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At the beginning of my homeschooling journey, I didn’t know what I needed or how much it would cost. Fortunately, I stumbled upon some fantastic resources for homeschooling on a budget.
In 2020 my husband and I knew we weren’t going to send our child to public school for kindergarten. The problem was that private school was expensive and I had no idea how to homeschool.
We applied for entrance into our state’s charter school system to get funding for curriculum and extracurricular activities. But at that time, new applicants were turned away.
(Angry as I was about that, it turned out to be the biggest blessing for our family.)
Desperate for help on how to homeschool, I found many veteran homeschooling moms online who have created valuable resources for homeschoolers.
Even now as we enter our 4th(!) year of homeschooling, these are still my go-to resources for homeschooling.
Because we’re a homeschooling family, we’re also a single-income family since I stay home full time to homeschool. We’re homeschooling on a budget but that doesn’t mean we’re sacrificing a good education. (My child is getting the education I wish I’d had!)
These are the top 4 resources I use for homeschooling on a budget.
01. Homeschooling with Joy Workshop & Make Joy Normal Podcast
Whenever someone asks me about how to start homeschooling, Bonnie Landry’s “Homeschooling with Joy” Workshop is my go-to resource. From Bonnie, you’ll learn how to homeschool without having to purchase expensive curricula (at the beginning, at least) and educate in a way that nurtures relationships.
As a public school graduate, I had no idea how to homeschool or what it should look like. Bonnie’s methods & philosophy are exactly what I needed: simple methods and a focus on family relationships.
Bonnie graciously made her homeschooling workshop available for free on YouTube. In her podcast, Make Joy Normal, Bonnie answers listener questions about homeschooling and family life, digging deeper into the topics in the workshop.
With her 30+ years of homeschooling, she’s a wealth of knowledge!
I was honored to be a guest on her podcast twice, most recently to discuss raising an only child. Catch up on that episode here >>>
02. Ambleside Online & Mater Amabilis
Ambleside Online and Mater Amabilis are free Charlotte Mason-based curricula. Mater Amabilis is the Catholic version of Ambleside Online.
Both provide free schedules with curriculum recommendations for each subject. Many resources on their lists are free but not all.
What’s great about these Ambleside and Mater Amabilis are the schedules to guide you with what to do and what to teach each year. I don’t follow the schedules or curriculum exactly as written. But I use them as a guide when I’m stuck on what to teach, when to teach it, or where to find resources for particular subjects.
There are many people who follow the schedules exactly, and it works for them. That’s the beauty of homeschooling: you can take what works for your family and leave the rest.
03. Public Library
Homeschooling requires a lot of books. While it’s important to build a home library, it starts to get expensive. But instead of buying every single book, check books out from the library.
Ever since we began homeschooling, I’ve used the library to find subject-specific books. If I didn’t know how to teach a certain concept, such as grammar or math, I’d check the library for picture books. (I feel a bit like Hermione Granger.)
In my county, I’m able to check out any book in the county system. It gets sent to my local branch where I pick it up. This gives us so many options when it comes to books!
Both Ambleside Online and Mater Amabilis include booklists for different subjects. I’ve been able to find many of the books in the county library system. This saves us a lot of money. Anytime we find a book we’d like to own, I look for a secondhand copy first.
04. Homeschooling Podcasts
Right now is a wonderful time to start homeschooling because there are so many resources out there. One of my favorite resources is homeschooling podcasts.
In addition to Make Joy Normal, I’ve found many other podcasts to get ideas for our homeschool, learn about education in general, and supplement our curriculum!
Here are some of my favorites for parents:
Your Morning Basket, hosted by Pam Barnhill. Dig into past episodes of this podcast to find inspiration for every subject. While the topic of the podcast is Morning Time, I’ve used many ideas for other parts of our homeschool day.
Read Aloud Revival, hosted by Sarah McKenzie. This podcast features interviews with our favorite authors, curated booklists, and answers to questions about reading and homeschooling in general. (Sarah’s book, The Read-Aloud Family is a great read for homeschooling moms …I got it free with Prime Reading!)
Make Joy Normal, hosted by Bonnie Landry. As mentioned earlier, Bonnie is a wealth of knowledge about homeschooling and family life.
Homeschooling on a budget
You don’t have to invest in a lot of expensive curriculum when you start out homeschooling. In the beginning, it’s an experiment to figure out what works for your family. Sometimes formal curriculum is a life-saver. Other times, it’s a burden.
Whenever I meet new homeschoolers, these are the resources I recommend starting with:
- Homeschooling with Joy and Make Joy Normal,
- Ambleside Online and Mater Amabilis,
- The public library, and
- Homeschooling podcasts.
And here’s one more free resource for you: I created a Homeschool Record Keeper for my homeschool that I want to share with anyone who finds it useful. You can download a copy here >>>
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