I received this as an e-mail the other day and wanted to share with you all...

Some people shy away from homeschooling because they assume it's a costly proposition to educate your own children. But homeschooling does not have to mean mortgaging the farm. _______________shares some of her experienced and amusing insights into how homeschooling is affordable for anybody's budget!

"How much does it cost to home school? All your extra money!"

I remember several years ago when a lady came to my house for some advice. She was the pastor's wife of a small local church and very much wanted to teach her 6th grade daughter at home, but she only had $50 for curriculum.

She was in despair because a well-meaning friend had told her she needed at least $500 to buy a top-of-the-line curriculum complete with teacher's manuals, plus memberships in a private ISP and HSLDA.

Her husband told her to forget the whole idea! I encouraged her to cheer up---if she was willing to be creative, $50 was more than she needed.

Really, all you need to home school an elementary-age child is a stack of paper, some pencils, a library card, and a Bible. You can purchase all this for under $10 if you get the Bible at a thrift shop. I am not
saying this is ideal, but it is possible.

If you had another $12 to spend I would recommend a cheap math workbook, like Spectrum Math, and a box of crayons. Another $10 would buy you a thrift shop dictionary and a Hayes grammar workbook.

Obviously, literature, science, and history would have to be taught using the unit study method with library books and a lot of imagination on your part. But this is not a hardship! I think unit studies are the
best way to homeschool no matter how much money you have.

What about a spelling program? Create your child's own personalized spelling list based on spelling errors he makes in his daily writing.

What about handwriting? Have him copy from the Bible, or from a child's Bible story book, if you have one.

Grammar? Let him write a paragraph every day and correct his mistakes. Also, dictate passages from library books and see how well he can copy what you read to him.

Phonics? If you don't think you can teach your child to read all on your own, get Ruth Beechick's great little booklet, A Home Start in Reading, for about three dollars and do as she suggests.

Music appreciation? Tune in your local classical music station. With any luck they will be carrying "Adventures in Good Listening," hosted by Carl Hasz.

The trouble with a do-it-yourself curriculum like this is a nagging worry that you may have forgotten to teach something BIG, like the War of 1812 or multiplying fractions. For about $8 you might want to get
American Education Publishing's Comprehensive Curriculum that covers an entire grade level in one fat workbook. Normally these books sell for $20 each, which might put them out of the reach of a frugal
homeschooler, but Costco has them for $7.99.

These books include math, reading, spelling, science, and a revisionist version of politically correct history. You can rip out the irritating/offensiv e pages. Putting your child through one of these
workbooks could bring you some peace of mind.

Does your local school district have a resource center where they keep all their textbooks? Oftentimes these places have a discarded book rack.

As you can see, you really CAN homeschool your children on very little money. There is certainly nothing wrong with buying expensive curriculum materials, but you can have a happy season of homeschooling using the most humble of supplies. If God has called you to this, He will provide all that you need to do the job well.
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*Frugal Homeschooling by Colette*

What follows is an open letter concerning how to keep the costs of homeschooling under control. Some of these are practical suggestions, some philosophical. It also deals with the concern and discouragement that may be driven by the concern of tight financial circumstances while
attempting to educate our children.

Dear homeschooling friend,

I hear you loud and clear about the cost of homeschooling. I want to respond to that concern specifically, as well as the other recent post about discouragement.

Jesus wrote with a stick in the dirt, and He was the greatest teacher that ever lived. He used no curriculum or flannel graphs or lesson plans. I think that homeschooling is made far more complicated than it should be, and that a simpler approach is much more effective.

I am just one homeschool mom, and this is only my opinion, but here it goes.

1) Stick to the 3 R's. They form the foundation of life-long learning in every field because they are the tools of study. There will be no need to "teach" any other subject if the children are doing their best in
these 3 because people who are well grounded in reading, writing and math will approach other subjects boldly, independently and confidently.

2) Let the children teach themselves as much as they are able to. This teaches them responsibility, intellectual independence, and builds confidence. It's also better for the parent/child relationship because you can focus on parenting instead of playing schoolteacher.

3) Use the most direct method available. For reading, read. For writing, write, for math, calculate and for Bible, read it. Don't fall for catchy curriculums or methods that are really just something else for you and
your child to learn.

4) Don't worry about your child's age or grade. Just let him do the best he can on each day. Children grow intellectually like they do physically; in spurts. Although we may have an audience of skeptical
relatives, homeschooling is not a circus, and we refuse to train our children to do tricks for people.

5) Minimize distractions in the home. Watch for excessiveness in entertainments, snacking, outings, phone conversations and the like. These things, although positive, can compete with the effectiveness of a homeschool.

6) Seek quality over quantity. A few tapes of great music, a small case of carefully chosen books, a few special play mates, and an occasional outing is better than a large, but poor quality collection.

7) Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul and don't neglect to seek him early...giving him the first fruits of your day and teaching your children to do the same. I know that you are tired and
that there aren't enough hours in your day already, but we serve a God who can make the sun stand still. (I have to credit my dear friend for teaching me this principle and holding me accountable for it.)

I hope this helps a bit. These are the ideas that heve helped me the most in homeschooling. Colette