Frugal Homeschooling Part 2 ~ How to Homeschool for Practically Free!
Last month we talked about the Adventure of Used Curriculum Sales in the first part of the Frugal Homeschooling series. I hope you got some terrific ideas on navigating sales successfully!
Have gone through your books, gathered some to sell, and made a list of what you need for the new year? Are you ready to attack the homeschool sales this month with gusto? To see where they are, go to my blog www.ThePrudentWife.com/blog and you will find all the Tri-Cities information under “homeschooling.”
Have you been wondering what other fabulously frugal things you can do? Fasten your seatbelt, there is a ton more!
My first homeschooling seminar was with Carole Joy Seid. She said the most profound statement I had ever heard. “You can homeschool for almost free, with a library card and a math program.”
Experience has proven this true over the years. We have homeschooled with thousands of dollars of curriculum, buying the best of the best for our girls. When life changed and we had to stretch every penny until it doubled itself screaming the whole way, we have used a library card, creativity and what we have on hand. We have thrived both ways!
My two favorite overall sites are Ambleside Online and Classical Homeschooling:
- Ambleside Online gives you a 12 year curriculum plan for FREE! AO is a distinctly Charlotte Mason education based on reading great books, incorporating her splendid ideas for educating children. The site is a goldmine of information on the CM method. The AO Booklist is worth it’s weight in gold. At 17 pages long, it is one of the best resources http://www.amblesideonline.org/Booklist.shtml Full of books that will light up the imagination of your children for a lifetime on every subject in the world! Most books can be found at the library (or through inter-library loan) or are available on the website….for FREE!
- Classical Homeschooling is another website http://www.classical-homeschooling.org/ that is full of FREE resources for educating children with the classical method. The Classical method is fully explained, with wonderful links to Art History, 1000 Great Book List, history resources (every period) and everything you need to know about the classical method. Free!
Both the Ambleside Online and Classical Homeschooling sites will help you educate your children from Kindergarten through 12th grade….for FREE! Both will suggest additional resources that you can purchase, but the bulk of it is done for free with a library card.
While staring at links in a magazine article is rather boring, here are some of the TOP moneysaving frugal links for homeschoolers, with lots of links for worksheets if your family is into them!
- A to Z Cool Homeschooling http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/weblinks/livelihood.htm
- Diane Flynn Keith’s Click Schooling http://www.homefires.com/clickschool/ has resources galore that are just a “click” away!
- Unit Studies http://www.loveathome.com/homeschool/frugal.htm
- Tons of ideas here http://www.frugalhomeschoolers.com/
- Donna Young has the best worksheets http://donnayoung.org/index.htm
- Lots of worksheet resources here http://www.ehow.com/how_2313130_printable-home-school-worksheets-online.html
- Free worksheets http://www.schoolexpress.com/
- Free MATH worksheets http://www.homeschoolmath.net/worksheets/
- Worksheets galore http://home.att.net/~bandcparker/worksheets.html
- Tons of resources http://www.dmoz.org/Reference/Education/K_through_12/Home_Schooling/
- The best money saving ideas out there http://www.ThePrudentWife.com
That should get you started clicking on tons of different sites, with lots of free stuff in them!
Remember, you can give your kids a great education with some imagination, a library card, and a good math program, without breaking the bank!
Have fun! Be creative! And be frugal as you homeschool your children!