It’s no secret that homeschooling can be pricey. Books are expensive and the options are endless. It can be easy to feel like you need to buy all the things in order to do a good job. Well, friends, I’m here to let you know that that is not the case. Just because homeschooling can be expensive doesn’t mean it has to be! There are so many great, free resources out there so I’m going to share with you some of my personal favorites.
Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool
You know how they say “save the best for last”? Well, I’m not doing that. I’m going to give you the best first and when it comes to free homeschooling resources, in my opinion, that’s Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool. It is a 100% free, online program that includes just about every subject you can think of! You start by making profiles for each of your kids and then you pick out their subjects for the year. This program is completely open (or rather, click) and go! It requires very little planning or prep work for the parents.
https://allinonehomeschool.com
Libraries & The Libby App
At this point in our homeschooling journey I’m convinced that, apart from maybe math, we could learn anything and everything we want/need by just going to our local library. The options for building unit studies are endless when you have so many awesome, free books at your disposal. Science, history, art, literature- whatever you’re looking for I’d be willing to bet your local library has it. Maybe the libraries near you haven’t reopened yet or maybe for some other reason it’s not feasible for you to physically go to a library every week. Well, now there is a way to get free library Ebooks through The Libby App! You need a library card before you get started but once you have one you can make an account and begin borrowing books right on your phone or tablet.
https://www.overdrive.com/apps/libby/
Khan Academy
Remember when I said that you could use library books for all your school subjects except maybe math? Well, I’m going to fill in that gap for you. Khan Academy offers fantastic free math courses for every grade as well as free science, social studies, language arts, life skills, computing, and SAT prep courses!
The Good and the Beautiful
The Good and the Beautiful has become somewhat of a staple in the homeschool community. You may have heard of them due to how popular their curriculum is but did you know that they have free PDFs on their website for Language Arts and Marine Biology? They graciously give away their full Language Arts program for grades 1-5 and their Marine Biology Unit Study for grades K-8 free of charge!
https://www.goodandbeautiful.com
Free Online Printables
I have a few websites that I consistently go to when I’m in search of worksheets that line up with the topic we are currently learning about and I will link those sites below, however, when all else fails I do whatever every Millennial mom does- I go to Pinterest. Pinterest has endless free printables, as well as craft and experiment ideas.
https://www.123homeschool4me.com/home-school-free-printables/
https://www.homeschool.com/printables/
Field Trips
Despite what some people may think, homeschoolers love to get out and about! The only problem is getting out and about can quickly become expensive. It’s very popular in the homeschool community to have a weekly field trip day like “Field Trip Fridays” but a lot of the popular field trip destinations, like Zoos for example, typically cost 10-20 dollars per person and not everyone can afford that- especially not every week. However, that doesn’t mean you have to forgo outings altogether! With some searching and planning, you can still go on some awesome field trips for next to nothing. Think about what your kids have been learning about in their studies. Birds? Weather? Plants? Animals? All of these can be observed for free at a park or on a nature trail. Look up what local and state parks are near you and if they offer any free programs. Go on All Trails and see what trails are near you and what other trail visitors had to say about what wildlife was in the area to up your chances of seeing things that interest your kids.
Free museums are another great option for field trips. Though they can be hard to find depending on where you live, they do exist. I wish there was a resource that condensed all free museums into one list but I haven’t found one so I recommend just googling “Free museums in (name of your state)”. Lastly, many places offer discounted or free tickets to homeschoolers or even have special “homeschool days”. Again, I wish I had a way to help everyone in every state find something but this is something you’ll have to google as well. If you type in “(name of your state) homeschool days” you should be able to find something. I’ll link some upcoming ones in Virginia below.
https://heav.org/events/homeschool-day-events/
I hope this was helpful and I hope your school year is off to a fabulous start! If you have any questions feel free to message me over on Instagram @justanotherhomeschoolmom!
