Love2Smile Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 Not completely free, but using as much as you can from the library and or internet? I am really fed up with the amount of $ I seem to spend on homeschooling and wondering what you do to be more frugal? Is it possible to homeschool without all of the expensive curriculums out there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruthie Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 IMO, it is possible to hs spending very little money, but you will pay for it with your time. So, in that sense, it is not free.:) This seems to hold true for alot of things in life. Either money or time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rose_king Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 IMO, it is possible to hs spending very little money, but you will pay for it with your time. So, in that sense, it is not free.:) This seems to hold true for alot of things in life. Either money or time. :iagree: I would be terrified to try to teach the basics without help. (I'm afraid of math):eek::svengo: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Smile Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 well excluding math! LOL For example my plans are to use AWOA with Truthguest guides, getting all other books from our library. So that is history, Math I already have Saxon Science: apologia LLATL and whatever I have planned to go with it, So my goal is to keep it under $300 for the entire year, which isn't free, but very inexpensive. Luckily we have a wonderful library system. We are just so DONE with textook history Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willow Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I have had to recently, and have found it both fun and liberating. Of course I have a fast internet connection so it is not really free, and I have MUS through to Geometry anyway. I use Ambleside Online as my base, MUS maths (But you could do MEP maths K-12 free online), Kiss grammar (free online) I also do other things I borrow from our homeschool library to ring the changes a bit. I borrow books for AO from the library so we read them faster than AO suggest, but I have a surprising number of them anyway, also I do buy one or two, particularly if they are need for a number of years (I just brought 'How to read a book') For writing we use a tiny cheap book called "The Lively Art of Writing" by Lucile Vaugan Payne. This is enough. I also use free ideas off the net. Our homeschool library has a book called "Homeschool Your Child For Free" This is wonderful, and with this book and an internet connection, the Gutenberg project and The Baldwin project you would be sorted! Its fun! Give it a go! Willow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Smile Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 also, Im homeschooling one 2 kids, and really it's my "life" LOL, so I do have A LOT of time :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Smile Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 I have had to recently, and have found it both fun and liberating. Of course I have a fast internet connection so it is not really free, and I have MUS through to Geometry anyway. I use Ambleside Online as my base, MUS maths (But you could do MEP maths K-12 free online), Kiss grammar (free online) I also do other things I borrow from our homeschool library to ring the changes a bit. I borrow books for AO from the library so we read them faster than AO suggest, but I have a surprising number of them anyway, also I do buy one or two, particularly if they are need for a number of years (I just brought 'How to read a book') For writing we use a tiny cheap book called "The Lively Art of Writing" by Lucile Vaugan Payne. This is enough. I also use free ideas off the net. Our homeschool library has a book called "Homeschool Your Child For Free" This is wonderful, and with this book and an internet connection, the Gutenberg project and The Baldwin project you would be sorted! Its fun! Give it a go! Willow. Willow, What are the Gutenberg/Baldwin projects? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilyofPhilly Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I homeschooled my now 18 year old, and am HSing his 14 y/o brother for practically free. We never bought any pre-packaged curriculum. Instead, we used real books from bargain tables of bookstores, and textbooks from Ebay, Amazon, etc. And of course, we used the library. I have been able to sell many of the books I've purchased over the years as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love2Smile Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 I homeschooled my now 18 year old, and am HSing his 14 y/o brother for practically free. We never bought any pre-packaged curriculum. Instead, we used real books from bargain tables of bookstores, and textbooks from Ebay, Amazon, etc. And of course, we used the library. I have been able to sell many of the books I've purchased over the years as well. Okay, only out of curiousity, which textbooks did you use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobynN Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Never really thought about the cost. The way I see it is that homeschooling is a lot cheaper than private school. I guess that means regardless of how much I spend on homeschooling I'm still saving money over sending them to a private school. That's how I justify it anyway.LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 We end up spending more than I'd