Buying Curriculum Without Going Broke

At some point, once your signed onto the idea of afterschooling, the big question is going to hit you: How am I going to PAY for all of this?

Homeschool curricula, art supplies, project materials, and educational aids can be expensive.  But you can afterschool without going broke.  Here's how:

1.  Use your library.
 If you haven't been in a while, you'll be amazed at how much your library has to offer.  Most libraries also offer interlibrary loan, where you can borrow materials from other local libraries and pick them up at your own library.  This should be your number one stop for read alouds, independent readers, non-fiction resources, magazines, documentaries, etc.


2.  Decide what you need.  Then decide what you really need.
Once you've realized what your library has to offer, you should be able to narrow your list down.  What else can you do without?  Many curricula publishers offer all sorts of extra materials you don't really need.  For instance, I don't need videos and cds to accompany every book I have.  Could you use free online resources instead of pricey ones?  Join a forum like The Well Trained Mind Forums, and you'll find that many members have already created great materials and are willing to share free of charge.

3.  Buy used.
Amazon.com, Paperback Swap, and library book sales are great places to find cheap materials.  Check if your local homeschool organization organizes a used curriculum sale too.  Last month I found half the Smart About Art book series and all the early readers I could ever need at my town library's sale.  I walked away with a huge bag of books for under $10.  I also collected 20 Illustrated Children's Classics at a yard sale for just $3!

4.  Visit the dollar store.
You can buy cheap craft materials, workbooks, flashcards, and more dirt cheap.  I also use this as a resource for those one-time-use project supplies.  I don't drink coffee or iron, so when I needed coffee filters and spray starch for an art project, I purchased them cheaply at the Dollar Tree.

5.  Rack up points.
Lately I discovered a great site called Swagbucks, where you can earn points to redeem for Amazon and other gift certificates.  In just a week I've earned $20 in Amazon gift cards.  Just by downloading the Swagbucks toolbar you can earn points for doing your normal, everyday searching.  If you have extra time to take surveys, you'll earn even faster!  (My daughter swims for hours every day, which is normally wasted time for me because I have to be by the pool.  Lately I've been taking surveys on my cell phone to better use the time!)

Do you have other great money saving ideas?  Let me know!  We can all use a little help.

What is afterschooling?

I am a huge proponent of afterschooling.  Afterschooling is an idea that grew out of the homeschool movement, but is used by families who send their kids to traditional schools.  Very simply, it means that you don't hand your child's education over to the school and hope for the best.  Instead, you make a conscious effort to continue educating your child outside of school time.  Most of us actually do this to some extent whether we realize it or not.  Do you require your child to read?  Do you do the occasional kitchen science experiment?  Have you played a math game?  Guess what: you're an afterschooler!

There are, of course, all different extents of afterschooling.  Some people do more than others, some people use formal curriculum and others don't.  I personally take it pretty easy.  I read a great post at  Teaching My Baby To Read about afterschooling.   Jennifer calculated out that if you do just 20 minutes of afterschooling a day, but the end of high school your child will have had the equivalent of two full years of additional schooling!  That's massive!  I suddenly realized that my daughter probably spends at least 2 hours in front of the TV and computer each day.  Surely we could fit in 20 minutes of education!  (Okay, I promise no more exclamation marks for at least five sentences.)

Here's our current afterschool curriculum:

Reading
We read to our daughter for about 1/2 an hour every day.  We also require that she read to us for 10-15 minutes.  This is usually done at bedtime.

Art
I feel very strongly that the arts are missing from schools, so I make sure to make up for it at home.  We look at paintings from famous artists and discuss things like line, color, texture, and style.  Then we experiment with the artists techniques.  (I'll be sharing some of the ideas soon)  We probably spend a 1/2 hour on art 2-3 times a week, because both my daughter and I love it so much.



Religion
I'm an Episcopalian and I want my daughter to learn more about our religion than she's going to learn in a 25 minute Sunday School class.  Familiarity with bible characters and stories is also important to understanding literature and cultural references.  We're currently using the Episcopal Children's Curriculum from VTS which is free online here.  I alter it to fit my daughter.  (Much more extensive crafts than the ones suggested)  We spend a 1/2 hour on this one to two times a week.

Math / Science
I'll admit, I'm not a big math and science person.  But we play math games, study nature, and do the occasional science experiment.  Nothing formal or highly organized. 

Summer
Since we have more time in the summer, I'm planning to add some history using The Story of the World and grammar using First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind.  We'll also do some more organized math with the Life of Fred series.



What could you add for 20 minutes a day?  What do you think your  child's school is skimping on?  What is you kid behind in?  What does your child love to learn about?  Don't think afterschooling has to be drudgery.  Most kids love to learn new things, as long as there aren't any workbooks in sight!