Need tips for homeschooling on a budget!

[Julpost]

Well, I think we're pretty convinced we're going back to homeschooling. However, we have a very, very tight budget. My oldest is going to be in 7th grade next year. We were thinking of joining a Classical Conversations group but with all 3 of my kiddos, it will be close to $2K. I don't think we have that kind of money. Plus music lessons, sports, I'm worried about how all of these costs are going to add up.

How do large families afford to do this? We have 5 dc. We had to opt out of Little League this year because it would cost over $200 to sign everyone up. I really would love some tips. We'll be homeschooling for faith reasons....I just hate that the kids will be missing out on things.

baby's crying-gotta run!

[KristineIN]

Well we don't have a large family, but I do have a tight budget. I buy used when I can, sell what I'm not using to help pay for stuff and we just don't do a lot of the extra curricular, no extra lessons or sports. Partly by choice, partly because of finances. We are very involved in our church, so my children see friends plenty and we are in a homeschool co-op that is about $75.00 a year by the time I add up the fee and the class fees. I also use things that are non-consumable if I can. We use the library a lot also.

Good luck!
Kristine

[Jane in NC]

Consider 4-H. Where we are, many 4-H activities are free or of minimal cost. There are homeschooling families who participate in horticulture programs like junior master gardening for science classes. Additionally, our local 4-H office has an active scholarship program which rewards students for participation. The more you do, the more money you have in your account. My son rarely pays for his activities or trips.

We love 4-H!

Jane

[Violet]

How about the YMCA? They have lots of activities for kids of all ages. I know that they have swim teams, too, though I don't know how much extra that costs. Also, the Y (I think) will offer financial assistance. For music, perhaps your kids could continue with school band, or you could maybe find a college kid or even high school who could give lessons at a low cost and come to your home. Then, there's Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, too. As for curriculum, we use Ambleside. It's free but for the cost of the books, many of which are free online.

Best wishes,
Anita

[nestof3]

I agree with the obvious -- use the library. I am not sure what programs/curricula you plan to use, but I would see what you can borrow first before buying. Some people design their year around what the library has to offer. www.amblesideonline.org (http://www.amblesideonline.org) is a website that will help you homeschool very inexpensively.

There are also many texts and audio books online for free:

www.librivox.org (http://www.librivox.org)
http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

Is there a homeschool bookstore in your area where you can sell your books for store credit? Can you have a big yard sale this spring?

As for activities, sure it can be disappointing to have to give up something you wanted to do, but quite honestly, we try to instill in our children the understanding that all we do has to be what is best for the family at that time. Self-denial is actually a great thing to practice. I was from a family who practiced little of this, and my Dad filed for bankruptcy. My brother and I were not taught any self-denial, any feeling of having to give up anything. I think it would have benefited us to know that we do not get something simply because we want it. I don't mean to sound harsh, but when the money is not there, teaching children to simply be grateful for what they do have is far better than stretching ones self financially. As long as there is a good relationship between you and your children, from my experience, these things go over just fine.

Also, I'm not sure of all of the ages of your children, but is there a way they can find a little local work to help pay for their extracurricular activities?

[Melinda in VT]

First, about the library. If your local library doesn't have a great collection, check out near-by libraries. I currently hold cards for four libraries. The two local ones are tiny and not great for homeschooling, although sometimes they surprise me. One of them is great for homeschooling and has SOTW and lots of supplemental history books. They also have homeschool groups that meet there. I pay, I think, $20-40 a year for a family card.

Second, about activities. Is using the school an option for any of this? I know I was able to put my son in the school's ski program and swim program when we homeschooled. If I were homeschooling now, I might also put the kids in art class. (Our art teacher is great.) And band.

Maybe if you posted a rough budget and which grades and subjects you wanted to cover, people could help you brainstorm and prioritize purchases?

Feel free to PM me if you'd like.

[FloridaLisa]

Books -- does your homeschool group have a lending library? We are able to check our curricula for the year which is so helpful!

Also, check with your county and library about discards. The county in which I formerly lived had a huge repository and gave away textbooks and library books -- I found lots of Landmarks and wonderful books! The county in which I currentlly live sells textbooks, library discards, tables, desks, computeres, chalkboards, art supplies and all kinds of school discards very inexpensively. Call your county and ask for the school depository or media center.

Activities -- it can be very expensive. We have 7 children and at $100 - $195 per sport, it can get ridiculous. Pray about it and ask God for opportunities that He provides. One of my dc desparately wanted to take karate. I was unwilling to sign a year-long contract and pay the exorbitant monthly cost. You know what? A local church began a karate ministry with several black belt instructors and a Christian emphasis. FREE.

