Home schooling resources middleschool?

Question

Where can I find free or cheap home schooling supplies and books for my daughter who is in 6th grade? We don't have much money and have searched on the Internet and many of the web sites I find are dead sites.

Answer 1

Please don't mind those who would be against your decision. You have every right to homeschool--even if the schools in your area were great!

My heart goes out to you and your daughter. What a horrible situation to be in.

What you should probably do first is decide what it is you want her to learn, based on where her skills are at and if you plan on covering the same material as the schools do, if you want to pick something different for, say, science and history... Figure out what you'll have her learn. The basics are really reading (you don't need any specific program for that--get her a notebook to track what she reads or some paper to do critiques or book reports), writing (she can write on everything and anything; you just need to take the time to sit down each time and pick one thing to focus on improving; spelling and grammar can be a part of this) and math (this might be worthy of actually purchasing a full text, but if you know exactly what she is to learn, you can find lots of worksheets online and even ask her to create her own :) ).

Once armed with that, then you can go find the resources that will match up. The library may have things. Ebay may have things. There are lots of sites that have novel study questions and the like. If you have a homeschool group in your area, there may be a way to buy some second-hand things that way--curriculum sales should be coming up soon. If you have a Goodwill in your area, that can be another great source for cheap texts and workbooks. I've found some amazing, practically unused texts and completely unused workbooks that are normally lots of $$ and I've only had to pay about $3-$5 per item.

Online, if you don't mind old texts, you can check out http://oldfashionededucation.com/ .

Answer 2

Don't feel like you have to justify your decision to home school your daughter.  Homeschooling is GREAT for children.  Especially those who are being abused by the system through bullying, labeling, etc.

Start thinking about your goals for your daughter and what you want to teach her.  Then look for easy ways to teach those subjects.  Here are some suggestions for real life learning:

http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/...

As far as reducing the cost of the actual materials you will use, take advantage of your library.  Here are some other tips for affordable homeschooling that include a couple of links to used book sites:

http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/...

Rainbow Resource has some great discount prices.

http://www.rainbowresource.com

I have heard that time 4 learning is a relatively inexpensive online curriculum.

http://www.time4learning.com

Good luck and enjoy your journey!

Answer 3

Well, the best thing you can do for your daughter is to find a place that has not only great textbooks and supplies, but also people who can help her by using their professional training in education and subject matters.

In other words, send her to a real school.  Public or Private or Charter.  If you cannot afford the books and supplies, you are hurting your daughter's educational chances... and I would also imagine you cannot also afford the proper training in both the subject matters and educational techniques to help your daughter succeed.

Answer 4

Register with ebay.com.

You can anything there.

Answer 5

I applaud your decision.

You will find lots of support locally and through various online groups - but you are right that it can be frustrating searching and finding old / unmaintained sites.

Take a look at the sites at the link below in a resource directory that I keep up... especially theHomeSchoolMom, St Aidens (run by a single homeschooling mom from S. Africa), What2Learn and HyperHistory... Lots of free stuff on these sites.

Answer 6

I would check with your local public library.  Some carry text books; and many have parent resources on homeschooling.  You can also get access to databases and other texts that you might find useful.

Answer 7

I would contact a local homeschool group. They usually have old material they could give you.

The library has some good books on many subjects.

For my son, I created a lot of my own as well as purchased materials.

Many States have online public school courses for free.

Coolmath.com is a free math website that teaches math in a fun way.

There are other free learning websites as well.

If you submit a new question with her grade asking what she needs to know by when, then we can give you more info on where to find what.

Hope this helps.