There are always going to be fun things going on that you’ll miss. Especially in a large community that offers a lot for homeschoolers, so don’t feel guilty for not going to that field trip or joining those art classes… even if they’re low cost. It all adds up quickly and we need to budget carefully to make sure we can afford to continue homeschooling at all. There are so many great events and fantastic books and classes, how can we afford to homeschool well when we’re homeschooling on a budget? Pick and choose wisely, figure out what is important for your family, and take advantage of freebies and discounts.
Here are some great ways to save money when you homeschool on a budget
Field trips
- Look around your area for places of interest; parks, nature areas, museums, aquariums. Don’t overlook out-of-the box places that may interest your child, such as the dump or water treatment facility (more ideas for field trips).
- Find out if they have a free or discounted homeschooling day
- Get a group together for a discounted group price or check Groupon
- Get free tickets through a library program (My local library has a program called Discover & Go for free tickets to museums)
Resources, Curriculum, Games, Educational kits
- Find out if your town or another one nearby has a homeschool or teacher resource center you can join – My town had one for many years with low cost classes and a fantastic resource library with books, games, and manipulatives. I wish it was still open!
- Don’t buy new – Look through free boxes, yard sales, school yard sales, online forums and marketplaces for used curriculum like FB Marketplace, Ebay or Homeschool Classifieds.
- Thrift stores are great for for used curriculum, games, puzzles, and more.
- There are tons of online educational games and sites that offer curriculum, activities, printables, videos, etc. Many are free!
- Look for discounted subscriptions, programs, and curriculum on Homeschool Buyers Club
Books
- Borrow books from the library & resource centers
- Educational Kits – some libraries offer preschool book bags by subject full of books and other items that offer fun and inspiring things to learn.
- Thrift stores and used book stores can be a great place to find low cost books
- Compare prices online – Thriftbooks, Abebooks, Ebay, Amazon
- Listen to free audiobooks on your library app, Librabox or Libby (free audiobook apps). There are tons of audiobooks free on Youtube, too
- Don’t buy a packaged curriculum. Get a few books on each topic you’d like to cover & play in each subject or do a project while learning multiple subjects together (Unit Study or Project Based learning). Almost any activity can cover various subjects at once. For example cooking, Your child can read the recipe, maybe even write a copy out first, math, science – why/how does the food change when it’s heated? What makes the bread or cake rise? Do some research to look up the answers together.
Manipulatives and Supplies
- Dollar stores and retail store sales – look for back to school sales as well as seasonal sales
- Thrift stores, yard sales, homeschool friends
- Make or find your own! Don’t let marketing fool you into thinking you need special math manipulative. My kids have more fun with buttons, bottle caps, or especially those glass beads that go in vases (they think they’re precious treasure!)
Minimize and Use What You Have
You really don’t need any special stuff. You can just as easily use pretzels or even pebbles you found on the ground for counting Math Manipulatives. There are many alternatives you can use or make when homeschooling on a budget. Make your own flash cards, if you want to use them. You can get blank cards at the dollar store or even buy nice flash cards there. You can get notebooks, binders, pencils…, tons of other great finds, too, at Dollar Stores. Borrow books from the library, watch documentaries, look up anything online, go on field trips, play and learn!
