Could you homeschool for free?

[Heavenly]

I already have curriculum materials bought for this year (pieced together from various places) but I have also been looking at all the online information and it honestly seems like you could homeschool almost for free, at least for the early years. You would need to buy some materials but aren't all these expensive curriculums really not necessary?

[annethcz]

Nope, I don't think they are at all necessary. I've bought several, but it's just to make my life easier, to be honest.

[UUMom]

If you mean no new second hand books, no museum passes, no art supplies, no maps, no internet, no late fines from the library, no field trips, no use of gas....then the answer is Hell No, & Not in a Million Gazilllion Years.

[boysrus]

I never bought any.
Well, I did buy a couple of Singapore Math books and 2 curriculum workbooks ($10 each) for the boys last year, but we hardly ever even used them.

[boysrus]

Originally Posted by UUMom

If you mean no new second hand books, no museum passes, no art supplies, no maps, no internet, no late fines from the library, no field trips, no use of gas....then the answer is Hell No, & Not in a Million Gazilllion Years.

But I would pay for those homeschooling or not

[Jenmom]

Originally Posted by Heavenly

I already have curriculum materials bought for this year (pieced together from various places) but I have also been looking at all the online information and it honestly seems like you could homeschool almost for free, at least for the early years. You would need to buy some materials but aren't all these expensive curriculums really not necessary?

Well, it would cost me more in printer ink than a workbook costs. You're spending money somewhere, either way.

[tallanvor]

You can do it without buying a true curriculum, yes. I mean, libraries have so much you can use, and the internet, too. A lot of learning is just from life, anyway. This year I didn't by an actual curriculum except for math and that is more because I was at a loss of how to teach in a way my daughter understood and retained it. Now, we did look at curriculums for ideas. Our reading this year for my daughter is the Sonlight level 3 books, but I didn't get the teacher's manual, we just bought the books (second hand). And honestly, I wouldn't have bought the books except in Alaska the state gives us an allowance for homeschooling. I think every book on the list could be found at our local library, even as small as it is.

Crystal

[Ruthla]

HS completely for free? No. Life with children isn't free.

But it's certainly possible to HS for the same amount of money that it would cost to have kids in school- you'd still be paying for school supplies, field trips, overdue library books, etc.

[UnschoolnMa]

We have never bought a curriculum.

We've purchased things like markers, glue, paper for our printer, notebooks, and etc. Those are things that we'd be buying even if our kids were in school though.

We buy things the kids want or need when we can. We don't think of it as curriculum though. It's just books, games, video games, etc. We use the library big time.

[7kiddosmom]

I can't afford to buy much, so most of what we have I get online or second hand.

Almost all of the English, literature and History is coming for the internet or library this year. I purchased some math text books for some of the older kids a few years ago that we are using for the younger kids now.

My biggest expenses come from printer ink and paper. I do buy math workbooks for my 8yr old ds and 6 yr old dd at Barnes and Noble for $6.95 each because that is cheaper than buying ink.

I also purchased "An Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading" for helping to teach them how to read. I will of course keep that one and it will be used through FIVE children so the cost was worth it.

We make our own manipulatives for math, using different things like marbles, noodles, beans.

We ahve a used book store here called Half Price Books that has TONS of homeschooling items as well.

So, totally free...maybe not completely, but pretty darn cheap.

[zeldamomma]

If I didn't have any money to spend on homeschooling, I'd be looking long and hard at the local public schools. Our expenses tend to be classes, field trips, and supplies beyond what we would ever have time for if my kids were in school. We don't spend much on curriculum-- I'll be surprised if I spend $100 on curriculum for both of my school aged, but we do spend a significant amount on other homeschooling related expenses. There are resources I think are important (like good art and science supplies and a gym to run around in when it's -10 outside) that I can't provide for free. I think I could homeschool for free and cover the basics adequately, but I'm not sure I'd want to, especially as my kids get older.

ZM

[frogguruami]

I think you COULD homeschool for free. It is possible. I think it would take a lot more time. Gathering information, preparing information, etc. I don't use an expensive boxed curriculum but I do use curriculum materials that have a lot of things already compiled for me.

I also think you have to have the right personality for it. Meaning, I could homeschool for next to nothing but it would drive me crazy because I like to have more than I need at my disposal. Yes, I am a book junkie and I admit it!)

So my answer is Yes but I wouldn't want to. I would if I had to though.

[Heavenly]

Let me clarify - I did not mean having your children home for free. I meant the actual bookwork part of homeschooling. The rest I consider just raising my children and things like art supplies, educational games and the like I do not consider part of my homeschooling expenses, because like others have said I would buy those anyways. My kids do dance, judo, gymnastics, scouts/guides, music lessons, etc and we have a membership to the children's museum and we do lots of other activities. That was not what I meant when I asked the question. I meant the actual bookwork part of it - if that is the method you subscribe to.

[MidwifeErika]

You know another way of doing it for pretty much free..... buy used curriculums for a good price and sell them when you are done for the same price.

But yeah, you could totally homeschool with lots of free resources and not spend money on curriculum if you didn't want to.

[Lillian J]

My two cents: the value of materials. I had posted about this in an email list when I was geting rid of our old stuff, and a friend who'd had similar experiences asked me to put it into an article. And I just tossed in the part about classes...

