Valorie Delp recently wrote about The Cost of Homeschooling, where she detailed where homeschooling costs tend to come from. The people who commented on this blog post seemed to agree with her costs and felt they spent about the same amount. Today I am addressing frugal homeschooling, median cost homeschooling, and high-end homeschooling in a three part series. It is time to talk about frugal homeschooling. My high-end homeschooling post will follow closely.
Frugal homeschooling does not equate to an inferior education. It equates to a creative education. In fact, I would dare say that the frugal homeschooling parent is the most dedicated parent, because it takes a lot of time and energy to squeeze the proverbial blood from a nickel. For the frugal homeschooling parent, a bit of research and a lot of creativity is warranted.
Here are some ideas a frugal homeschooler can use to pinch pennies:
Free online resources: There are thousands of websites that offer free homeschooling and educational resources, to a certain extent at least.
Public Library: The Public Library is free. You can borrow as many books as you need, and renew them several times. You can also use the computers for an hour at a time, maybe longer if you go during the right hours.
Friends and Family: Creative homeschoolers are excellent at tapping into the knowledge and resources of friends and family.
Personal Knowledge: What frugal homeschoolers do not know, they will find out.
Here are some things a frugal homeschooler must still spend money on:
A computer: To access the thousands of free online resources and to stay connected with other homeschoolers, having a computer in the home is necessary. Sure, you can homeschool without one, but will you want to?
“Classroom” supplies: The cost of pens, pencils, paper, art supplies and more cannot be avoided, but you can buy them in bulk online and split the costs with other homeschoolers for significant savings.
Activities: Sports activities tend to require fees even with the YMCA and scholarships. There are also museum, zoo, and theater activities that must be paid for. Depending on where you live, and how many homeschoolers you are connected with, you may be able to still get some of these resources free.