angela in ohio Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 Not just your interests - you also need to think about your qualifications. What CAN you do? And more important still... what are the needs in your area? Everyone seems to want to start a business out of what they find interesting, but a business needs to be somethig that people have a need for. You start with seeing the need, then fill it. You could also think about going back to school. If you have a very low income, you are unlikely to have to pay much. In a short while, you could have a 2-year degree or a certificate that would get you a nice job. When we had no homeschool budget, I used the library for most materials. Do you have a decent library to use? They even had Singapore Math, a decent grammar program, spelling, and they ordered SOTW when I asked them to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeanne in MN Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 I love this. A few stencils and some paint. What kid wouldn't enjoy this project? We just might try this :) Something else a local group started doing to raise money is to paint the school's logo on peoples' driveways. I see the cardinal head all over town. They use a stencil, 3 different colors I think, and a sealer charging for $25-$30 for one bird. Some people with wide driveways actually pay for two birds.Three years later they are going around and re-doing ones that are starting to wear out for $10. I mentioned this as a fundraiser to my brother who drives around with the panther paw print in their vehicle windows. He said there is a group in their town that will be starting that same thing-painting panther paws in people's driveways. They learned about it from our town. :) Fundraising, job, call it whatever. The point is you are trying to earn money to continue schooling and I hope you can find some ways to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 Fundraising? no. I would raise money other ways, or find alternatives like other pp mentioned here. I like the idea of registering with a cyber school. That is sort of how it is in Alberta where I live (different but similiar kwim). As a single mom of 4 living on very little income I know that I could not homeschool without the extra money I get for curriculum from my school board. I work p/t, but also babysit on the side, pick bottles etc to raise extra money not just for homeschooling but for expenses at home too. I would not ask family or anyone else to fund my homeschool at all. If I needed assistance with groceries or someting just until I found a job I would ask family, but it would be a short term thing kwim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakotajm Posted July 18, 2011 Author Share Posted July 18, 2011 I consider homeschooling a personal choice and our family responsible for financing it- I would not feel comfortable askinga nybody else to contribute. I work 25 -30 hours per week. How does this work in your situation?Do you have a babysitter? Mine are a handful. I have let my oldest babysit for short periods of time, but they don't always listen to her. It would make me nervous to be out of the house for that many hours/week. Not just your interests - you also need to think about your qualifications. What CAN you do? How much time woudl you be able to spend working? Would you be able to work outside the home? Is you are trying to work from home, different friends of mine do the following: translations-Curious about this one-what do you mean? web design grahic design language lessons instrument lessons tutoring babysitting sewing birth preparation courses pet sitting What is your area of expertise? Probably my area of expertise is limited to fairly good language skills, gardening, maybe photography (though I am still an amateur and my camera isn't up to pro level). Pet sitting would be great but then I would need a babysitter. Probably no one who has met my younger two would want me bringing them along. With the market garden I have to get up early, drive the 2 miles to the farm and work for 2 or so hours then return so my husband can go do his farm work and work on building our house. This is both because of the heat wave and the kids needing supervision. We live in a rural area with high unemployment, I probably should mention. Not too many people around here needing/can afford/can drive to the above options. So hmmm...thinking out loud here.....Online language lessons? Actually, the market garden best fits the geographic dynamics, my expertise, etc.-just hasn't been profitable yet. Hooray, though, for my husband's idea to plant 8 acres of sweet corn this year. Sold yesterday for the first time, and I think it's a hit! Lakota Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.Balaban Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 I write this hesitantly. My DF is unemployed too, and I as of Tuesday, I will officially have a job at the new Target that is opening in my town. It pays $8 an hour. We get all sorts of assistance, and we have been living on our savings. My DF and I are in college (he's in grad school, i'm in community college) and we have two kids in diapers. Things are tight. But we are making due. We are making list of the resources we need, and waiting for a sale. We stock up and coupon when things are on sale, and have started planning as far ahead as we dare so we can be prepared when the time comes. We are going to be asking family for Christmas to give