- Lillian

[umbrella]

imo, it is entirely possible to spend no more than you would if your child attended a school.

[SagMom]

A book by this title came out a few years back. It had loads of internet links though, so not sure if it would still be helpful or not. If you google "homeschool your child for free" lots of hits come up.

Oh, the book I mentioned has a website--apparently you can even get updates: http://www.writerspost.com/hsfree/

[elizawill]

Originally Posted by Heavenly

I already have curriculum materials bought for this year (pieced together from various places) but I have also been looking at all the online information and it honestly seems like you could homeschool almost for free, at least for the early years. You would need to buy some materials but aren't all these expensive curriculums really not necessary?

my kids are young, and most of my curriculum is free. i do buy saxon math and explode the code & happy phonics.....but those are things i wanted and did not have to purchase. they do have very good curriculum for math and reading online that is also free. i do buy other things as well such as craft & art supplies, paper, pens, field trips, homeschool association, homeschool group, dance class for my dd and karate for ds, etc. the list can get kind of long there. but in reference to free curriculum vs. boxed curriculm - the answer imo is yes - you can get excellent stuff for free (at least in the early years)

i wanted to add sites i like that are free:
http://www.coreknowledge.org/CK/resr...sons/index.htm
(click on the grade you want)

http://www.baltimorecp.org/lessons/draft_lessons.html
(scroll to the grade you want and click each subject. it tells you what to teach each month)
http://www.baltimorecp.org/lessons/lesson_titles.htm
(this is the scope & sequence for the BCP lessons)

http://community.learnnc.org/dpi/mat...s_k2_resou.php (this is free math curriculum)

http://www.glc.k12.ga.us/seqlps/sudisplay.asp?SUID=242
(free math curriculum)

http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/proje...ry/default.htm
(free math curriculum - scroll to grade)

http://www.learnnc.org/lessons/
(various lesson plans - click on grade at top)

http://www.philtulga.com/
(music lessons and activities stuff)

http://www.msnucleus.org/ (click free curriculum at top left)

http://www.literacyconnections.com/WordsTheirWay.php

http://www.faithfirst.com/html/catec...downloads.html
(these are bible lessons if interested in that)

http://www.glc.k12.ga.us/seqlps/sudisplay.asp?SUID=235
(free language arts lessons)

http://www.glc.k12.ga.us/seqlps/sudisplay.asp?SUID=269
(free social studies lessons)

http://www.thesolutionsite.com/search.shtml
(free lesson plans)

http://www.ckcolorado.org/units.asp
(free lesson plans)

www.handsofachild.com
(click on FREEBIE for your free lapbook lesson. it includes everything and they change it every few months).


http://www.childcareland.com/free.html
(this is my favorite free site to make file folder games)


plus there's letteroftheweek, amblesideonline, and tanglewood education that are all great and free. i also get free things sent to me from the homeschool store (i think that's who sends me stuff), and there are great free online record keepers too or printables. not to mention the library or 4-H club (which is totally free where i live). i could go on and on listing free site i use. i also frequent craigslist and freecycle looking for chapter books, school books, etc. i've gotten wonderful things that way! as my children get older, depending on their needs, i will obviously spend more $$$. but right now, being a stay-at-home mom is my top priority and it's financially very hard on us -- so i make every penny count

[Linda on the move]

Originally Posted by Lillian J

My two cents: the value of materials. Lillian

Nice article! I really try to use discrection when I order things because I don't want a bunch of stuff that just clutters our home.

Originally Posted by umbrella

imo, it is entirely possible to spend no more than you would if your child attended a school.

I agree. We spend some money on homeschooling. There are books and resources that I buy that I wouldn't if my kids were in school, but I really don't spend a lot of money. We could afford to spend a lot more, but I just don't see any reason to.

My kids favorite workbooks over the years were Explode the Code and Miquon, but at $5 a pop, those aren't going to bust the bank.

Every once in a while I splurge on something expensive (like a microscope), but mostly we use the library and the internet, and my kids are getting a great education. We homeschool the way we do because it is exciting and dynamic; it's just a coincidence that it is also economical. I doubt that we spend more than people whose kids attend public school (which really isn't free).

[Lillian J]

Originally Posted by Linda on the move

Nice article! I really try to use discretion when I order things because I don't want a bunch of stuff that just clutters our home.

Oh, well yeah I spent lots of time thinking about all that stuff before buying it - loved perusing catalogs and looking at stuff in teachers' supplies - much of it was great stuff! But what it took me a long time to "get" was that it just wasn't necessary. And for a while, it was almost comical - if I brought something home, I'd inevitably turn around and find that my son already knew what it was supposed to help him learn. Even though I had no idea how he'd learned it.

Funny - you mention your kids liked Explode the Code, but my son really disliked it, and learned all that without using it or formally studying the material. I gave those books away to the recycled resource room of the conference - those are actually some of the first things that come to mind when I think of unnecessary stuff. But if someone enjoys using them, what the heck. When I was little, I probably would have enjoyed them, just because I enjoyed filling out workbooks - except for spelling books, which were just stupid... I don't think I really thought of filling them out as a learning experience, though - just a satisfying filling-out-workbooks experience - which may be what it was for your kids too. Maybe they have the "like to fill out workbooks" gene like I did. Or maybe they actually were a learning tool for them - everyone's learning style is so unique! - Lillian