Designing your own free curriculum - resources

We pulled our children from their school after spring break when the boys were in second grade and kindergarten.  We wanted the nine remaining weeks of the school year to "try it out" in case homeschooling wasn't for us.  We had no curriculum, no experience, and no idea how things would turn out.

We did, however, have internet access.

And library cards.

And lots of people who found out we were homeschooling.


This became our trifecta of curriculum through which our early experiences of homeschool flowed.  If you are interested in designing any or all of your own homeschool studies, these can be your greatest aids.



The Internet


I can't imagine how much effort homeschooling was before the internet.  I could type in 'kindergarten science' or 'second grade math' and seven billion sites would pop up with unit study materials, other moms blogging about their great ideas, free printable worksheets or coloring pages, and lists of scope and sequence (which I would then google because I had no idea what scope and sequence even meant - it's okay if you don't know what that means either).

I ordered gently used copies of the "Core Knowledge" series of books and based most of what we did for an entire year off of those books; they were an essential resource for guiding our learning by grade level. Their website states:

"In one convenient volume per grade — from What Your Preschooler Needs to Know through What Your Sixth Grader Needs to Know — the eight-volume Core Knowledge Series provides parents, teachers, and children with an engaging, illustrated introduction to the important knowledge outlined in the Core Knowledge Sequence. Each book suggests related readings and resources. The kindergarten and first grade books also include sections on how children learn to read."

I also searched several variations of "homeschool for free" or "homeschool resources" and listed the books and read the blogs and fell into internet rabbit holes full of magical ideas and tips.  I wrote lists of books that looked helpful.

I knew what my children had been doing in school up to this point, so we tried to pick up from there.  We finished the math workbooks the school sent home with them.  My kindergartener had only the letter "Q" left in his phonics studies, so I printed off worksheets and coloring pages.

I asked my children what they wanted to learn about.  I wrote down those topics under the list of books I had made for myself and off we went to the next critical stop on our journey:

The Library


Our library contained a small but rich homeschooling section.  Among the books I read were "Homeschooling on a Shoestring"  by Melissa Morgan and Judith Allee, "The Ultimate Book Of Homeschooling Ideas" and "Homeschoolers Success Stories" both by Linda Dobson, "How to Write a No-Cost/Low Cost Curriculum for Your Homeschool Child" by Borg Hendrickson, and racks of homeschool magazines - full to the brim with lessons, activities and tips.

We spent a great deal of time in the non-fiction sections of our library.  We found books covering the topics the children were most interested in, as well as resources recommended by the Core Knowledge books and suggested by internet sources.    We discovered DK Eyewitness books; three years later they are still our favorites.  We chose fictional books to read out loud together, including the first Harry Potter book and several Newbery Medal winners.

We branched out into the Audio-Visual section of the library.  We checked out classical music CDs, books on tape or playaways, and instructional DVDs.  Our favorites were the "Signing Time" series, "Families of the World" series, and (surprise!) DK Eyewitness.

Then, I discovered an entire "Teacher's Resource" section.  Just a few steps away from the homeschooling area!  There were reams of pages for copying to create classroom-type crafts (we did a Halloween skeleton from one of these books the next October) as well as themed books for different subjects, different times of year, month-by-month, and even fully written curriculum for certain subjects.  It was a goldmine for free curriculum planning.  As far as directly impacting the work my children did each day, though, the teachers resource area remained a distant second to...

People Who Heard We Were Homeschooling


We tried to quietly fade into the nine weeks away from school, to privately decide whether or not we were going to continue with this crazy idea.  It didn't work out that way.  First of all, people want to know where on Earth  you have gone.  Secondly, people care about you and your kid(s) and want to show it. Third, everyone has tons of stuff sitting around their house taking up space and are all in a constant state of decluttering.

Paper bags started appearing on my doorstep pretty quickly.  A cousin's unfinished math book from the previous school year, a barely used stamping set, puzzles, educational games, an expensive math manipulative set, and flashcards became part of our curriculum.  My sweet mother unearthed a box of worksheets with wipe-off plastic covers and black, oily pencils that we used during the preschool years at my own childhood home.  We were given old textbooks, garage sale books, early reader books, coloring and activity books, matching sets, art kits, craft boxes, jewelry making packs, clay, sorting kits, beads, prizes, and more stickers than you can imagine.

And we used them.  We used them all.

