Jenny in Florida Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Tami, Where do you find art and classical music studies online? Here are a few of the websites I've got bookmarked: http://www.classicsforkids.com/index.asp http://www.hypermusic.ca/ http://www.classicalarchives.com/index.html http://www.sphinxkids.org/ http://www.kinderart.com/sitemap.shtml http://members.aol.com/mrsspyboy/lessons.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlsdMama Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Pray, make a list, make a schedule, pray, then wait. :) Generally it will come up used. The exception is supporting a family/ministry you believe in. ITA to agree with the mama that said the $$ amount isn't so great, it depends on what you're buying and if it's within your means. I think it would be a waste to spend a lot on consumable books. But to spend $1,000 on truly great, real, living books that will never get old and will leave your kids with fond memories and something learned... That said, I think I've spent approximately $650 on our next year's curriculum. And I expect to spend about $50 more. That's for SL used for Alt 7 inc. all books, Science, and LA, Sonlight Core 3, inc. science, all science books, and well over half of the Core books for 3. We are seeking the SL Core 1 IG and we own a lot of the RAs. Horizons math for two, had Saxon for another, have R & S for another. We already own FLL, and FLL 3, and Ordinary Parent's Guide. We bought (used) Heart of Dakota for the littles. So, that's for a 12yo, a 9yo, a 6yo, a 4yo, and a 3yo. I was very happy with all the Sonlight titles we aquired because even if we go away from one curriculum or another, those books will always be valuable to us. It's not what you spend, it's whether you aquired "stuff" or assets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Tami, Where do you find art and classical music studies online? This one looks like rather a mixed bag of links to other places, but, boy oh boy, what a BIG mixed bag: http://www.kidsolr.com/arts_music/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 6. Viewing our shelf space as prime real estate- if the book is only going to be read once, let the library house it. I need to adopt that as my new theme song!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Herbster Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 I haven't read all of the posts, so forgive me if someone else has already mentioned www.addall.com, which is a book price comparison site. You just enter in the title of the book you're looking for, and it will search for the best prices for used and new. Using this site, I've found the same books that Veritas Press is selling for $35 for $15-20. I love going to homeschool used book sales...I remember picking up both hardback volumes of Streams of Civilization for five bucks each--what a find! Using Rod and Staff for English is really cost effective; the only consumable parts are the tests and worksheet booklets, which cost a total of (I think) seven dollars. I go to www.childsbooks.com to buy Saxon and Spelling Workout (and sometimes Apologia science and Latina Christiana, if they're on sale). For math next year (for three kids), we spent a total of $85. For handwriting, I use Fonts4Teachers, which is a software program that I use to print out all of the handwriting sheets the kids need. So...no money spent on handwriting curriculum (after the initial $30 spent on the software)! The bulk of our money is spent on history resources and literature. This is where www.addall.com comes in handy. We're doing a combination of Veritas Press and Biblioplan/SOTW next year. Although I will probably use the library for some things, I'd like to buy the spines and most of the quality literature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Testimony Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Tami, Where do you find art and classical music studies online? I am not Tami, but... Here is the website where you can find classical music to study online for your little ones: http://www.classicsforkids.com/ Here is one of the websites that I have used to do art online: http://www.art.com/asp/display_artist-asp/_/CRID--84/Van_Gogh.htm?ui=234B09969FE44A7E8D3807042F54F928 I have more, but check out Tami's blog too. She has great links. Blessings in your homeschooling journey! Sincerely, Karen http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeschool2boys Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 I admit I have not done the best at saving money on homeschooling. Yesterday I added up just the basic stuff I need to order for next year and it was almost 1300 dollars. Thats after dropping the books for music, and doing music and art for free using the web and the Library. I also am not counting the two laptops I bought a few months ago to use for homeschooling this year. If I added that expense in there it would be around what you spent YIKES lol. I just look at it like this, if we need it for homeschooling, then I should do my best to get it. This stuff isnt cheep and I have not had a lot of luck finding things used. I dont know what to look for. It seems like they change editions of books and I dont know if I should buy it or not or if I can even get a workbook to go with it... so I dont buy it. I have seen several books like that