Free and Low Cost Homeschooling Resources

I'm not gonna lie. Homeschooling has cost us a bundle. Between changing teaching philosophies, a love of books and games, a lack of self control, and well, children and life, it has not been cheap.  Along this journey though I've discovered some great resources that are either free or very low cost. Homeschooling DOES NOT have to cost an arm and a leg- even living in a rural and relatively poor state, I have found a large number of resources to share.

The Dollar Store

the dollar store has a surprisingly decent supply of workbooks and teacher supplies.
Meg Grooms has several wonderful posts on dollar store finds, so i'll link t hem here and not reinvent the wheel
Homeschooling Bargains
Science at the Dollar Store

Oh, and this Gameschool blog has become one of my favorites, and has lots of posts with free printables and games and ideas as well.

Teachers Pay Teachers

Membership here is free, and you can narrow your searches down by cost, so you can search for resources within your current budget.

Back to School Sales

I love when our store has their annual back to school sale and I can get notebooks for 19 cents and crayons for under a dollar a box. I stock up on all the essentials; printer paper, markers, crayons, notebooks, pencils during these sales. Good news is my kid doesn't "need" a brand new backpack and lunch box every year.

Education.com

education.com has all kinds of worksheets and lessons. when I need to print off the odd worksheet to fill in a gap or supplement my curriculum I head here. Sometimes I use some of their worksheets when I just don't feel like doing a full math lesson that day. Or week.   You get a limited number of free downloads a month. If you subscribe make sure to wait for one of their frequent 50% off sales.

The Library! 

Never forget your local library. Don't be afraid to ask for interlibrary loans or for them to purchase books for you. Some libraries can loan out homeschool kits, museum passes, games, puzzles, movies and audiobooks. Checkout your libraries website as well, many resources can be found there depending on what services your library has subscribed to.  Look under Homework help sections and the like and see what's there.  Not to mention family friendly activities (free field trips anyone?)  Get to know your local librarians, they will serve you well.

Thrift-stores

Books, games, art and experiment supplies, book cases and more can all be thrifted. Keep your eyes open, you know know.

Friends of the Library Bookstore
If your library has a friends of the library bookstore, check it out! They often support a charity or the library and can have great deals on used materials.

Local Homeshool Groups

For all kinds of reasons you should see if your area has an online homeschool presence, facebook can be a good place to start.  People may be selling supplies and such at low costs there, with no shipping since it's local. Also, friends from your local support groups may be hoping to loan you, give you, or let you look through, materials. Or host field trips, science days, co-ops and the like.

Online Market Places

While Facebook market places, local garage sale groups and Craigslist aren't usually homeschool specific, sometimes great deals can show up anyway. Think games, book cases, books, art supplies and legos.

Podcasts

There are lots of great podcasts available that are free and kid friendly. A future post I will list podcasts we've found, but don't count them out!

Youtube

Over the past school year I have come across a number of books CDS and movies, listed in my curriculums,  that I couldn't find or couldn't find for a reasonable price. But when I searched youtube for them there for free! Don't discount youtube just because your kids most annoying youtubers can be found there.

Gameschooling for the Non Gamer

Game Schooling for the Non Gamer

I threw out Candy Land.  OK, donated. Whatever.  Honestly, it was boring me to tears. And came in a kit with other "classic" games- so memory cards Hi Ho Cherrio and Candy Land cards all in one place. Think huge card messes to clean up. I dreaded my kid pulling that thing out. Guess we wouldn't be playing games.

Then one day I ran across a gameschooling blog post, possibly My Little Poppies, then found them on Facebook, then found gameschooling facebook groups. Up until that point I sincerely thought Shoots and Ladders and Candy Land were pretty much my only little kid friendly game options. I had seen other games in stores, friends houses or thrift stores, but thought them gimmicky or silly.  In walks gameschooling.  

Over the last year my childhood joy in games has been brought back to life. In a big way.  I was an only child and rarely got a chance to play games against other people. It wasn't uncommon for me to play 2 or 3 sides of a monopoly game. 