I started meeting and talking to other homeschooling families.  I was also fortunate to already be friends with three homeschooling families and related to a fourth.  They showered me with curriculum samples, borrowed books, group introductions, and reassurances.  They let me use their curriculum books, look over their children's work, ask questions about what they used and other families used. The best things that came from these friendships included the book "Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum: A Guide to Catholic Home Education" by Laura M. Berquist and invitations to used curriculum sales, where I continue to gather information and materials - even as we enter our fourth year at home.





Was designing curriculum for my children easy?  Actually, yes.  It was pretty simple.  I'm not going to say it wasn't a lot of work or a great deal of time, but the information and resources are abundantly available.  What required the most work was the sorting, organizing, storing, copying and printing of the materials.  The researching and teaching parts were fun!  Do we still school in this way?  No, we purchase a planned curriculum now.  But if I weren't also contributing to running our family farm or we were in a tighter financial situation I would want to go back to this method of curriculum design.  I still exert a similar technique and level of control over some portions of our children's education.  And it was a great way for me to learn what sort of style and rhythm where best going to fit my family.

There is something else I took from my experience of homeschooling without a curriculum:  I loan my curriculum out.  I give away the manipulative sets, puzzles, craft kits and unfinished workbooks we don't need anymore.  I try not to bombard them, but I give entire boxes of borrow or keep items to new homeschooling families when they tell me they are going to give it a try.   I loan out science, language arts or reading packages and sets to anyone who is interested in what we have used.


And then I tell them all to get out their library card and start making friends with the most knowledgable librarian working in that wonderful place.

A Dollar Saved... Great Discounts Offered To Homeschoolers!

So, being fairly new to the world of homeschooling, I am learning all kinds of things as I go along, talk with other homeschoolers, and research… Recently, I stumbled upon some amazing information that I am SO excited to share ~ because maybe some of you out there, like me, are not aware of this: Did you know that many retailers, vendors, etc… offer homeschoolers the same discounts they offer to school teachers??!! Some even offer special programs strictly for homeschooled children as an incentive to work hard.

I had NO idea!!

I was so excited to learn this bit of information! I mean, as I’m sure we all know, buying books, curriculums, supplies, etc… can really add up over time, and while there are many resources that are free or, at least, inexpensive, such as libraries, sometimes, there are certain things, resources, etc… that you just need to own. That’s where many of these discounts come in. Don’t worry; I’m going to get to the list of discounts soon. First, I want to touch on the requirements of receiving such discounts.

Most of the vendors and retailers require that you first register as a homeschooler/educator in order to begin receiving the discounts and perks they choose to offer. While some do not require any proof that you are a homeschooler, most that I have seen do. In some states, you are required to register with the state as a homeschooling family, and are given “credentials” or a “license” so to speak in order to be able to legally home school. In those states, usually those certificates will serve as your proof. However, if you live in a state like I do which allows significant freedoms to homeschoolers, not requiring any formal testing, checking in, registering, etc… (they only require that school goes on at least a minimum number of days per year), you won’t have access to such “certificates” - or proof – of your homeschooling status.

If this is the case for you, then I have good news ~ you can still get proof! If you haven’t already, research homeschooling groups in your area. Many of them, especially if they have been established for a significant amount of time, will issue a type of “membership card” (usually upon request), which will serve as official verification of your homeschooling status, and as proof for the vendors and retailers. Once you have registered and provided your proof, you should be able to receive the “educator discounts” available! I have seen these save anywhere on average between 10% and 40%, though there are some places, such as amusement parks, that offer programs where you can get a free pass, or your students/children can earn their own free passes by participating in educational programs – often associated with reading an assigned number of books and such… It’s wonderful!

SO, I’ll stop rambling (for now) and get on with the part you’ve been waiting for: The retailers and vendors offering these amazing discounts and perks!!

In order to give credit where credit is due, I am going to link to the blogs where I actually found these wonderful resources of information. I will, in fact, create a post on here listing all of the discounts individually, and I promise that any more that I find, I will let you know ~ because, again, this is AWESOME!! But, in the meantime, I just cannot take credit for finding all of these fabulous discounts and such myself… Without further delay, the first site I stumbled upon which enlightened me to this fabulous world of discounts is The Frugal Girls blog. Secondly, while some of the discounts listed on the next site are duplicated from the first, there are a few different ones that are pretty significant! You can find these at The Homeschool Mom's site.

I know there are countless more resources out there both offering and listing discounts that could be beneficial, but these are some to get you started for now. I'll keep researching, and look forward to sharing my findings with you guys!! Happy Discount Shopping!! :o)