Freshly Chewed Crayons: September 2014

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As an educator and former classroom teacher, I've been vigorously researching homeschool curriculum for our children since we decided to homeschool. I was sad to learn a homeschool curriculum, that I really think is

fabulous- from a picky educator's standpoint- is targeted to homeschool families making at least an income of $60,000. That is not us. So what does that mean for us?

According to an article about our U.S. economic tiers, "The lower-middle class, which is primarily comprised of lower-level, white-collar workers...typically have college educations, but lack the graduate degrees needed to advance to higher levels of employment. Income for these workers generally falls between $32,500 and $60,000."

Now, we know that more and more families are desiring to homeschool their children for various reasons. (There are four homeschool families- including us-on our little street alone.) Everyone's family is different and has a different financial situation.
The majority of families I know who homeschool do fit inside this bracket, but not above- and not even on the higher end of the bracket. Their situation is similar to mine in that one parent is working a career while the other is working part time from home or either not working at all in order to put the training of their children first. Does that mean we are to slight our children's education?

So, is homeschooling affordable for the rest of us who fall inside this bracket or below it? Let's take a look. Freshly Chewed has worked diligently to provide links and lists of first rate educational resources that can help you make homeschool affordable. (And yes, I've even dragged my high school teacher hubby in on this one to share his resources.)

A Starting Point

I have a master's degree in reading curriculum & instruction and taught for several years as an elementary school teacher. Still, piecing together homeschool materials is not easy. One way to see what your children need to know is to look at state standards (though these are not necessarily what you would want to use to teach from, they are guidelines to let you know the types of concepts your little ones will be cognitively ready for at each stage).

If you cannot afford a curriculum- like us- you need to start at the standards to make sure your kids are not getting gaps in learning which can be detrimental. (I always feel nervous for parents when I hear them say they bought a curriculum and then switched to another! From an educator's view, this is playing with fire! It's more and more difficult to see the gaps when you switch around.) Using standards as a guide can help you when you do have to switch around or when you cannot buy a curriculum. Just google your state and the word "standards".

First Thing First

Before you look any further. Go to symbaloo.com and set up a FREE webmix for your educational resources. Just click on an icon square to add a resource as you go. Paste the link in the the top window that will pop-up and then click in the next window for the name to automatically show up. It's simple and you can store all of your FREE or affordable educational resources in one webmix (Or make one for each child).

Homeschool Made Affordable

So for those of us who are piecing, let's look at this list and see if we're utilizing these free resources! (PS- Some of these I used in a classroom as a teacher and that's why I know about them. I cannot wait to share these meaty resources with you.)

For Prek-Primaries

Starfall Website (learning phonics, letter identification, blends (onsets and rhymes), phonemic awareness, and manuscript)
*Most of starfall is free and the manuscript books are only $1! Starfall Teacher's Lounge (free downloadable printables) If you want to get added resources, it is only $35 for a home membership.

Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR) offers GREAT free printable Reading Components Student Center Activities. I printed these on cardstock and used them in third grade (even the phonemic awareness first grade activities for lower readers). These are first rate fabulous and extremely effective.
-K and 1st Grades
-2nd and 3rd

Oxford Owl- Exceptional FREE online help for kids 3-11 in math and reading skills

ABC Mouse.com- My three year old is using this and likes it. I like it because it has a scope and sequence. I can print off hands on learning materials for each lesson. It's leveled according to her needs and she can move from her own pace. It's highly intriguing for a gifted learner because of that feature. It's full preschool curriculum up through kinder and for only $59 a year (around $7 a month if you pay monthly). *I would not use this ONLY for a child as they need the majority of their time away from the computer. An hour a couple times a week is ALL a young child should ever have on a computer.

Scholastic.com/teachers - Resources galore on any subject and grade level (used this in my classroom) I love Scholastic for all kinds of topics. We are using the MyBigWorld Magazine with Clifford for preschool right now and has Science and SS topics, printables and access to online videos and resources. This is too cute and excellent for preschool. They do have magazines for older kids too. They are only $4 for an annual subscription. Hello!

CK-12 -Free online Textbooks, videos, practice and more in all subjects. This is an amazing site and I love that these things are free- They SHOULD be, don't you think so?

Mr. Nussbaum has resources for prek-6th grade in a variety of subject areas. This is a really neat website and will grab your child's attention.

Berenstain Bears Phonics Fun Books - $6.99 through Barnes and Noble (other brands similar to this are available)

Xtramath- free program online that helps kids master their math facts

Reading Rockets - This website, you cannot live without. It is pertinent to carefully watch and listen to your child as he/she learns to read. For reading help, coaching and guidance visit Reading Rockets. Identifying struggling readers early is so essential to their success. Oh, my goodness, I cannot urge you enough to carefully watch your child from the first signs of reading through third grade. Third grade is usually when reading difficulty is caught (though it should have been sooner). There are more children with learning disabilities in reading than there should be because they are not caught early. This site helps you teach your child reading with the knowledge and understanding you need.

K12 Reader- Reading help for you, the teacher and more.

TeacherspayTeachers.org- Educators by the thousands world wide create and sell resources in their expertise level. You can find scads of resources here for free or for less than $5 each! I have a storefront through them as well for Prek-3rd resources.

For Upper Elementary-High

Symbaloo Webmix for Education (links in icon form to educational resources- The links an example of a webmix. You can search within symabloo.com for educational mixes that fit your needs.

Discovery Education- Used this in the classroom as it does have resources for 3-5 as well. This is the link for high school.

ReadWriteThink.org- LOVE this website and used it frequently in the classroom

Getting Smart- Tons of resources on this site

Mr. Donn.org- Mr. Donn's social studies site with free lesson plans and tons of resources (used this for some resources on Greece and democratic roots when I taught 3rd grade)

Kahn Academy offers resources in video format with online practice after which the site determines if more practice is needed. A coaching page monitors your child's progress. This page goes through calculus and beyond! Not only is math offered there, but other subjects as well.

CK-12 -Free online Textbooks, videos, practice and more in all subjects

*Find a Homeschool Classifieds site for your area too. Moms often sell brand new and gently used items.

Homeschool Donation Card

One way to help offset any unavoidable expenses is to mail out or give out a postcard to friends and family asking for donations. Caution! Only send this to people you know support your family and understand how important this is for you. I have altered our family's card for your use- as you can see below.

You can find this template for you to use FREE on our blog dropbox. Just click on the picture. You'll need to print the downloaded pdf file which will print 2 cards per page; you'll also want to print on a heavy weight card stock paper.

Or if you'd rather make your very on personalized postcard:
An easy and FREE way to make a nice design for this is to use canva.com where there are free design elements and stock images. Then print on cardstock, address and mail! If you want to spend a couple bucks on some cute clipart, please check out mygrafico.com or my very favorite graphic artist on TeachersPayTeachers, Krista Wallden, often has freebies for download!

Homeschool Curriculum Reviews

If you're still looking for a comprehensive list of available homeschool curricula, you can find it here where you can read reviews from families who've used the curriculum being spoken about. Very helpful, but prepare to be sucked in for hours and you will need a tissue for your bleeding eyeballs! :)

Overall, I hope that we've been able to give professional guidance in some ways to make your homeschool journey affordable. It would be a sad day to give up on what your family deems is right for you and your children because you cannot afford a solid education through a curriculum. We're thanking God for the plethora of free or low cost educational resources out there. Yes, there are more which are not included on this list, but I hope this gives you a great start!