How to Save Money on Homeschooling Curriculum
Set a budget.Before you begin educating your child at home, you can estimate how much you think it will cost to do so., Share classes.If you’re a member of a homeschooling network, collaborate with other parents to teach your children together in a...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Set a budget.Before you begin educating your child at home
Try to stay within this estimated budget.
Then, once you’ve spent a semester or two actually homeschooling your child, revisit your original budget estimates and figure out how much you’ll actually need to spend on classes and materials, and how much money you can earn while still effectively educating your child at home.
Use the actual data on your costs and earnings over the course of your first semester or two to allocate future money for classroom materials, textbooks, and so on.
Books, pencils, and other school materials can add up quickly.
Deciding on your maximum expenditure will help you manage these costs and buy cautiously when building your child’s curriculum.
Don’t feel locked in to your budget.
You should use it as a guide, but don’t worry if you go slightly over the budget.
You might find your budget varies from year to year.
Free or discounted materials for younger children tend to be easier to obtain than those for older children.
Reevaluate your budget at the beginning of each school year to ensure your budget is realistic relative to your child’s needs and your finances. -
Step 2: you can estimate how much you think it will cost to do so.
For instance, if your child and another are close in age and learning ability, you could teach them one subject, while the other parent could teach them another subject.
That way, each of you will only need to invest in one set of learning materials, but your kids will have access to two different classes.
Work together with the other parent to develop a curriculum in each class that you’re both happy with.
This approach will also save you time, since you won’t have to prepare for the class that the other parent is teaching.
Sharing classes can help you cut down on your budget. , Alternately, you could just (at discounted rates) buy secondhand materials from other members.
For instance, if your child is in the third grade, they will not need materials from their second-grade curriculum.
Try to find a parent who is looking for materials for their second-grader and sell them to that parent.
Then, locate a parent in the network whose child is a bit older and no longer has use for third-grade materials.
Obtain these materials through purchase or trade.
By obtaining all or many of the materials necessary for a certain grade level at once, you can save time.
You can often get flashcards, books, DVDs, and learning software for free or at discounted rates from parents who no longer have use for them.
Sharing class materials will help you keep your educational costs low. , All you need is a marker and some notecards.
Write the appropriate information on each side and you’ll have your very own set of educational flashcards.
This will help you slash your budget for learning materials.
For instance, if you’re making flashcards for a German course, write English words on one side of the card and the German translation for each word on the opposite side.
Your child can use these to study. , Junk mail is often a prime candidate for reuse in a homeschool setting.
Reusing paper is not only thrifty, but eco-friendly as well.
If possible, get unused paper with printing on just one side from friends and neighbors, too. , These sales often offer steep discounts on notebooks, pencils, pens, and other school materials.
Look for coupons that can help you score even bigger discounts at the checkout line.
Getting materials on sale will help you figure out how much money your materials budget really needs.
If you’re really patient, you can sometimes get even better deals once the school year has gotten underway.
Stores will try to liquidate their surpluses by offering their school supplies at discount rates.
Check dollar stores, office supply stores, and pharmacies for discounts on these materials.
Getting school materials on sale is an easy way to cut back on your overall budget. , Homeschooling often means that one parent sacrifices their career in order to homeschool their child.
However, if you are that parent, you don’t necessarily need to be entirely unemployed.
If you can get a job where you can work from home, you’ll still be able to provide instruction to your child and make yourself available to them if they have questions.
Good employment options for a parent who homeschools include: graphic designer writer artist musician , Many parents choose to send their kids to public schools to participate in classes with expensive materials, or classes that are best learned through interaction with other students.
For instance, you might choose to send your child to public school to take, art, drama, and debate classes.
Sending your child to public school for certain classes can help you cut down on your overall budget. -
Step 3: Share classes.If you’re a member of a homeschooling network
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Step 4: collaborate with other parents to teach your children together in a small class.
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Step 5: Share learning materials with others.If you’re a member of a homeschooling network or organization in your area
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Step 6: you can propose sharing learning materials between you.
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Step 7: Make your own learning materials.Instead of buying a set of flashcards at a teacher’s store or book shop
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Step 8: make them yourself.