Card and small game storage in a shoe holder

Now our game shelves have exploded. Well, they haven't they're neatly organized and I've become very strict about keeping them that way. 

First Games: where to start

If you're interested in incorporating more play and games into the life of a child, homeschooled or not, where do you start?

•          The first game I always suggest to people who are just becoming familiar with this new world of table top gaming is Sleeping Queens. 

This was the first game to introduce me to non standard playing decks, and was simple enough for me to figure out and then teach my kid.  It was the first game my eldest lost at then went back to play again. And our deck has received quite a bit of love.  Sleeping Queens can be found on Amazon (I got the anniversary edition because that had some extra queens in it and a nice tin my kids couldn't tear). I've also seen packs at the local grocery store. It's simple enough my 3 yo can join us, but interesting enough that I'm happy to play without wanting to gouge my eyes out out of boredom (looking at you Candy Land).

•       Next up is cooperative games from Peaceable Kingdom.  There are a lot of them but three have really stood out for us.  Hoot Owl Hoot (though in my head I still say Hoot Hoot owl) is a color matching game like candy land.  Perfect for the non counters non readers in the family. And yet unlike Candy Land there is some strategy you can employ, and you work as a team to beat the board.  Stone Soup is also great, essentially a memory game but beautifully done with a few extra elements that make it much more interesting than the standard memory game.   Count Your Chickens is my third recommendation. It's been a favorite in our house among the preschoolers, and my 7yo enjoys playing it with my 3yo.

•       Two great cooperative games for the younger elementary set are Out Foxed and Ghost Fightin' Treasure Hunters!. I enjoy playing both of these with my 7 year old. Both teach strategy, logic and teamwork. 

• Battle Sheep is the next to add to your collection. This one we just unwrapped for my daughter's seventh birthday, and we've spent more hours playing this game than probably any other we own. It has enough strategy to make it fun for kids and adults, but simple enough my 3 yo can join in (with some guidance). 

•    Sum Swamp is another I love to suggest. A simple board game that requires addition and subtraction.   Add more complex dice for the more advanced mathematicians.   Sums in Space is a similar game but has a teamwork mode and gets more advanced on the math front (this one is on my wish list).

•      Last up is Shut the Box. A great, super simple dice game that has been popular for several hundred years for a reason. Team, solo or competitive play options. Great for math skills. I have Shut the Box and Super Shut the Box by BlueOrange, and my math phobic 7 year old loves both.

There are so many more I'd love to mention. But I'm trying to leave this list concise.

Where and How to Buy (Insider Secrets)

         OK, so by now you've taken a look at some of these games on Amazon (or your preferred shopping source). And you're wondering how you're going to do this inside a normal human budget. (If you've recently won a large sum in the lottery please skip this section).  Here's my go to list for  money saving when getting games.

• Thrift it.  Thrift stores are the best for games, so keep your eyes open. Some things to keep in mind: some companies are known for great games. Keep your eyes peeled for their logos.  (Gamewright, blueOrange, Think Fun, Ravensburger, Peaceable kingdom are all on my watch list).  If you remember it from your childhood or pop culture, look for it used. Don't waste your money on Connect 4, Hungry Hungry Hippos, Monopoly, Scrabble, etc,  new.  Even on sale.

• This brings me to sales.  SALES! Between the game schooling facebook groups I'm in (Gameschool Community: My Little Poppies and Gameschooling (Homeschooling with Games)) I've found more sales than I can afford to shop. Also, Homeschool Gameschool with Meg Grooms has a weekly deals thread on her Facebook page.  Amazon, Target, Miniature Market, Barnes and Noble, and Michaels have all had at least one very good game and toy sale this past year. Don't forget to check Amazon's lightening deals.

• Garage sales. Both virtual and in person. People move or move on, and they don't want to lug their game boxes with them. Keep your eyes peeled because these are often motivated sellers and your best deals will come from these sources.

