A quality homeschool year depends on a quality curriculum. But most homeschoolers cannot afford to spend thousands of dollars per kid on curriculum each year.
If your budget is particularly tight this year and you can’t afford homeschool curriculum, use these tips to homeschool well on a budget (or even for free!).
>> See more ideas on How to Homeschool Successfully
Visit Used Curriculum Sales
Most homeschool co-ops offer yearly sales on curriculum from members who no longer need it. This can be an excellent way to pick up curriculum for less. Even some of the larger homeschool conventions have a few booths selling used curriculum. You can usually pick up curriculum from these sales for 50 percent off or more of the original cover price. For particularly good deals, look for sellers who are selling curriculum with a few of the pages already filled in.
You can also find similar used curriculum deals online. I like to look at eBay, Amazon, Used Homeschool Books, and Home Educator’s Resource when I’m searching for used curriculum online.
Search Your Local Library
Your library probably has everything you need to homeschool (except possibly for math). With a little bit of searching, you can create a detailed homeschool plan using just library books. If you follow this path, make sure to download a free homeschool planner so that you can keep track of your homeschool year to prevent learning gaps.
Ask Homeschool Friends for Help
Every homeschool family has things they don’t need. Homeschooling is so eclectic that what absolutely does not work for one family will be the perfect thing for another. Most of your homeschooling friends would be happy to share resources with you or sell to you at a discounted price.
Don’t forget to also check your own curriculum stash if you have homeschooled before. You probably have unused curricula you’ve forgotten about.
Use Free Online Homeschool Resources
Thanks to the Internet, finding free homeschooling resources is easier than ever. Sites like Easy Peasy Homeschool offer complete curriculum totally free. I also like to check Pinterest for lesson plans and unit study ideas. You can easily find free homeschool resources for every grade up to high school online.
The Living Life and Learning shop has tons of free printables that will supplement any homeschool curriculum.
See where to buy used homeschool curriculum in this post.
Thanks for posting these ideas. There is so many free resources online I am sure it would be possible to homeschool for free if you really needed to. I have been trying to keep track of the awesome resources I come across that I might use one day but there are just so many of them!
Yes, it can be done for free if you can keep things organized. I like to use Evernote to organize things that I find online by subject and grade.