First off I will have to admit I spend more money on school books and supplies then I should, but I try to keep the spending under control and I have found a few ways to do it.
1. Reuse your books with all of the kids. I suppose this is a no brainer, but if you are anything like me I bet you love searching for "better" curriculum, and it is always tough not to order something new and different for the other kids. But just remind yourself - if the curriculum worked for a previous child, then there is no reason to purchase something else. (I did break this rule this year as I purchased Sonlight Core F for my middle child. See "Sonlight: Trying Something New" if you want to know why.)
2. Don't let your kids write in the workbooks. I never allow my children to write in any of the workbooks. Doing this I not only save money by not buying a workbook for each child, but I don't have to worry about the publisher updating their curriculum and consequently the need to purchase a new textbook.
3. Laminate all books. I buy the huge roll of clear contact paper from Wal-Mart and laminate all textbooks and workbooks that are not hardcover. This greatly increases the life expectancy of the book.
4. Don't buy it if it is at the library. This is a tough one for me as I hate going to the library in the middle of winter with the temp below zero and wind blowing at 30+ miles per hour. I try not to purchase books our local library has, but I will purchase ones that we need to order through the inter-library loan. Here in ND it can take 3-4 weeks before we get a book from another library and I hate waiting.
5. Buy it used. This isn't only for books, but I also purchase all of my 3 ring binders and paper from garage sales and the local thrift stores. Binders I can usually get between 10 cents and a quarter and I have purchased filler paper at 10 for a dollar. Pencils, crayons, pens, scissors, construction paper, etc... can also be purchased used.
6. Don't pay someone else to teach your children. For example, if you know how to play the piano, then you can teach a 5 year old the basic concepts of the instrument. Later, if your child exceeds your ability then consider a teacher, but you may be surprised at the resourcefulness of your student. My oldest is now doing the lessons alone and without my involvement. The same goes for math, science, reading, etc. I know many parents feel that because they were not good at a certain subject in school, they are not up to teaching their own children, but this is just not true. Almost all homeschool curriculum out there is student led or can be. I can speak from experience that even the curriculum that states a parent needs to teach it is misleading. My children do almost all of their subjects on their own, and even those that are "teacher led" my kids read the book first and then I will go over the questions and answers with them. So please try doing it on your own before paying someone else - you may be surprised at the results.
7. Don't purchase all the fancy manipulatives and other gadgets the curriculum suggests. I do not own one math manipulative, but when we need a visual for math I go to the fridge and pull out a few grapes or open a board game and take out the pieces and use them instead. Also, not every science experiment must be done for the children to understand the concepts. Last, think outside the box and look for something else that could be used instead of the items "required" by the curriculum. For example, if you are studying the middle ages and the history book wants you to purchase a model of a castle have your kids make one themselves. In the end either the expensive model or the homemade one will most likely end up in the garbage or in a box under the bed never to be seen again, so do you really need the expensive one?
8. Borrow it from another homeschool family.
9. Use the internet. Below is a partial list of some of my favorite sites I use to either enhance a subject or to write my own curriculum. They are all free or have freebies.
Art: Art History and Color Pages of Great Artists
Classical Education or Charlotte Mason: An Old Fashioned Education, Classical Christian Education, Charlotte Mason Help and Ambleside
College: Free College Courses (no credit)
Geography: Outline Maps and Maps you can print large or small
Phonics: Starfall and Progressive Phonics
Science: Build a solar system, Biology Junction, Middle School Chemistry
Typing: Typing Course and Free Typing Games
Worksheets and Notebooking: Notebooking, Enchanted Learning (worksheets galore), Pre-school and Kindergarten Worksheets
10. Free Books: You can download the Kindle app to your computer so you don't even need to purchase one to get all those free books from Amazon, but don't forget The Gutenberg Project, The Baldwin Children's Project and The Rosetta Project. Also, Robinson Curriculum and Ambleside have wonderful book lists (and most of them are classics and therefore free).
11. Ask for the "school" discount. There are many places that offer discounts to schools and, consequently, offer it to homeschoolers as well. Museums, theme parks and almost any other place that charges an admission may offer you a discount. It doesn't hurt to ask.
As I stated before, I am not the most frugal of homeschoolers and if you have ways you save money please drop me a line. I am always looking for ways to save money and I am sure many other families are as well. Thanks for stopping by.
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