us a certain item for homeschooling, most likely not curriculum-related. Something like activity books, or "what should your..." books or something like that. So more like homeschooling resources. My mom loves to buy things for the kids (right now she buys clothes) and she buys too many clothes. I am trying to get her into books instead. As far as actual fundraising, when my kids get to be older, I would probably do a "business venture" and see how it works out, where like 50% goes to their next year supplies, 40% goes to their allowance, and 10% goes to charity. That way it also teaches kids to be responsible with their money. Times are tough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Robyn Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 (edited) I work about 20 hours/week. I work when my husband is home. His schedule changes a lot, but when he was working a more typical 9-5ish schedule, I worked 8pm-midnight mon-fri. My job has a lot of downtime, and I use it to research and plan our lessons/curricula. There are some call center and security jobs that allow this. I think I knew somebody who worked at a customer service desk (like in a mall or something) who was able to do their homework at work too. I don't see anything wrong with some kind of fundraiser. I also don't see anything wrong with asking family members to help. I doubt the fundraiser would work and as far as asking family goes that really depends on your family, but you never know unless you ask. Edited July 18, 2011 by crstarlette Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakotajm Posted July 18, 2011 Author Share Posted July 18, 2011 You guys have given me leads, ideas and hope, as well as perspective. Thank you! I have made a few decisions. Here's my plan of action: Continue with the market garden job-it's the only one I can think of that i can do right now in my area/with my expertise/that will fit my kids' need to be supervised. I may ramp up the marketing techniques. I will follow up on the Book Samaritan, it sounds great! I will come up with a cool fundraiser that I can promote on facebook, (which, for me, is just family and a couple other folks). My oldest is a budding musician and also has made some cool computer animation/live short movies. I may make a music cd and a movie cd and auction them off to the highest bidder among my fb friends. Maybe I can also make a "coffeetable book" of the younger two's art and stories and sell copies to the grandparents. Last resort, I will email a wish list to those of you on here who feel you can financially help, if you pm me to say so. Maybe even if you just see one of the items at a sale and it is going cheap, buy it and tell me and I will at least pay for the postage to have it sent to me, or the whole price if it is a real deal. I cannot see every good fs post out there, so maybe ya'll can spot those and alert me, too. Maybe together, we can get 'er done. Thanks guys, you're the greatest! Oh, thanks for the link on ink. The refill kit wasn't available for my kind, but I found a good price on mine! Lakota Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annandatje Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 No, we never raised funds for our children's educations, regardless of whether they were homeschooled, private-schooled, or public-schooled. If the private or public schools had a fundraiser, we made a contribution ourselves instead of asking others to buy overpriced junk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakotajm Posted July 18, 2011 Author Share Posted July 18, 2011 Fundraising? no. I like the idea of registering with a cyber school. That is sort of how it is in Alberta where I live (different but similiar kwim). As a single mom of 4 living on very little income I know that I could not homeschool without the extra money I get for curriculum from my school board. How does this work-how does one do this? Lakota Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 How does this work-how does one do this?Lakota I am not sure about the cyber schools in your area, but you could find out what their is and give them a call. For us in Alberta we register with a school board and then we are given funds to buy curriculum, extra currics etc based on the way we are registered (and how much gov't involvement, the more involvement the more $) From what I have read about the cyber schools in the States it is different, but in the end you have an umbrella school to report to, but freedom to buy the curriculum you want(I think most stipulate it can not be religious though). They provide the money to buy the stuff, I think most average around $900 per student from what I have heard from others. It might be something to look into if you don't mind having to report to a board kwim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosy Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 We are also in a virtual charter school. A quick Google search brought this up: http://www.movip.org/ and this: http://distancelearn.about.com/od/onlinepublicschools/a/MissouriPublic.htm If you know other homeschoolers in your state, you might ask them if they've heard of anything. Besides that, I would consider thinking outside of what my "interests" are when considering employment, and get whatever would bring in some $$ that didn't conflict with my husband's schedule. I am fortunate that I haven't had to do that yet. But if it became necessary I would look for a restaurant or retail job in a heartbeat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeeBeaks Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Actual fundraising? No, not in our personal homeschool here. I'm not above asking for school supplies, books (fiction usually), science kits or other supplies and needed items for the kids from the grandparents for birthdays and Christmas. