How Would You Homeschool If Funds Were Not Available - Blog Cruise

The TOS Crew is running another Blog Cruise with a very interesting theme. What would you do to homeschool if you couldn't buy any curriculum? This is a very interesting concept to ponder. I think not being able to buy curriculum would actually make homeschooling easier. Here is my thought process behind that statement.

How many times have you gone to a convention or seminar, read a review or homeschooling article and rushed out to buy a product? How many of you out there would consider yourselves curriculum junkies? I would be the first in line to answer yes to both of these questions. I think sometimes the wanting of new and improved products gets in the way of our actual mission of teaching. When did reading a good book and discussing it go out of fashion? Our founding fathers learned that way, why can't we. Don't get me wrong a lot of the products I have purchased over the years have been a good fit for our family and we loved them dearly, but were they essential to our  mission. My answer would probably have to be, no.

I have a personal library of hundreds of books we could read. Often I have thought how wonderful it would be to start with the very first book - read it - then move on to the next until we were finished with everything I have. Not worrying about "Did we do math today", "Do we have time for some history", etc. Just leisurely winding our way through books. So if we did not have money to purchase curriculum my biggy would be to just read. Go through our entire library and read. Next would be visiting the local library and do the same. Pick a section and go through all the great material they have to offer. This multitude of reading would of course include our Bible and studying the scripture.

This is just one of our shelving units of books. We have three more.

There are a few websites I have talked about in the past that would be wonderful to use and are absolutely free.

Free Rice is free and allows you to study vocabulary, science, languages, etc.

History Videos have a plethora of choices.

CNN Student News for current events and following all the rabbit trails that a family could get from each and every episode.

Khan Academy is free math and science.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. So much can be found through Netflix, youtube, and wondering around on the Internet. If I could go back and do it all again and if I knew then what I know now - that would be exactly how I would homeschool. Matter of fact I made a pact with myself that I would buy very little new stuff over the next several years. I have been blessed beyond imagination with materials from the TOS Review Crew. We have most everything we need for the next two years of school. New homeschooling parents you can homeschool with very little to no money.

After writing this and thinking about it for a day I realized that Netflix and Internet do cost money. So if there is absolutely no money available those things would fall to the wayside. A good book and discussion would win out every time.

Visit The Crew's Blog and check out what other members of the crew would do in the situation of no funds to purchase curriculum.