 How to Homeschool for Less
Homeschooling shouldn't be expensive. Take a look at your school tax bill and
you'll understand how most people believe that education is pretty pricey. Many
parents carry this assumption to home education, thinking their family must earn
more in order to afford teaching their children at home. What these parents fail
to realize is that school taxes support a huge system with building maintenance,
transportation, teachers and administrators, and their benefits. In contrast,
every dollar spent on home education directly benefits your child's learning
experience.
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You don't need to purchase costly prepared curricula in order to homeschool.
Home education can be affordable and there are many benefits to accepting the
homeschool challenge. You will look at the world differently, discovering how
you're surrounded by opportunity. Homeschool.com realizes how important it is to
save money, so here are some ways to minimize your out-of-pocket expenses:
- Free online academic schools. Schools such as the
iQ
Academy, offer a complete online tuition-free program
for students living in Arizona, California, Kansas, Minnesota, Nevada, South
Carolina, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.
iQ
Academy provides online instruction and support from
state-certified teachers, learning coaches and school counselors. Their
Educational Approach allows your
student to learn at his/her own pace, complete all assignments online, and
help your student earn a diploma recognized by colleges and universities
around the country. iQ Academy's
online learning environment gives
your student password-protected access to all the materials s/he'll need to
be successful in his/her courses. Technical support is available 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week. If your student
needs a computer, iQ Academy even
provides a laptop*.
* Full-time students receive use of a laptop while enrolled in school.
Free online resources. You can find additional lesson plans,
worksheets, classes, tutorials, science experiments and more, all online and
all free of charge. Resources for every grade and age group abound.
Online used curriculum sales. There are numerous online
homeschool curriculum swap and sale sites. Just use your favorite search
engine and start shopping!
Local homeschooling support group used curriculum sales. Many
local groups have curriculum sales and swaps. They are fun to attend because
not only do you save money but you meet homeschoolers from your area.
Teacher's discount at book stores and teacher supply stores.
Here's a newsflash–homeschoolers are teachers! If you have local
bookstores, craft stores, supply stores, etc., ask if they offer a teacher
discount.
Trade classes with other homeschool parents in your area. Pool
your talents and your resources with other homeschoolers. Take advantage of
others' expertise and share yours. This will be a socialization and a
learning experience for your child.
Barter with those in your community. Many homeschooling families
have saved countless dollars through the use of bartering. Get your child
involved in the transaction. What is s/he willing to do/provide in the
bartering process? Just the act of bartering teaches commerce, free trade,
responsibility, etc.
Shop garage sales and thrift stores. What a wonderful
resource! Used books…yarn…art supplies…clocks that need to be
repaired…your options are endless. Garage and thrift stores are fun and
$20 goes a long way! Thrift shopping teaches your child thriftiness,
recycling, and perhaps even how to think outside the box.
Shop the dollar store. A fun place to pick up craft supplies,
books, etc. Again, $20 goes a long way. Shopping here teaches your child
frugality…a very important lesson.
Check out your library. Make sure you and your child have a
library card and then make the library a weekly outing. Check out books,
periodicals, CDs, educational computer games, foreign language tapes, etc.
And with inter-library loans, you're not just limited to your local library!
What do trips to the library teach your student--respect and responsibility!
And library book sales are great fun—you can purchase books for ten cents or
a quarter. How many books can you buy for $5.00? There's a math lesson in
the making.
Field trips and use community resources. Your community has so
much to offer--parks, museums, historical sites, businesses, etc. Some
opportunities will be advertised, others you'll happen upon, and others you
will have to solicit . Being out in the community provides a chance for
learning and a chance for socialization. You and your child will get to know
people in your area and you'll both find that networking can be
explosive—one adventure/learning experience easily leads to another.
Volunteer in your community. The rewards of volunteering are
numerous and volunteering allows your child to give back to the community.
And what will your child learn? Responsibility….empathy….gratefulness, just
to name a few.
Don't forget your own home. Take a good look around your home.
Common household items can perform double-duty. A ruler or a measuring cup
can be used for teaching fractions, multiplication, division, etc. Large
noodles can be used for teaching addition and subtraction. Be innovative.
Maybe you can teach a math lesson in the morning and eat it for lunch!Turn on the TV. Educational channels, history channels, wildlife
channels, videos—the television can be beneficial in supplementing your home
teaching. If you have older students, they can even take college level
classes via the television.
Homeschooling on a budget is not impossible—it's not even difficult. All your
student truly needs is a parent that is determined to provide learning
opportunities on a daily/ongoing basis.
Considering free online schools such as
iQ
Academy, as well as the other above-mentioned possibilities, you
can homeschool your child for less than $250 a year.
About Our Sponsor:
iQ Academy offers a public,
tuition-free, online education backed by 30 years of distance learning
experience. By providing a standards-based curriculum taught by certified
teachers to elementary, middle and high school students in various states, iQ
Academy can offer a high quality, personalized education that successfully
educates students at all levels of ability. iQ Academy accomplishes this by
providing a complete learning package, including a standards-based curriculum,
an innovative virtual learning environment and an extensive support system
involving teachers, a learning coach, guidance counselor and staff who are
personally committed to helping students realize their greatest potential. Visit
iqacademy.com to learn more. |
