Jump to content

Menu

a classical education for free/cheap?


faiths13
 Share

Recommended Posts

i have been using alot of library books, narration, copywork, older books i found on gutenburg and google. its nice, but im wondering what else is out there. who has been able to do a good classical education without spending tons of money on curric? how did you do it? what do you do?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My local used book store will trade books. I've been trading in books from my last life and getting classics. It's about 1/2 the cover price to buy, about 1/4 to trade in. Usually he just compares both stacks, says okay, and I have the books with no cash exchange.

 

Paperback swap is a way to do the same thing, except they don't have as much of what I want. But some love it. My favorites are Amazon Marketplace and Better World Books.

 

I think what you are using would give a good classical education. Is there something specific that's lacking? Or are you wondering if your materials are out dated?

 

I assume you've seen Ambleside Online and An Old Fashioned Education? Charlotte Mason Help has book lists and many great articlse. Grammar Land by Nesbit is public domain. MEP math or Ray's or similar. Don Potter's page? KISS Grammar?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i have been using alot of library books, narration, copywork, older books i found on gutenburg and google. its nice, but im wondering what else is out there. who has been able to do a good classical education without spending tons of money on curric? how did you do it? what do you do?

 

Get familiar with library book sales. We volunteer at our local sale, which also means that I get an early crack at books (both at member days and if something incredible is there during set up). We also will go down early to another big sale and stand in line to get in when it opens on member day. A membership to the Friends' Group is about $5 each group per adult.

 

There are a lot of dealers with scanners on these early days, but they are mostly interested in high demand books with big profit potential. They are not so interested in older lit anthologies or paperback classics.

 

Don't overlook bag day or 1/2 price day at the end of the sale. The group wants to get rid of as many books as it can, because it has limited storage space. I loaded up a $5 bag with paperback copies of bunches of books that I thought we might read through high school. My goal is to have enough so that both older kids have their own reading copy (and one for me if possible). I also pick up classic kids' lit, which doesn't seem to go nearly as quickly as the latest "hot" teen book.

 

I've been sad to find that I don't really have much competition for the meaty children's books. Even teachers who are working on their classroom libraries tend to pass on thicker books with older language, especially if they are in a plain binding.

 

Book Sale Finder is a good resource for book sales.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The google ebookstore has a treasure trove of vintage books that are now free. I like a lot of the grammar and composition books they have. Very solid.

 

But don't look at me as an example of someone who educates on a shoestring.....I fell off that wagon a couple months ago when we caved and bought a Sonlight core. Used, but still......I"m officially no longer a frugal homeschooler.

 

 

I also suggest Spell to Read and Write as a good investment if you have the money. It will save you from buying several levels of All About Spelling, All About Reading, and some handwriting books. I never did find a decent low cost spelling curriculum.

 

Currclick runs a freebie on Mondays. They also have sales and inexpensive unit study type science and history. You can also check out http://www.freelyeducate.com

 

Head of the Class and Lesson Pathways are also free. I like those for the health and safety type lessons and also some of their science.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's a Free Curriculum List compiled by a WTMer. I've used many of the options over the years. With some exceptions, the free curricula generally require more time to plan and prepare, and unless you have a laser printer the printing can get more expensive than just buying a book.

 

I cut costs by running my ideal book list over Amazon and others before deciding to drop it in my Rainbow Resource cart. If the cost + s/h is cheaper from Amazon Marketplace and such I'll get it there first. The local Half Price Books usually beats Amazon's used section if I can find it there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The internet is my friend. I've found many museum websites have awesome resources. My library also has many free reference and foreign language resources available to their card holders.

 

PBS has been awesome for history resources. The latest one I've found:

http://www.pbs.org/kcet/when-worlds-collide/

 

This link includes a video, in-depth essays, timeline, lesson plans, articles about all the different Spanish explorers, ect.

 

It takes a bit of poking around, but after a while you'll figure out what to look for.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our library has a large shelf of books for sale and every week when we go I find something :) The books are only $.50 a piece for children's books!!!!!! I use the internet a lot too. I also budget out $ each month for school stuff in case I find something that we HAVE to have for school :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know someone on another forum that uses CTGE every year, along with real literature and paper, and Rod and Staff math.

 

CTGE is a great value.

 

Another idea for you is to get a hold of the Robinson book list and invest in an old used Kindle. My son has made good use of the books from Gutenberg from that list.

 

Also your support group may have a curriculum sale.

 

Lastly, many school districts have a Textbook Repository where anyone can go and get free textbooks. Sometimes they are like new!!! Usually they are in good condition. I have a friend that also called her middle school directly and got two years of BRAND new math books from Harcourt.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have looked around the internet alot and I have found tons of things. I know about all the full curric CM style sites that were linked. I am wanting to hear from those that do their curric for free/cheap and how they do it. : )

 

Using the internet is one way I homeschool inexpensively. I do not buy a history curriculum. Instead I put my own together.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...