How We Homeschool on a Shoestring Budget

Wishing you could start homeschooling but are aghast at the cost of curriculum? Or are you worried that you can't continue homeschooling because of the high cost associated with it? Well, let me introduce you to my world, where homeschooling costs are much, much less. I'm not saying you must homeschool this way - but if money is keeping you from homeschooling, or if reducing homeschooling costs would be a blessing for your family, read on.



The Robinson Curriculum

I knew almost from the beginning that I wanted to homeschool our children. But when I looked at the cost of curriculum, I had sticker shock. How on earth was I going to spend hundreds of dollars each year on curriculum? Happily, my sis-in-law, who was also grappling with that question, discovered The Robinson Curriculum. It's a real life saver for those who need to homeschool on a shoestring. (There are also other strong reasons to use this curriculum, which I'll mention momentarily.)
The Robinson Curriculum comes on CDs.

The Robinson Curriculum, which is good for kids from 1st grade through high school, is $195 (new). In addition to that, you you'll need to buy math books - and if you don't have a Kindle, you'll either want to purchase a one for the reading materials, or you'll want an efficient printer to print out the reading material included on discs in the curriculum. I've found that most of the reading material is available free in digital format from Amazon or Project Gutenberg, so my daughter uses an old black and white Kindle (that can't go onto the Internet and doesn't have all the fancy bells and whistles) for reading. I buy the math books at reduced cost (More on that in a moment.)

Once the curriculum CDs are purchased, we pay about $60 - $80 a year for curriculum. Yesssss!

If you are really pinching pennies, I recommend buying the Robinson Curriculum CDs used...but make sure the discs that comprise the curriculum are compatible with your computer. Some desperate families read the guidelines for the curriculum online, find the reading list elsewhere online, and don't buy the curriculum at all. What are they missing? A much more thorough explanation of the curriculum and how it works, plus digital access to an encyclopedia, dictionary, and grammar book; printable math fact flash cards; vocabulary cards; and exams for many of the reading materials.



While the inexpensive nature of the curriculum is awesome, so is the curriculum itself. It's an old timey philosophy, focusing on math, reading, and writing. All other subjects are taught through reading. And did I mention that (with the exception of very young students), the kids self-teach? The Robinson philosophy really works, and is incredibly freeing for parents, while teaching children valuable skills for life.

I will add that I do like to supplement the Robinson Curriculum with artsy projects, science "experiments," and other stuff that isn't necessary. I save this "extra curricular" stuff for the end of the day, as a reward for completing the main course of study. I get ideas (and sometimes free printables) for these things online, at many of the sources mentioned below.


A tiny sampling of some curriculum I've purchased used.
Used Curriculum

You can save an incredible amount of money by purchasing curriculum used. (In our case, we're only buying math books.) I typically buy used curriculum on eBay. To make this less time consuming, I save the search terms I'm using and have eBay send me emails whenever something matching those terms appears on their site. (To do this, do a normal search. On the results page, just above the results of the search, there are green letters saying "follow this search." Click on that phrase.)

There are also websites that focus on selling used curriculum; you might also try Amazon and Craigslist. In addition, I buy a lot of reading materials and extra curricular workbooks and such at thrift stores. St. Vincent DePaul's is our favorite because they organize their books like a bookstore does (by author and topic - they even have a special homeschool and curriculum section, and their "I Can Read!" books are separate, too); their prices are unbeatable.

Oh, and a bonus of using used curriculum? Older materials are usually of a higher academic standard!


Saving Curriculum

Instead of buying new curriculum for each child, we save curriculum, buying it only once, but using it repeatedly. That means that instead of writing in workbooks, I make photocopies of workbook pages for actual use. (My printer, a Brother HL-22800W, is very cost effective when you refill the cartridges yourself, and has a copy feature.) I have also sometimes covered workbook pages with a sheet protector and had my children use a dry erase markers to complete the worksheet - but my kids find this a bit cumbersome.

And if you do this with all your children, you'll be able to sell the curriculum when you're done with it. Score!


Teachers Pay Teachers

This is a fantastic website where teachers create materials, then sell them to other teachers (including homeschool parents). I've purchased some materials from this site, but mostly, I love the freebies. I signed up for the site's newsletter, which highlights a handful of freebies in each issue. You can also find freebies on the site in the following way:

In the left hand menu, select a grade level. Then select the price range ("Free" - also in the left hand menu). To further narrow things down, sort by "Rating." (You'll find this option just above the search results.) Hint: I recommend only using this method when you have plenty of free time. There are TONS of freebies on this site!


Homeschool Commons

If you love older books, and if you have a Kindle or other ebook reader, you'll love Homeschool Commons. This site contains links to Kindle and other free ebooks that are in the public domain and may be useful for homeschooling. I've found some really delightful books on this site.


The Crafty Classroom

Here you'll find all kinds of free printables and ideas to use in homeschool, including science projects, planners, reading helps, math helps, and yes, crafts.




123Homeschool4me

At this website, there are lots of free ideas and printables for gradeschool kids.


Pinterest

Truly, this is one of my favorite sources for homeschool ideas. Try searching by grade, then by subject, too, if you desire.


A Note About Preschool and Kindergarten 

Teaching preschool and kindergarten doesn't require curriculum. You may choose to use curriculum, but it's definitely not necessary - and depending upon your child, may actually cause more harm than good.

These grades should be about learning very basic things. Preschoolers can learn to use scissors, to count, and to recognize shapes, colors, and at least some letters and numbers. None of this requires curriculum. (Though you should read as many good picture books to your child as he or she will let you!)

In Kindergarten, your child can more thoroughly learn the letters and basic phonics. He can also learn to count to higher numbers, begin memorizing addition math facts, and learn how to write letters and numbers - and, if your child is ready, perhaps start reading a bit. (Not convinced kindergarten should be this simple? Read this post by Creekside Learning.) Again, none of this requires curriculum.

But...if you child likes worksheets, a simple addition to your homeschool is an inexpensive workbook from a store like Target or Walmart. For more on how and when to use such workbooks, please click here.

If your child is ready to start reading, I suggest phonic-based books for beginning readers. (My children have used Hooked on Phonics books and Bob books; I'm not a huge fan of the Bob books, though, because they look hand printed, and my kids sometimes found that confusing compared to the machine printed books we're used to.) Libraries often have phonic readers, so you might not need to buy any. If not, buy them used!

From there, I recommend the leveled "I Can Read!" books, which I also buy used.

Your child will be ready to start using the Robinson Curriculum once he or she knows her addition and subtraction facts and can easily read level 3 "I Can Read!" books.

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