How to homeschool on a budget
(notes from my talk at the Catholic Homeschool Conference)
To give you some info about me, I am the wife of Rob for 34
years, the mom to 14 (ages 33-6), and the Grammy to 13. I homeschooled my kids
till college. Thanks to a homeschool Tutorial called St Peter the Rock, (see my
prerecorded talk on how to start a Tutorial). My oldest two are homeschooling my grandkids. So,
it is nice to know they don’t regret being homeschooled. My answer when people
asked where my kids went to school was “homeschooling Is our lifestyle, not
just our academic choice!”
In 2016 our family was featured in the Washington Post for, “How
one family is sending 13 kids to college, living debt free-and still plans to
retire early” by Erica Johnston. The week the article came out we were put in
charge of a dear little 3-day-old baby boy. (He will be 7 this August) Ave Maria Press saw that article and offered
us a writing contract on a book called, “A
Catholic Guide to Spending Less and Living More, advice from a debt-free family
of 16. “ Since then, my husband has retired, and we still have two children
being homeschooled.
I am here to give you some ideas and suggestions on how to
homeschool on a budget! Let me tell you…IT CAN BE DONE!!! I have been homeschooling
for over 30 years and you can do it!!!
Make sure you and your spouse get on the same page. One of my
favorite catholic couples Mike and Alicia Hernon are known for saying, “its better to be wrong
together, than right alone!” (Please follow their podcast and resources at
@messy family) I say all the time, “Marriage is a Sacrament, Parenting isn’t”
Even though we love those little darlings more than life itself, after
God, our spouse is our main responsibility.
For those who want the quick “Cliff notes,” on how to homeschool
on a budget, I am going to make this easy…remember
my name…SAM
S: simplify-
you don’t need to buy all the stuff…my go-to
comment to new homeschoolers is, “You need a library card and a math book!” Our
family loves, loves books…so I have them EVERYWHERE. I get them from garage
sales, library sales, thrift stores, freecycle,
and as gifts. For curriculum I bought things that could be reproduced, or that
we could use over again or with multiple grades. I also would always watch for
my favorite go-to workbooks by my favorite publishers at used sales, like
Explode the Code, Miquion (Singapore)Math, Easy Grammar, wordly wise, Handwriting
without Tears, Catholic Heritage Books, and many more.
You don’t need to do all the stuff… so many of us are burnt out from running all over the place to this co-op or this club…I know it is so tempting to do all the things and participate in all the fun activities but slow down…isn’t this why you are HOMEschooling? You are not driving- schooling…music lessons are nice, clubs are nice, sports are good…but not if they are costing us more than just a hole in our wallet. So much of our time is wasted getting to and from activities. Especially if you have little ones, those poor babies need to be home playing not stuck in a car seat driving their siblings all over. Not to mention the money we spend on prepackaged snacks and food when we are on the go ALL…THE…TIME…it gets very easy and tempting to stop for some fast food when you had to rush out to piano lessons, or to go to the after-game pizza dinner because little Johnny made a goal…or to have to pay for all the extra equipment for all the sports and clubs. Now I KNOW I am hitting some sore spots with some families. I by no means think you shouldn’t participate in all the cool activities that are available, especially since many people homeschool so they have more time to pursue some important talent or hobby like Irish Step dancing, golf, robotics, ice skating, or gymnastics. Please don’t feel singled out. I am mainly talking to large families struggling with finances, who feel they need to take out a second mortgage so little Johnny can play on a travel soccer team. Many couples need to narrow down what their goals are. I would pray and think, “What is best for our entire family???” How much is acceptable for your family? How much will this cost, how much time will this take, and who else can help? (Grandparents, godparents, retired friends, neighbors, uncles, and aunts?) We made our kids wait till age 9 or 10 before participating in sports. Even then we found teams where we knew the coach or someone on the team to carpool to practices and games. Some activities in our area are family friendly. They practice an hour before games and all ages play at the same fields. Also, many of our homeschool friends do things like cross country or swimming where all ages do it together.
From God first then others, I know one of the workshops is on building a community, go to your friends to see if they have supplies you could use, borrow, or buy…if they don’t have it check your local homeschool groups. I know in our area they have so many to choose from and many who have Facebook groups you could ask there. Not to mention, things we were paying so much money for prior to covid are now free resources. I suggest asking grandparents or Godparents for things like a science center, zoo, or aquarium membership for gifts.
M: make do-
What do you already have??? Many people, myself included spend
way too much money on a curriculum, and decide they hate it…but because they
spent So Much on it, they make the child use it even if it isn’t a good fit for
the child or the parent. Maybe ask a friend if you can see it before you buy it
and get other advice before purchasing expensive material. Don’t forget to
always look at used book sites. I will share a list at the end.
Pre-package curriculum might be great for different seasons in
your homeschooling. I have always put together my own resources from what works
best with each kid and their learning style.
We used in the past the library, all the time!! I know the library
isn’t what it used to be, but you can order DVDs, activity kits, and more
online. Check your library app which gives you access to online research, books
online, and other things you can access from home.
What can you do with or do on your own without spending lots
of money? There are also a million DYI or how-to-build stuff online to keep
your kids busy learning and making things from scratch. Do things at home like cooking,
playing outside, arts & crafts, games, fort building, and nature walks. Not to mention those thousand toys and games
the grandparents gave the kids for Christmas or Birthdays. What can you utilize
for free in your community? Parks, beaches, play areas, library activities,
free concerts, grocery shopping, nature
centers, town outdoor movies, pet stores, museums, and so many other homeschool-friendly
places right in your town that build learning into fun.
I
asked my frugal book friend Nancy about how she gets discounts and sales, especially
for high school and college. She suggested buying used books or renting them. AbeBooks, ThriftBooks, Better World
Books, and Amazon sells used books and rent textbooks also. Make sure to watch for
favorite publishers who have sales and free shipping, it helps to check their
website or get on their mailing list.
Thy Will Be Done!!! +JMJ+
