• Home
  • Blog
  • Our Story of Restoration
BrinaLynn

BrinaLynn

Finding Hope & Joy in the Everyday Trenches

  • Marriage
    • Marriage Tips & Advice
    • Marriage Restoration
  • Money
    • Saving Money
    • Budgeting
    • Meals & Meal Planning
  • Motherhood
    • Large Family Living
    • Parenting
    • Organization
    • Holidays
      • Christmas
      • Thanksgiving
      • Halloween
  • Homeschool
  • Faith & Encouragement
You are here: Home / Homeschool / How You Really Can Homeschool for Cheap (or Even Free)!

How You Really Can Homeschool for Cheap (or Even Free)!

Homeschool

4 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet

This post may contain affiliate links to products. As an affiliate, I earn money from qualifying purchases. Please read my full disclosure here.

Is it Really Possible to Homeschool for Cheap or Even Free?

It’s the time of year when families, who homeschool their children or who are considering homeschooling their children, think ahead to next school year. 

For us personally, there are 8 weeks left in our school year (what??), and while that is a good feeling, it has me looking ahead. I could give you curriculum suggestions, and I might at some point. But I’d like to tell you today that you really can homeschool for wayyy cheaper than you think might be possible. How you really can homeschool for cheap or even free!

A Glimpse at Our Last Two Years Homeschooling Cost

I am a total nerd, so I keep a record of each year’s money spent on curriculum. The last couple of years have looked something like this:

  • 2021-2022 school year, roughly $690.
    • 6 kids, grades kindergarten through 12th 
  • 2022-2023 school year, roughly $660. 
    • 5 kids, grades 1st through 9th

**These numbers include all math, all readers, all read alouds, all subjects, and even school supplies. 

***It is important to note that because we have been homeschooling for over a decade, some books we don’t have to repurchase. For instance, we have collected all of the Math U See books from Primer to Zeta (which we use for elementary grades). That means I only have to purchase the student consumables pack each year, which is much cheaper than buying the whole set.  

There have been expensive years, especially when we first started, and I had no idea how to make it work. In those years, I used a boxed curriculum, and I don’t regret it one bit. However, those years ran just about as much as what I mentioned above–for only two children. 

>>If you need to buy a curriculum that is laid out for you, do it. And don’t feel bad about it! The best ones we have used are by far Sonlight and My Father’s World. It was not because we didn’t enjoy them that we stopped using them. I just had so many kids in different stages of life that I couldn’t keep up, and truthfully, neither could our wallets.

And then there was the year of the expensive high school biology curriculum. The books were on the expensive side, but we also purchased dissection kits and a microscope. The good news is that everything except the dissection kits are reusable, and we’ve kept them all these years. Charlotte Mason Reading and Narration

But can school, even high school, be taught without these expenses?

The short answer is yes! 

The long answer? Well, here goes….

The truth is in many states, the homeschool laws are very gracious and allow the parent to teach children in their own way, at their own pace, and at their own discretion. 

Our state gives no specifics. Only that 1) math, reading, language arts, history, and science be taught; 2) we school 4.5 hours a day; 3) our school year is 180 days; and 4) we write a progress report of sorts each year for each student. According to our state laws, none of this has to be turned in–simply kept on file. 

If your state’s laws are like ours, that is great for you! That means you can choose what to teach and when to teach it, so long as it’s done.

We are firm believers in Charlotte Mason’s philosophy.  I recently discussed the three main reasons we were drawn to the Charlotte Mason way of education. Miss Mason believed that we, as parents, should provide a feast for the mind of our children in the way of living books. 

But if it’s a feast, meaning a lot of books from a lot of subjects, won’t that be expensive? It could be, but it certainly doesn’t have to be. 

So how do you homeschool for cheap or even free?

I’ll share my favorite places to get books, both new and used, audiobooks, and even free curriculum. 

Saving Money

Where to Get Books:

We live in a society where it is easy to get your hands on good books! 

You have big bookstores where you can buy new and used books–you know the ones:

  • Amazon 
  • Barnes and Nobles 
  • BAM 
  • ChristianBook – My personal favorite!

There are used bookstores:

  • Thrift Books 
  • Alibris 
  • Homeschool Used Book – Support other homeschool families! (My favorite place to buy used!)
  • Ebay – Though not technically a bookstore, you can find great deals on used boxed curriculum sets here. 

And there are places to buy books that are more difficult to find:

  • Yesterday’s Classics (I love this store! They have many out of print books for reasonable prices, which they print when you order.)

Ways to Get Free Books:

There are a number of ways to access completely free books!

  • Your local library

A great resource is the library if you don’t want to buy books.

But really, who are you if you don’t love buying books?? (Kidding. Just kidding.) I confess–I have a serious problem when it comes to books. Buying them.

Your library system has so much to offer. You can get books through interlibrary loan, and it’s very likely that your library has a digital library book program, which, by the way, is a great way to get your hands on free audiobooks. 

  • LibriVox

There are also many, many books in the public domain you can access (and download) as audiobooks from LibriVox. 

  • Project Gutenberg

I have not personally used this site before, but it provides some neat lists and formats that will work on your Kindle. I will be using this next year! 

  • Amazon

Don’t forget that Amazon also has many public domain books you can download for Kindle.

Charlotte Mason Reading and Narration

Curriculum:

7 Sisters is a curriculum website that offers literature study guides as well as other resources. Some are free, but I also highly recommend their other low cost literature guides. Two free ones we have used:

  • Anne of Green Gables Study Guide
  • Misty of Chincoteague Study Guide

And if you have no idea how to put it all together, here are two completely free whole curriculum sets that I have used before:

  • Easy Peasy All in One Homeschool – This is the curriculum that I used to teach my reluctant reader to read after a year or more trying to teach sight words and phonics. It worked beautifully for this child!
  • Ambleside Online – A completely Charlotte Mason style curriculum by year. 

The year we used Easy Peasy Homeschool, we had very little–as in almost no–money to spend on curriculum, and besides actual school supplies like paper, pencils, notebooks, and markers, we didn’t buy a thing! We followed the curriculum, using the resources they provided or suggested and books from our local library. 

Why did we stop using Easy Peasy All in One Homeschool? I just couldn’t keep everyone monitored with having a toddler and a newborn. I also found that I would much rather decide on our course of study myself. More on how you can do that in the post about how to choose books for your homeschool. 

Do not let the idea of cost keep you from homeschooling. There will be some expenses involved, but remember how much money you will save by not having to buy school clothes or gas for the carpool. 😉

School can be as simple as choosing subjects you want to study, finding books about those subjects, and reading them together. Homeschool doesn’t have to look like public school, and in fact it shouldn’t. It was when I stopped stressing about making it look like school, and enjoyed reading and learning alongside my children that I began to love homeschooling them!

And it cost me a lot less money!How you really can homeschool for cheap or even free!

 

March 3, 2023 · Leave a Comment

Previous Post: « Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt – Review and Guide
Next Post: How to Choose Books for Your Charlotte Mason Homeschool »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Hey, ya'll! I'm BrinaLynn, wife to my high school sweetheart, homeschooling mom to 8, coffee drinker, and friend of the written word.  My desire is it to encourage you [and me] as we find ourselves in life's trenches--and to somehow find joy there!

Read more

Looking for something?



  • Home
  • About
  • Contact

Footer

Helpful Links

  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions

Looking for Something?

Bible Verse of the Day

But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
Luke 18:27

Copyright © 2023 · anchored theme by Restored 316

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT