Homeschooling on a Budget
If you’ve been homeschooling very long at all, you know how expensive it can truly be. There are just so many wonderful games, manipulatives, books, lesson plans, and supplies that it can be an overwhelming task just figuring out what to use and buy.
When money is tight, trying to decide where to spend those hard-earned dollars can be a challenge. Whether you use textbooks, living books, or a combination of the two, the costs can easily add up.
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Some time ago, I started compiling a list of ideas focused on how to homeschool for less money. There are lots of options and possibilities, but here are just a few of the ideas I came up with:
- Use the library. We live in a rural area with a very limited library system. Even the libraries in surrounding towns don’t have many classic children’s books. However, there is a larger city that we travel to about once a month to visit family. That library allow patrons to purchase a library card for a once-a-year fee. We decided this might be a good idea since we make it there regularly, and we would then have access to many books we would otherwise need to purchase. Some local homeschool co-ops also have lending libraries.
2. Buy used books and manipulatives. There are many online options for buying used books: Ebay, Homeschool Classifieds, and Well-Trained Mind classifieds, to name a few. We’ve used several of these to obtain books and supplies. We also regularly trade books at a local used book store. They allow you to bring in books you no longer need or want, and they will give you store credit or cash for the books they want. We have often been able to get some of our school books for free this way! Used homeschool curriculum sales are another great option.
3. Use Paperback Swap. We don’t use Paperback Swap much anymore but we enjoyed used it in the past. I love the idea of getting a book and getting rid of a book at the same time. We’ve found several children’s books here, most in excellent condition.
4. Laminate some worksheet pages so they can be used more than once. You can use a laminator (this is the one I have), contact paper, or page protectors for this. Then use a wipe-off, dry-erase or overhead marker to write with. It can then be wiped clean. Our children love the worksheets I’ve done like this. Something about using the wipe-off marker makes it seem more fun. Here are some examples of worksheets I’ve laminated:
5. Sign up for Swagbucks for free and you can use the Amazon gift cards you earn with Swagbucks to purchase books and other school items!
6. Check out the free curriculum available online. Here are some great free resources:
- Ambleside Online (we love this!)
- An Old Fashioned Education
- Hubbard’s Cupboard (one of my favorites when my kids were younger)
- Letter of the Week
- ABC Jesus Love Me
Also check out the free curriculum guide at Simply Charlotte Mason (I love SCM!).
Need more free learning resources? Check out:
7. Yard sales and thrift stores are great sources for inexpensive materials. We’ve found lots of curriculum, manipulatives, and items for preschool and Montessori trays through thrift stores.
I hope you found some of these ideas helpful in homeschooling on a budget!
What are some of the things you do to help keep the cost of homeschooling down? I’d love to hear your money-saving ideas!
More Homeschool Inspiration:
Very useful post Joy – thanks very much!The paperback swap is a great idea. I’m so glad you shared that. We also use a lot of <a href=Jumpstart worksheets. Occasionally we also play Nat Geo games(http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/games/). The kids love the games here. They occasionally visit the site to see other animal videos or images. This helps them learn more about animals and the natural world around us. Again, thanks!
So glad it was helpful, Eve! And thanks so much for sharing those two resources. I’ll have to check them out!