• Online game b/s/t pages. Occasionally you can find a good deal on those pages.  Remember that shipping games can get costly, and sometimes used prices on those pages are the same as sale prices. However, those pages can be a great source for older out of print games you find on your wishlist.

Final Word (General Tips)

• Follow the gaming facebook groups! So many great ideas and leads there.

• If you have a child who is still working on their good sportsmanship awards and refuses to replay a game if they lose right off, it's OK to let them win. I won't tell.

• If you remember it from your childhood, don't pay new prices for it! There are a million point two copies of Trivial Pursuit at your Goodwill waiting for a home.

• Some days it can be hard to make time during the day to play games. Create a routine, a game before bedtime or after a math worksheet or a Family Game Night. If you homeschool, at the beginning of the day pull out a stack of games you would like to play for the day. They may not all happen but having them out can remind you to actually play them.

• Remembers games should be fun, so don't get too caught up in the "How Will This Educate My Child" question. I promise they are learning! 

2018-2019 Reading List

This year we have done a TON of reading! That is, my reading aloud. Some days till I was hoarse. 

I have to admit first, despite my background in psychology and as a preschool teacher, we haven't always read this much. In fact, we had years where reading aloud just didn't happen very often at all. The Torchlight curriculum turned that around for us this past year. I turned the tracking history on on my library account in October, and since then we've checked out almost 700 books! Mostly picture books.  But we've also completed 60 chapter books this year, and started more.  Many of these, but for sure not all, were inspired by Torchlight, and this list is not in chronological order.
(note: links are NOT affiliate)

Here's the list of books we read over my daughter's first grade year. These are the books we read cover to cover, that took longer than an evening to complete.

Series

Fairy Ponies book 3, 4 (Usborne series)
Deckawoo Drive by Kate DiCamillo, 1-4
Greetings From Somewhere by Harper Paris 1-10
Zoey and Sassafras by Asia Citro, 1-6
Animal Inn by Paul DuBois Jacobs and Jennifer Swender, books 1, 2, 3, 5
The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale books 1-5 (6 is in our library hold list as we speak!)
Tum Tum and Nutmeg, Adventures Beyond Nutmouse Hall  by Emily Bearn books 1-3
The Problim Children by Natalie Lloyd and Julia Sarda book 1
The Wishing Chair by Enid Blyton, book 1
Hilda and the Hidden People by Luke Pearson book 1 (book 2 was started last night)
Missy Piggle Wiggle by Ann M. Martin and Annie Parnell books 1-2
Anna Hibiscus by Atinuke book 1

Fiction Singletons

(some of these are part of a series but we only read one and have no plans to read future ones at the moment)

The Prairie Thief by Melissa Wiley
Babe: The Gallant Pig by Dick King-Smith
Unicorn Princesses by Emily Bliss book 1
Charlotte in Giverny by Joan MacPhail Knight
Sophie Mouse: Silver Lake Art Show by Poppy Green
Beyond the Paw Paw Trees by Palmer Brown
Critter Club book 2 by Callie Barkley
Ivy by Katherine Coville
Ida B by Katherine Hannigan
Magic Tree House #33 by Mary Pope
Miss Mallard Mystery: Texas Trail to Calamity by Robert Quackenbush
Bad Kitty Drawn to Trouble by Nick Bruel
Cam Jansen and the Mystery at the Haunted House by David A Adler
Juana and Lucas by Juana Medina
A Year Full of Stories by Angela McAllister

Non Fiction

Animal Atlas by Rachel Williams and Emily Hawkins

Poetry

Runny Babbit by Shel Silverstein

Graphic Novels

Kit Feeny: On the Move and Kit Feeny and the Ugly Necklace by Michael Townsend
Hilda and the Midnight Giant by Luke Pearson

Audiobooks

The Frog Princess by E.D. Baker performed by Katherine Kellgren books 1-3 (we're waiting impatiently on the next one from the library)
Ramona Forever and Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary performed by Stockard Channing (currently have Ramona the Pest checked out from the library)


What books have you read and loved this school year?