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 We are also in a virtual charter school. A quick Google search brought this up:http://www.movip.org/ and this: http://distancelearn.about.com/od/onlinepublicschools/a/MissouriPublic.htm If you know other homeschoolers in your state, you might ask them if they've heard of anything. Besides that, I would consider thinking outside of what my "interests" are when considering employment, and get whatever would bring in some $$ that didn't conflict with my husband's schedule. I am fortunate that I haven't had to do that yet. But if it became necessary I would look for a restaurant or retail job in a heartbeat. :iagree: Sometimes sticking within your interests is just not possible. I have delivered newspapers at 2 am which was definitley not in within my interests but brought in $$. I have worked fast food, and plastics factory. In fact I down right HATED the factory but it brought in much needed money. Like you I live in a very small town. Jobs in my town are pretty much non-existant so I work in the next town over. I take my kids to work with me. I am not 100% sure what I am doing next year for work, I want to return to my job but having issues finding someplace for my oldest to be while I work, so I may start working from home. There is options out there to find work/raise money without needing to fundraise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 How does this work-how does one do this?Lakota It is different in every state. Hopefully someone from Missouri will chime in, but a quick google turns up this virtual school site. I'm not a huge fan in general, but in your case, it may be the best bet if you can't afford to keep homeschooling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Do you do anything creative to raise money for your homeschool? Do you feel tacky asking relatives to donate? Do you use any typical "group" type fundraising programs without the group? Is that even possible? (like flowers, knives, cookbooks, etc.) It just seems that this should be ok if it is ok for ps. Heck, it is ok for ps to forcibly remove your money. I think on this every year, especially around this time. Now on my mind because of Box Tops issue detailed in an email I received from CLA http://www.z2systems.com/np/clients/hla/viewOnlineEmail.jsp?emailId=638a010185db040cf125421906d6ea3f6m846073638 Lakota No, Yes, No, Shrug. I feel my decision to homeschool places the cost issue on me. I foot the bill and choose how big that bill will be. If I can find scholarships for special classes, I try for those (just as we did when our oldest went to private school). Anything extra would be a job or a business. There are many moms that sell product to help pay for their homeschooling, but it's not under the auspice of "fundraising", but rather personal business (and taxable). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Translations means, they take a text in one language and translate it into another language. One of my friends translates technical texts English- German, another one translates fiction from Swedish. We live in a rural area with high unemployment, I probably should mention. Not too many people around here needing/can afford/can drive to the above options. Then you might want to investigate options where you have a customer base that is NOT your community. My friends who do web design, program or teach online classes work for employers in different states. As for working: my kids are older; they stay home to do school some of the time and come to work with us at other times - so it's easier. I know other homeschooling mothers work at times when their husbands are home (evenings for instance), have family who can watch the kids while they are at work, or work from home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Do you do anything creative to raise money for your homeschool? Do you feel tacky asking relatives to donate? Do you use any typical "group" type fundraising programs without the group? Is that even possible? (like flowers, knives, cookbooks, etc.) It just seems that this should be ok if it is ok for ps. Heck, it is ok for ps to forcibly remove your money. I think on this every year, especially around this time. Now on my mind because of Box Tops issue detailed in an email I received from CLA http://www.z2systems.com/np/clients/hla/viewOnlineEmail.jsp?emailId=638a010185db040cf125421906d6ea3f6m846073638 Lakota I would never ask relatives to pay to support how I educate my children. My children are my responsiblity. I do know people who have come up wtih small business ideas to raise extra funds to pay for materials. You can homeschool through the school district and they will supply materials - but they will also tell you what to study on what schedule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 I'm not a group fundraiser type. Especially when it's selling stuff. A service I like a little better. I fund our own hs through selling used curriculum, a garage sale and a change jar all the change is put into. 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.