription to IXL.com, but their curriculum only goes up to 5th grade. I have a 2 yo and a 7th grader so that really didn't seem to work at first, but the 5th grade material is actually challenging my 7th grader (the school is WAY behind in math) and she really loves it. I was still looking for something to bring her up to a national 7th grade level, and I found The Centre for Innovation in Mathematics Teaching. Wow - it's a complete curriculum for my 7th grader, complete with teacher's guides and transparencies and everything, and all FREE. It looks pretty good so far, if a bit daunting only because there is just SO much information on the site. I think it will work perfectly until I get my saxon 87.

I also just found World History For Us All online - a free world history curriculum. It looks pretty good as well, and I'll be using some of it along with some more in depth unit studies that I put together myself. 

Link to the Centre for Innovation in Mathematics Teaching:
http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mepres/book7/book7.htm#unit1

Link to World History for Us All:
http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/default.htm


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## WildernesFamily (Mar 11, 2006)

Congrats Vashti, you're on an exciting journey 

We use Saxon Math and our kids all do well on it. You may want to consider starting your daughter on Saxon 7/6 instead of 8/7, just to give her the groundwork. I think there may be placement tests out there to help you decide. Also, the cheapest place I found for purchasing Saxon in the past has always been http://www.rocksolidinc.com/, they offer free shipping on orders over $95. If you struggle with teaching Math then I highly recommend getting the DIVE CD to go along with the Saxon curriculum.

We use a curriculum called Weaver (bible based) and we use the library extensively. You can definitely homeschool (and do an excellent job!) on a very tight budget, it just takes a lot more time and effort to put everything together.

Also visit http://www.vegsource.com/homeschool/ for buying used curriculum. The sales boards move fast, but I've bought quite a bit off there without any problems.

Good luck!


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