What Do You Mean You Don't Have a Curriculum?

Whenever I tell people that we are homeschoolers, one of the common statements I hear is- "I know "so and so" who also homeschools.  Aren't you lucky that there's so much curriculum available."

Ugh.

Here we go.

And so begins the question from non-homeschooling people- "what curriculum do you use?"  And then I feel compelled to tell them the truth, which is- we don't.  And of course their eyes bug out just a little bit and they stammer- "wha what? how can you homeschool without curriculum?"  Hmm...well gee- I don't know.  How can you parent without a manual?  It's not rocket science here folks, although if it were I would definitely hire my son a tutor!  Ha!

The reality is that many homeschoolers do NOT use a boxed curriculum.  I talk a bit here about what we use and how we personally save money on homeschooling resources.  But there's other reasons besides money that we have chosen to not buy a curriculum.

• Boredom.  Boo- sometimes those boxed sets are downright boring and tedious.  No thanks!
• Flexibility.  My son is 8.  He is totally focused on one thing for a week or two and then it's on to another.  I have no clue a year in advance what he'll be into.  How could I possibly plan curriculum around this?  You can't.
• To follow a specific method of homeschooling.  We are eclectic homeschoolers who lean towards unschooling.  This can't happen with a boxed curriculum.
• What about the gifted or disabled kids?  A boxed set is designed to do what a traditional public school does- it aims for the middle of the road.  What if your kid is ahead of the game?  What if they have a learning disability?
• This is not the way my son likes to learn.  He is NOT a sit down with paper & pencil learner.  He's a hands on, doing, touching, feeling sort of kid.  So to go against his natural learning style would be a huge detriment to him.
• And of course money.  Holy Buckets are those boxed sets pricey!

See there- lots of excellent reasons.....So if we don't use a formal pre packaged curriculum then what DO we use?  

• Books
• Magazines
• DVD's
• Homeschool classes
• Field trips
• Workbooks
• The outside world- nature
• Participation in sports- soccer, martial arts, swimming
• Workshop classes
• The Internet
• Toys & Games
• Physical tools- magnify glass, projects, microscopes, arts & crafts, etc

So I suppose I shouldn't feel so guilty the next time someone comments on my lack of curriculum.  I think what we use and how we have chosen to homeschool is pretty awesome.  It fits our lifestyle and it fits my son's learning style- which is really all that matters.

What do you use in your homeschooling journey?

How to Homeschool for a Year for Under $20

My homeschooling budget is small.  Seriously- small.  I do my very best to keep my yearly costs under $25.  Say what?!?  Trust me- it can be done and I'm going to tell you how.

So what do we use exactly?

Just $6.99!!

I love these Scholastic grade level workbooks.  I buy them at Costco, which is just a large discount warehouse store.  The best time of year to look for these is late summer, well before Fall and the start of the new school year.  Price is $6.99- which is just awesome for the budget minded Momma's like myself!

I am also a huge fan of the website Education.com.  This is my go-to website for science experiments, fun crafts and great holiday themed activities.  You can pay for workbooks and worksheets on this site but they also offer a limited amount of free pages per month per email address.  So really- why pay for something you can get for free?!?  I have 3 email address', so you better believe I signed up with all 3!  And to increase my cost savings, I print the pages at my local library for free.  That's free + free = FREE!!!!

My son attends Edmonds Heights K-12 and they have amazing classes like Paragraph Writing, Math, Spanish, Latin, Science, Lego Engineering and more, all taught by certified teachers.  These classes are free. Yippee!!  They also have workshop classes and for an additional fee, a student can take fun classes like Musical Theater, Martial Arts, Sewing, Pottery, Jewelry Making and more!  It's a very valuable tool in our homeschooling journey.

We are also regulars at our local library.  Did you know that you can put books, movies and magazines on hold online and then pick up at your local library?  Since our library is super small, this is how I get all of our books and such.  We are lucky that our library system is pretty large so we have access to new release DVD's and a huge variety of books for all ages.  In the summer time, we also participate in the weekly Summer Reading program.  Lots of fun activities, stories and crafts- all for free!  My library also does NOT charge late fees.  WHAT!?!?!!  I know...I know....calm down Homeschooling Momma's, I know it's super exciting but let's not freak out now!

Still with me there?  That's free classes taught by certified teachers, workshop classes, free books, free DVD's, free magazine, workbooks and free science experiments and arts and craft projects.  Now let's add in sports and PE.

William participates in soccer through a local club.  We are able to get a discounted price so the registration/participation fee is just $10.  Each year I sell his old cleats on Ebay and use the money to buy new cleats.  This means, I spend nothing on cleats.  Nothing!  He's also able to wear the same uniform for 2 years in a row.  My tip here is to buy it a little big the first year and hopefully it will still fit for the 2nd year.  That's a $40-100 savings!  Sweet!

Last year William took Martial Arts classes through his homeschool program.  His school budget money paid for the classes which was $350 for the year.  Keeping score?  A $350 dollar value and all for free!

William also does swimming lessons.  Last year he went to the local YMCA which offers a Swim and Gym class just for homeschoolers.  The class consists of 1 hour of gym class and then 1 hour of swimming and meets once per week.  The fee is $125 per session however my local YMCA royally screwed up and I ended up getting the whole class for free.  Let's just say it was a huge mess....but William really enjoyed the class so we saw it through until the end of the school year.  However, this year- William qualifies for FREE swimming lessons.  There was a grant provided to the school district where he does his homeschool program and all 3rd graders get 3 free sessions.  This will give him free lessons until the end of the school year. I'll take it!

Imagine Children's Museum

Occasionally we like to take field trips and I try to pay as little as possible for these.  I have learned that most  museums offer a free night at least once per month.  I have several in my area that offer free admittance- Museum of Flight, Bellevue Arts Museum and Imagine Children's Museum just to name a few.  I highly recommend you look into this!  You are of course at the mercy of their schedule but hey- free is free! I also regularly check out websites like Amazon Local, Groupon and Living Social to find great deals on other educational and fun places to visit.

This year I was also able to use some of William's school budget money to buy a science kit and some great new workbooks.  My out of pocket expense was zero!

Here's a recap:

• Yearly workbook------------------------------------------------------ $6.99
• Science experiments ----------------------------------------------------FREE
• Arts & Craft projects--------------------------------------------------- FREE
• Musical Theater, Martial Arts, Jewelry classes & more------------------ FREE
• Foreign Language classes----------------------------------------------- FREE
• Math, Science, Language Arts classes -----------------------------------FREE
• Books, DVD's & Magazines --------------------------------------------FREE
• Soccer----------------------------------------------------------------- $10
• Swim Lessons ----------------------------------------------------------FREE
• Museum Field Trips----------------------------------------------------- FREE

Grand Total: $16.99

Not included in this cost is school supplies, supplies for science experiments and those for art and crafts projects.  But lets be honest- we homeschool.  I don't have a ridiculously long list of required unnecessary school supplies.  It's paper, pencils, erasers, markers, crayons, glue, etc.  My wonderful family routinely gifts William with all of these items for birthdays and holidays.  Want to know what to get my child for Christmas?  School supplies!

So there you have it.  A full year of homeschooling for under $20.  Lots of great activities, curriculum and classes.  If I can do it, so you can you!