Free and inexpensive homeschool resources

I homeschooled my three children for many years and I learned very quickly that the job of homeschool teacher requires planning. Resources were tight for my family as I chose to focus solely on educating our children leaving my steady income behind. This BLOG post is dedicated to sharing some of the resources and tools that I used AND tips to make your homeschooling journey successful.

I have my BS in elementary education. So when my children were early elementary ages, I developed a lot of curriculum. I did not want to sit at the kitchen table and do worksheets, so all of the curriculum I created is hands-on and fun!  I have it available  for you to browse on this website (curriculum tab) and on my Teachers Pay Teachers Store. (Linked in the photos)

There are many resources available on Teachers Pay Teachers for free or low cost and the BEST thing about them is almost all of them are available instantly just by downloading them and printing. I am embarrassed to say that on occasion I did not plan for the next day's learning as well as I could have. Some days, our main learning event (like a co-op or class) was cancelled. Teachers Pay Teachers really helped me to have a successful day of learning anyway! There are so many resources available. Just type your grade level and subject in the search area and a plethora of resources will magically appear!

Free Online Learning

I loved using ABCya for quick little learning sessions in between lessons or while I was teaching a lesson to one of my other children.  It is organized by grade level and subject area. I could easily plan which games I wanted my children to play. I also felt confident that if my children chose games on their own it was a safe place. All of the content is kid-friendly and educational.

Khan Academy to the rescue! While Khan offers a lot of content for multi-grade levels, I found myself really tapping into this resource as my children grew older. Their math and science tutorials and resources are outstanding. The best part is that it is completely FREE! They even offer courses on arts and programming!
I really loved using Khan Academy as a supplement to my lessons as a tool to homeschool three children at three different grade levels. I could simply teach a lesson and then offer a link to the same concept on Khan to offer additional learning.

Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool is a FREE resource with an option to buy the printable curriculum instead of downloading and printing it. The resources are organized by subject and grade level and are designed to be easy to understand. I especially love the ease in having a FREE resource that is simplistic and so easy to use. Just print and go! There is even a section of the website that focuses on bible studies if this is an important part of your homeschool day!

Tips for Homeschooling Many Grade Levels at One Time

When I decided to homeschool, my children were nine, five, and three years old. That's a pretty vast difference in grade levels, especially when you consider my oldest was reading and writing at a sixth grade level, my middle child was just learning to read, and I had a preschooler who was ready to explore the world! Here are some of the tips I learned while homeschooling mulit-ages/grades.
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Homeschool is NOT public school. Don't give into the pressure of the naysayers that tell you you need to be schooling for 8 hours a day sitting at your table.  

Integrate learning into your daily chores and habits. Baking a cake can be a lesson in fractions. Exploring nature can be a science lesson. Going to the library is language arts. I was a public school teacher for many years. The actual learning time in one day is much less than eight hours. Additionally, children in regular school do not have a private teacher that hones in on their individual learning styles and educational levels. YOU are giving your children a customized learning experience that is designed specifically to their needs! It SHOULD not look like a regular classroom.​

Create lessons that introduce a concept that can be differentiated for many grade levels.

Science and Social Studies can naturally be taught as one lesson then broken down with activities that target your children's specific grade level. I loved the Story of the World series of books and workbooks for my family because it teaches history from a non-biased perspective in an easy to read text narrative. The companion workbooks are excellent to find just the right activity for each of your children.

There are many FREE public sites that offer educational materials for Science Learning too. PBS and NASA  have great videos and lesson ideas! Below is a list of some of my families favorite television shows that helped us with our science lessons.

• Peep and the Big Wide World
• Sid the Science Kid
• Sci-Girls
• The Ruff Ruffman Show
• Wild Kratts
• Dinosaur Train
• Design Squad
• Cyberchase

I hope these ideas have helped you on your homeschool journey.  Remember to browse and download the curriculum I developed for my children so that our homeschool day was a fun, memorable, learning experience. Comment below with your questions about homeschooling!

Visit my Teachers Pay Teachers Store!