Questions for parents who home school

@Erilyn (3020)
United States
May 18, 2007 7:55am CST
I have decided to home school my daughter for a number of reasons. For those of you who saw my posts on the letter I got that was only one of a number of reasons. I was already thinking about it, and the way I was treated by the school system solidified the decision. Anyway, (don't want to get started on that rant again) I have been looking around trying to find the cheapest materials that I can to teach her with. My fiance is borrowing some things from people at work such as the Planet Earth series, and different history Channel programs. Where is the cheapest place that you go, to get teaching materials? What have you found to be the best materials to use to teach your children?
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6 responses
@rdas77 (14)
• United States
5 Jul 07
I don't know of any location to get cheap materials. But I use materials from different sources such as: http:www.manatee.k12.fl.us/sites/elementary/palmasola/ where they have reading workshop, math workshop, writing workshop , science workshop etc which have helped me. I have also collected some US state assessment test sample links, some of which are interactive and some in PDF at http://www.freewebs.com/elemtestsample/ or http://assessmenttestsample.co.nr They might serve as free materials to use.
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@Erilyn (3020)
• United States
6 Jul 07
Thank you very much for the information. I am sure I will find some exce;;ent materials there :).
@Modestah (11179)
• United States
15 Jun 07
there are so many resources out there. a lot of times I buy my books off of ebay cheaper (as old) than I can from a publisher. We happen to teach a Catholic Curriculum so I use a lot of the older Catholic school books that are no longer in circulation. you can always go to the publisher of the books you are seeking, though, and see if they offer discounts as well. I went through a program the first few years before I felt confident enough to go it on my own, compiling our own curriculum. I still turn to a few of the programs for ideas. There is certainly a lot available online from unit studies to just about any thing you can think of.
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@Erilyn (3020)
• United States
15 Jun 07
Thank you for the information! I am trying to compile the rest of the books that I need now, and Iwill definatly be checking out ebay!
@GuateMom (1411)
• Canada
13 Jun 07
Schools often have sales where they clear out all their old textbooks. This can be a good place to pick up some books very cheaply. I buy English readers at these sales, just to use as story books for my kids, but they sell other texts as well. Also, you can look online for a used curriculum forum. I´m not sure which is best, but I do know that my mom bought a lot of our books through these sorts of places. They were super cheap, five or ten bucks each and most of the books were practically new. They would have teacher´s guides too. One last resource that is great, Scholastic. http://www.scholastic.com Sign up as a teacher and they will send you a catalog that has very low prices. They offer all kinds of science, math and language books, as well as reference books for teachers for excellent prices.
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@Erilyn (3020)
• United States
13 Jun 07
Thank you very much for the great info! I have picked up quite a few books cheap, just need to get a few more and we will be set for the next year! We have programs and stuff like that for her to use, so I think that everything will help!
• United States
28 May 07
if you type in free teaching materials you will get alot of stuff to come up. also go to arbor day foundation they have things there they will send you. so will pbs.org kids. there are lots of places. as far as everyday books i use alpha omega and skip the bible part. i get the books off of ebay and only pay like 50.00 for the whole year for english, math, science, history. wite-out does wonders lol. i like using this set of books cause they have the teachers guide plus it goes step by step for the kids too. it is easy for them to understand everything and they give all kinds of neat stuff with it.
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@Erilyn (3020)
• United States
29 May 07
Thank you so much for the information. Teachers guides would be very helpful. I will definatly have to look for those books!
@wachit14 (3595)
• United States
18 May 07
Homeschooling takes a lot of planning in advance in order to make sure that you have the required materials for your child's curriculum. Of course, you can rely on the internet to download programs, many of which are absolutely free to you. Don't skimp on science and math, especially if you want your child to go to college. I've included a helpful link which points to inexpensive resources and ideas. There are some great suggestions on how to use your own community to find free resources. Here's the link and good luck to you and your daughter: http://www.homeschoolviews.com/articles/askamom/askamom-may05.html
@Erilyn (3020)
• United States
18 May 07
Thank you for the information. We already have her curriculum planned out and know what we are going to teach her and how we are going to do it. Now it is just a matter of finding the materials to do so. He excels at different subjects and i excel at the others. He is going to be teaching her math, science, and history. I have language arts, English, literature, computers, art, and languages (I took both French and German in high school, and know some Spanish so that one I will be learning with her lol.)We have language programs for the computer already, and my mother bought programs for her to learn subjects at her grade level. I just want to have everything that I can you know?
• United States
22 Aug 07
I know this is an old subject, but your best bet instead of trying to find all the materials needed would be to locate a Virtual School in your area that provides all the curriculum needed along with a teacher or teachers to help out if needed. I homeschool my 2 older boys and we go through a Virtual School that provides everything. My 13 yr old has 6 teachers (6 courses) and he can email them or call them anytime he needs help if I am unable to help him. My 16 yr old is enrolled in another Virtual High School, but he has not started yet. So am not sure how it all works yet for him. Good Luck!