It’s no secret that homeschooling is on the rise and especially among families of color and special needs families. Currently, over 4 million students are being homeschooled in this country and there are several reasons for this increase. Homeschooling allows parents to tailor their children’s education to suit their learning styles, interests, and other academic needs. Homeschooling also lets parents of color create a culturally competent curriculum that teaches their children to be proud of their heritage.
Here is what a homeschooling father from Florida had to say about why he homeschools his children:
“My wife and I believe that the curriculum taught in public schools is outdated and fails to address the skills and knowledge necessary for success in the modern world. By homeschooling, we can tailor our children’s education to include subjects that we consider essential, such as artificial intelligence, travel, art, and other areas that are often overlooked in public schools. Additionally, we feel that requiring children to wake up at 6 a.m. to attend school is inhumane and can negatively impact their growth and health. By homeschooling, we can ensure that our children get the rest they need to thrive.”
While many parents homeschool their children for religious reasons, it’s not always the case. Some parents homeschool their children and they don’t adhere to a certain religion. They may homeschool their children because they’re concerned for their children’s safety if the children were bullied while in school. Other parents do so because their jobs require a lot of travel and it would be easier to homeschool their children.
It is a misconception that it is expensive to homeschool your children. While some curriculum sets can be pricey, these are not necessary. In fact, you can homeschool on a budget. Here are some free homeschooling resources to help you teach your children well.
The library is one of the most affordable places to get books and videos to use for homeschooling. If you’re teaching the Reconstruction Era and how it affected African-Americans, look for books that pertain to specific topics about this era. These include sharecropping, the horrors of lynching, and the origins of Jim Crow-era laws. You can also include books about blacks who were successful during the Reconstruction era.
Check Out Pinterest
Pinterest always has amazing free homeschooling materials for kids of all ages. There are also entire lesson plans you can print out and use as a curriculum for the entire school year. Think about what you want to cover for each subject and write them down in categories. Then visit Pinterest to get lesson plans that coincide with what you want to teach.
Teachers Pay Teachers
I recently discovered this website and I use it to supplement what my daughter learns in school. Teachers Pay Teachers is a website where teachers sell lesson plans, worksheets, ebooks, and planners to anyone who needs low-cost materials to teach their students. I found free materials to use for my daughter and I’ve been impressed so far. Many of the lesson plans and worksheets are colorful and the directions are simple for most kids to understand.
Use Free Trials
Many online educational services and apps offer free trials for up to a month. These services offer online courses, ebook downloads, and curriculum downloads that you can use for a period of time. This saves you money and you get to try new materials that may work for your child.
Youtube Is Also Helpful
Some kids are visual learners and grasp concepts better when they watch videos that break difficult topics down in ways they’ll understand. Look for Youtube videos on the topics you’re teaching and let your child watch them for 30 minutes. You and your child can write key notes from the videos and discuss them.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy is also one of the best free homeschooling resources to use. This website has lessons on every topic for all grade levels and this is a good supplement to your main curriculum. I went on this site today and found a lot of 4th grade-level math videos that my daughter can learn from. I highly recommend it.
Have Your Teens Listen to Podcasts
There are educational podcasts that cover subjects such as science, social studies, financial literacy, health and wellness, and civics. Your teens can listen to these podcasts during the week to get deeper insight into various subtopics within the main academic subjects. For example, if you’re teaching the history of the feminist movement in America, look for podcasts that discuss the First Wave, Second Wave, and Third Wave of feminism.
Visit Homeschooling Blogs
This is one of the best free homeschooling resources you can find. Homeschooling blogs offer a ton of advice on homeschooling and you’ll find printables for all grade levels.
Check Out Facebook Marketplace
Sometimes Facebook Marketplace has free educational supplies from different sellers. Make sure that you meet with the seller at a public place after you agree to get the items.
These free homeschooling resources can save you money on homeschooling expenses and they’re also effective for students of all grade levels.