And look for ways to earn extra money to offset some cost. My kids sell wreaths at Christmas as a fundraiser to offset camp costs. I'm collecting books from neighbors and relatives to sell at a huge used bookstore and earn money to offset summer sports and camp expenses. You can sell clothes, collect change in jar, host one-day or week-long camps for kids, all to earn extra money. (I have a friend who does the latter very successfully.)

HTH,
Lisa

[st_claire]

Sorry to thread steal for a second, but I have a question for Lisa (it won't let me PM you).

You said your homeschool group has a lending library. How do the logistics of that work? Do they have a location with office hours, or is it in someone's home, or what?

Thanks.

[Chris in VA]

Can you become a Classical Conversations tutor? It will pay for your tuition.

[Sue G in PA]

as far as sports and lessons and even curriculum. I'm not good at this b/c it hurts me heart to deny my children something they love AND it stresses me out to think they might be "missing out" on something, KWIM? I'm a book/curriculum junkie (not proud of it), I figure having the books saves me overdue fees at the library :001_huh: b/c we usually "forget" or misplace one book or another at some point. I think my fees have paid for their renovations! :D We've not done formal music lessons and dd wants to learn piano. I can teach her some, but where is the time? I'd love to be able to "farm out" these things. Sports...each of my dc has a "favorite" but they are still interested in playing others as well. Swimming takes a big chunk of our budget b/c we have 3 swimmers and it costs a bunch. I'm sorry I'm not much help except to say I know how you feel. It's an area of conflict for dh and I b/c I feel we are not on the same page. That being said, I do agree w/ using the library if you really can't afford books...wish I could take my own advice :tongue_smilie:

[Mekanamom]

Do you have a home-study option with the local public school or charter school?

(When we were on a very tight budget, I signed up with a public charter school. They loaned us all the materials. We did have to submit work samples to the school and participate in yearly testing.)

Anyway- some public schools will allow the children to participate in sports if they are part of the home study program. I don't know what's available in your area, but maybe worth checking out?

[Tami]

such as history, literature, art, and science by using a guide (Sonlight catalogue, TruthQuest, an old BJU science set, or TOPS Science) and filling in with library books. It is a habit of discipline to keep and return the library books to the Book Basket, but even with a few fees, it's nowhere near the $600 and people are paying for other lit-based programs.

Adventures in Science kits from Rainbow Resource ($10) also make a great spine for science! You can fill in with library books or a science encyclopedia. All of this is done without sacrificing quality ONE bit. It will take more of your *time* however.

If you have any specific subjects you have questions about doing on a shoestring, please post.

[nestof3]

I should have said that the internet is one of our greatest money savers.

There are so many free lesson plans, literature guides, study guides and so forth.

[Kinsa]

http://www.oldfashionededucation.com/fullcurriculum.htm

[GVA]

I'm a fan of Classical Conversations, but given your financial situation, I'd really weigh whether it's the right choice for you. We prayed long and hard about it before signing up, and it's been the right choice for us. It's a sacrifice for us to be involved even with me tutoring, but I fully understood the program going in and we've gotten back far more than I've put in. I know a number of families though for whom it was NOT the right choice, and it is a lot of money if you aren't on board with it's focus and the way things are run. By no means is it for everyone. Be sure that you understand and buy into their approach to classical education and emphasis on memorization.

I buy used and borrow as much curriculum as I can from the library and friends, and I stick with what works for us and don't look further if it's going well. That keeps my curriculum costs significantly lower than some.

And frankly we don't do a lot of outside activities beyond CC and one sport. With gas prices as they are, I've only been able to swing one field trip in the fall and one in the spring. That's fine. We've gotten a lot of school done!

[KristineIN]

http://www.oldfashionededucation.com/fullcurriculum.htm

Thanks for this link, it looks really neat!

Blessings,
Kristine

[mcconnellboys]

Community resources that often do things for us for free, or very low cost:

4-H (regular club; specialty clubs, such as horse, dog, archery, etc.)
library system (classes for homeschoolers such as research skills; poetry; reading clubs, etc.)
arboretum (lots of college professors will do things, too)
local parks and nature preserves (various sorts of nature programming and hikes)

Our local YMCA has pretty low cost sports programming, too, and also offers homeschool gym and swim weekly. They offer discounts to multi-children families. Costs for non-members are not that much more than for members.

Playing in area parks is free! There's fishing in some of ours, too.

Music lessons is what we pay most for, but our local YMCA also offers group homeschool guitar lessons. If you can find a group to do things like recorder, guitar, keyboarding, or violin, chances are prices will be lower.

Regena (I couldn't afford CC, either - even for just one!)

[Amy in Orlando]

Not much to add - we have homeschooled on a tight budget for years and years. I buy used, use the library (and pay for an additional membership in another county) and use the internet A LOT. Another thought that I have not seen mentioned is to ask grandparents to give memberships to zoos, art museums, etc as Christmas/birthday gifts. We get so much more out of these sorts of gifts than a toy.