Home Schooling does not have to be expensive!

One of the biggest things parents run into when they decide to home school are finances. It can take a little juggling, and sometimes feeling like you might need to sell a kidney on the black market. BUT, if you do some searching and connect with other home school families, sometimes you can find what you are looking for at a fraction of the price!

When you decide what you are going to do, the best idea is to first decide where you are going to start. Sometimes you have to pull back a little and fill in a few gaps, and that is okay too! There are a ton of free resources available as well. Easy Peasy, and several other companies have a ton of free resources and lesson plans that you can use! I have pulled from there several times as well as other websites! Great to use as fillers, or as supplement  to whatever curriculum you decide to use. Using your favorite search engine, you can type in FREE HOME SCHOOL CURRICULUM and it will bring up several things for you to cruise through and decide what you want to use or lose.

For curriculum, it can greatly vary in price! I love to go through other families who have already finished some of what we are looking to use and buy it on a discounted price! When you connect with those families, they can tell you what they liked or dislike about each piece of the curriculum! Getting the input of other home schooling families can save you money and also time in searching. Try and find some local groups to join, check to see if they have a COOP. It is a great collaboration of parents and sometimes you can find a parent that is great with math, one with history, and one with music, and so they will have different classes on those days for the different age groups. They usually go for about 4-6 hours, and its a good way for parents to connect with other parents too.

Look around you and make use of the resources that are available! Check your library to see what is available there too!! Not only are you going to be able to find books to use, you can find documentaries on DVD or CD, and sometimes they have science kits that you can borrow and use! They are a lot of fun and huge money savers! So far this year, we have gone through dinosaurs, tornadoes and rocks.

Are you ready for the fun of learning!? Parents can learn just as much as the kiddos, and enjoyment is just around the corner!