so I really dont know what to buy or what not to buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica in PA Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 It all depends on the programs you choose. I have always spent less than $300 per year on my oldest (7th grade this fall), usually much less, and always much less than that on my younger two. This year I only expect to pay about $40-$50 for my almost 8 yo, and maybe $20 for my soon to be 6 yo, because I'll be reusing so much from previous years. I'll probably spend around $300-$350 total for all three children. These have been some of our main programs: Math, English- Rod and Staff (bought used, reusable with each child) Spelling- Natural Speller, bought once used for $7 and use for all children all the way through 8th grade Writing- Use the same Rod and Staff English books for this as well, plus copywork, dictation, and narration which are free Science- one science program per year for all three children to use together up till now, usually around $25-$30; this year ds12 will be using BJU Science, around $50 used History- SOTW + activity guide for youngers, BJU Heritage Studies for older Art- various inexpensive resources Handwriting- simple workbooks at first, then just lined paper Greek- Elementary Greek, about $25 per year I buy very, very literature, which if you are using Sonlight is a big percentage of your cost. I get all of our literature and reading books from the library. Am I forgetting anything? Those are the main parts of our homeschool. As my oldest approaches high school, I expect our costs to increase quite a bit, but not into the $1000s by any stretch. Erica Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmgirl70 Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 I have three and need to keep our costs as low as possible--difficult because I love books! But as time goes on, I see how much I really haven't gotten around to using. So, I have done a few things the last couple of years about this time. -look through everything I already have that I perhaps haven't used and decide whether we could still benefit from using it. -make plans for next year. -make a wish list--everything that I'd really like to have-- and price the things on the list. -make a bare essentials list. -decide what will be reasonable to spend. -see what my public library has (if I won't need it all year) -look for used things for a period of time -buy the rest of the essentials from other sources That said, there is curriculum that I will not use simply because it is too expensive for us. I do suppose that there are many good ways to learn something and that one curriculum will not necessarily be the only thing we could use. On the other hand, sometimes I find a great deal and I end up using something that I thought was out of our price range. Another tip: Sometimes I select a curriculum with the person who will need the most clarity in mind for that particular item. For instance, my 14 yo dd doesn't enjoy math much. I will get the curriculum that I think she will enjoy the most (or find least offensive : ) and usually the other two do fine with it as well. This may not always work, but often it does for us... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BizyPenguin Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 I haven't read all of the responses yet, but here is what immediately came to mind: Use the library as much as possible. Use what you have as much as possible. Buy second hand when you can. Sell your unused stuff if it's not a good fit or if you're done with it. Then, use the money to buy your new stuff. Make your own book lists from homeschool catalogs. Swap when you can. Buy things that you can use with younger children as they grow. Buy from the thrift store and used library sales when you can. Try not to jump ship every time you hear about something great. If what you're using is working don't second guess yourself. Purchase programs that allow you to use the library as much as possible (i.e. Truthquest or Biblioplan) I think using the library is a biggie!! It can save you tons!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlashine Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 I got kind of out of hand this year, as I bought most of our books for next year right after the tax return came in, and now I rather wish I'd waited. I've spent around 1200 for my one kid, but that is with a really nice pair of binoculars and a keyboard and accessories as he wants to explore the piano next year. Actual books probably come in at about 600, which is what I was going to spend in the first place so I'm happy with that. I bought all the biographies I knew I wanted to use next year, but I can always resell them at the end of the year if that is what I want to do. I think I bought quite a few books with having them to make sure I use them in mind, then selling them. I have discovered that the library system in the area I'm in now is pretty great, so next year I will be using it more effectively and keeping my purchases to science equipment, SOTW, and Saxon. I'm also seriously considering switching to mostly Ambleside Online and just buying a laser printer. Thanks all for your great ideas in this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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