Homeschooling on a single, frugal budget is a challenge that many homeschoolers face. Homeschoolers are therefore vigilant about purchasing homeschool curriculum as the wrong decisions may prove costly. Proper curriculum research will help homeschoolers save money. Similarly, free material on the internet, co-op discounts, family and lifetime packages, and online subscriptions work in favour of the homeschooling family's budget.
Join a Homeschool Network or Group to Research Curriculum
Researching homeschool curriculum is the first step to saving money. Homeschoolers should join networks or homeschool groups that share reviews of homeschool material. Talking to other homeschoolers will also help in the purchasing decision. This is to curb mistakes in buying low-quality or ill-suited homeschool curriculum for the family, having the same go to waste. Some homeschool curriculum providers provide samples of their worksheets or work texts. Browsing through samples will give an idea as to the suitability of the given curriculum before making a purchase.
Run a Google Search on Free Homeschool Curriculum
There are plenty of free homeschool curriculum on the internet. Homeschoolers may find this useful, but usually not comprehensive. Some sets of curriculum could just be a list of ideas for the month or the year, for a given subject, and not all curriculum follow through from elementary grades to high school.
Nevertheless, some homeschoolers may enjoy this flexible option as they will be able to create their own curriculum using the basic ideas and resources. They would then continue to source for economic purchases of materials on their own. Many may resort to their local public library to keep tabs with the reading or textbook lists that free homeschool curriculum providers provide. This definitely saves money in comparison to physical purchases.
Save Money through Homeschool Co-op Purchases
Some physical homeschool co-ops are able to negotiate lower rates for homeschool curriculum providers. This is a huge cost savings for homeschooling families. An online co-op, Homeschool Buyers Co-Op provides the exact service online. Homeschoolers sign up for free to join the co-op and are privy to a range of curriculum at fairly large discounts. The co-op purchases the same in bulk thus is able to pass the cost-savings to homeschoolers. A minimal fee is levied upon the purchasers though, as a processing fee for each purchase.
Invest in Lifetime or Family Packages
Some homeschool curriculum providers, such as The BEarth Institute, provides individual curriculum purchases per grade, subject or block, but also offers a lifetime membership for families. Homeschooling families become lifetime members and automatically become privy to all materials provided under the institute, including new materials that are added throughout their lifetime. Some families may favour this type of purchase as it not only saves them money, but also saves them the hassle of mixing and matching curricular as everything is provided under one roof.
Other service providers offer family package subscriptions, where homeschooling families can subscribe to their curriculum at a fee for the whole family, normally up to six students. This helps curb homeschooling costs for larger homeschooling families.
Invest in Digital Products or Online Subscriptions
Some online schools or curriculum providers lay out their curriculum in digital format. This allows families to purchase e-books, MP3s or other software that can be downloaded directly into the homeschool's personal computer. The upside of this form of curriculum is that digital products can be kept for subsequent children. Families can save money on the printing of the material by only printing the relevant pages of e-Textbooks. Likewise, families can save on repurchasing workbooks with digital products as e-books can be kept in soft-copy until a younger sibling reaches the given age.
Online subscriptions are another way to save cost. This can either come in the form of curricular newsletters, for example, ideas for the month or week or an online subscription to a given subject. As an example, IXL is a perfect online resource for homeschool mathematics, as it allows children to practice math questions online, without having to print out worksheets, which can be costly. Homeschoolers can work at their own pace through different math topics and the website generates a progress chart for parents on a weekly basis. This curbs the cost of purchasing workbooks or printing out worksheets.
Different Ways to Save Money on Homeschool Curriculum
There are several ways to save money when purchasing homeschool curriculum. Homeschoolers approach the purchasing of homeschool curriculum differently. Some may be sourcing for a list of curriculum ideas, while others prefer to subscribe to a comprehensive online school. Some homeschoolers may prefer digital products. Nevertheless, the first step to saving money on the right curriculum is to join a network or even co-op and to research the different options and materials there are before making a financial commitment to the curriculum.
Maria Zain - Maria is a wife, mother, coffee addict, homeschooler and writer - not in that particular order. On most days, all roles get muddled up ...
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