like. It's even worse when dh says he'll teach a class or read a book with the dc. Then I have to buy 3 of everything because dh writes all over his books when he reads! Okay I know that is how they say to read a book but it doesn't save money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rose_king Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 well excluding math! LOL For example my plans are to use AWOA with Truthguest guides, getting all other books from our library. So that is history, Math I already have Saxon Science: apologia LLATL and whatever I have planned to go with it, So my goal is to keep it under $300 for the entire year, which isn't free, but very inexpensive. Luckily we have a wonderful library system. We are just so DONE with textook history Sounds good. You're lucky to have a good library. I think that is one reason I spend to much money. Our library is sooooo small. There isn't a lot to choose from. I just found this. I haven't looked at it very close yet. Maybe you can find something usefull. http://www.archive.org/details/americana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-FL Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I purchased the curriculum w/#1 & have kept using it w/the next 2 (no additional cost there.) Plus as soon as they're eligible & able, off to the cc they go! It's free except for the books. They can do all the lab sciences, foreign language, fun art classes & all I have to do is drive. :O) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Wisc Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 (edited) It is possible to get used textbooks for very little. The Lial's math books can be purchased for $3 if you are willing to use an older edition (we did). Many books for literature can be gotten from the library and PinkMonkey.com and Sparknotes.com have literature guides for free. You can get Paul Johnson's History of the American People on Amazon for $15 used. Some classes could be done for very little. It is easier to scrimp on some classes than others imo. I feel I need good composition materials to help me teach well. I use a computer course for Spanish even though I was certified to teach the language 30 years ago. (LOL) On some of these, I am willing to spend money to help me do a better job. Jean Edited February 22, 2010 by Jean in Wisc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpupg Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 IMO, it is possible to hs spending very little money, but you will pay for it with your time. So, in that sense, it is not free.:) This seems to hold true for alot of things in life. Either money or time. :iagree: I am a power user at the public library. When I need a book for literature or history (excluding textbooks), the library is the first place I look. Even for things like Teaching Company courses. Second stop is Paperback Swap. I have also gotten several good textbooks through PBS. Third stop is looking for used materials at home school forums. Last resort is looking at Amazon used book sellers and suchlike sellers. No, the really last resort is Amazon new book sales LOL And I admit, I have bought new materials from retailers such as Rainbow and Christian Book a few times ... when I wanted something very particular. It takes a lot of time, but frankly, there are so many books I want my kids to read, but I don't necessarily want to own those books IYKWIM. The expense may not be much per book, but we read a lot, so it adds up. And our storage space is a nightmare already .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Willow,What are the Gutenberg/Baldwin projects? I'm not Willow, but I am a volunteer at Gutenberg. The idea is to produce electronic versions of books that are free of copyrights. Usually it means older books, but all the classics would qualify. You can read those versions either online, or with an electronic reader, like the Sony e-Reader. I think the pdf file would be read on the Kindle. You can also print them at home, if you wish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emubird Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 The most money we've spent on high school has been for AP tests and a graphing calculator. We get pretty much everything from the library or from used book sales. I've been collecting math books for years from rummage sales. If you're near a university area, lots of people unload their old college texts for a quarter. If I had to use a curriculum, I'm convinced it would actually take a lot more of my time -- dealing with the "do I have to do this" and figuring out which things are silly and which info is just plain wrong would eat up a lot of hours. I haven't found a curriculum yet that covers anything my kids want to learn. For foreign language, we check Pimsleur out of the library (some libraries have it online). I bought a text for French in Action and another for Destinos, but I got both used at decent prices. The videos are online at the Annenberg/CPB site. We did ASL with the Bravo family tapes which we got from the library. We used to use the MEP math curriculum on the web. It's free, except for your printing costs. I think this might continue into high school years. http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mep/default.htm Overall, if we don't count extracurricular sports and drama fees, we probably only spent a few hundred dollars on high school. Most of that, as I mentioned, was the AP test fees and a graphing calculator. Emu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.