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Step 9: Reuse paper.If you have sheets of paper that have printing on only one side
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Step 10: use the other side for math problems or art activities.
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Step 11: Look for sales on school materials.During back-to-school sales during the Fall
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Step 12: check your local papers and advertisements.
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Step 13: Get a job where you can work from home.Homeschooling means that until your kids are teenagers
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Step 14: you or another adult will need to monitor them.
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Step 15: Consider part-time homeschooling.Homeschooled children are allowed to attend classes at a public school if they want to.
Detailed Guide
Try to stay within this estimated budget.
Then, once you’ve spent a semester or two actually homeschooling your child, revisit your original budget estimates and figure out how much you’ll actually need to spend on classes and materials, and how much money you can earn while still effectively educating your child at home.
Use the actual data on your costs and earnings over the course of your first semester or two to allocate future money for classroom materials, textbooks, and so on.
Books, pencils, and other school materials can add up quickly.
Deciding on your maximum expenditure will help you manage these costs and buy cautiously when building your child’s curriculum.
Don’t feel locked in to your budget.
You should use it as a guide, but don’t worry if you go slightly over the budget.
You might find your budget varies from year to year.
Free or discounted materials for younger children tend to be easier to obtain than those for older children.
Reevaluate your budget at the beginning of each school year to ensure your budget is realistic relative to your child’s needs and your finances.
For instance, if your child and another are close in age and learning ability, you could teach them one subject, while the other parent could teach them another subject.
That way, each of you will only need to invest in one set of learning materials, but your kids will have access to two different classes.
Work together with the other parent to develop a curriculum in each class that you’re both happy with.
This approach will also save you time, since you won’t have to prepare for the class that the other parent is teaching.
Sharing classes can help you cut down on your budget. , Alternately, you could just (at discounted rates) buy secondhand materials from other members.
For instance, if your child is in the third grade, they will not need materials from their second-grade curriculum.
Try to find a parent who is looking for materials for their second-grader and sell them to that parent.
Then, locate a parent in the network whose child is a bit older and no longer has use for third-grade materials.
Obtain these materials through purchase or trade.
By obtaining all or many of the materials necessary for a certain grade level at once, you can save time.
You can often get flashcards, books, DVDs, and learning software for free or at discounted rates from parents who no longer have use for them.
Sharing class materials will help you keep your educational costs low. , All you need is a marker and some notecards.
Write the appropriate information on each side and you’ll have your very own set of educational flashcards.
This will help you slash your budget for learning materials.
For instance, if you’re making flashcards for a German course, write English words on one side of the card and the German translation for each word on the opposite side.
Your child can use these to study. , Junk mail is often a prime candidate for reuse in a homeschool setting.
Reusing paper is not only thrifty, but eco-friendly as well.
If possible, get unused paper with printing on just one side from friends and neighbors, too. , These sales often offer steep discounts on notebooks, pencils, pens, and other school materials.
Look for coupons that can help you score even bigger discounts at the checkout line.
Getting materials on sale will help you figure out how much money your materials budget really needs.
If you’re really patient, you can sometimes get even better deals once the school year has gotten underway.
Stores will try to liquidate their surpluses by offering their school supplies at discount rates.
Check dollar stores, office supply stores, and pharmacies for discounts on these materials.
Getting school materials on sale is an easy way to cut back on your overall budget. , Homeschooling often means that one parent sacrifices their career in order to homeschool their child.
However, if you are that parent, you don’t necessarily need to be entirely unemployed.
If you can get a job where you can work from home, you’ll still be able to provide instruction to your child and make yourself available to them if they have questions.
Good employment options for a parent who homeschools include: graphic designer writer artist musician , Many parents choose to send their kids to public schools to participate in classes with expensive materials, or classes that are best learned through interaction with other students.
For instance, you might choose to send your child to public school to take, art, drama, and debate classes.
Sending your child to public school for certain classes can help you cut down on your overall budget.
About the Author
John Harris
John Harris has dedicated 11 years to mastering lifestyle and practical guides. As a content creator, John focuses on providing actionable tips and step-by-step guides.
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