Do you have to actually purchase a curriculum to homeschool?
July 12, 2009 by Homeschooling Support and Curriculum Tips
Filed under Curriculum & Online Courses
Can you answer Nina J’s question about Homeschooling?:
I am looking to homeschool next year but I was wondering do you have to purchase curriculums like abeka, or Bob Jones etc. to homeschool or can you purchase workbooks at book stores and print worksheets off the internet and use the library? I am on a very tight budget. I am looking for the best way to homeschool that won’t break me. I live in GA and I am plannig to homeschool 2nd grade, kindergarten, and preschool. Any advise would be great!
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I am looking to homeschool next year but I was wondering do you have to purchase curriculums like abeka, or Bob Jones etc. to homeschool or can you purchase workbooks at book stores and print worksheets off the internet and use the library? I am on a very tight budget. I am looking for the best way to homeschool that won’t break me. I live in GA and I am plannig to homeschool 2nd grade, kindergarten, and preschool. Any advise would be great!
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You should check out Texas Tech University’s Independent School District, they have a great program.
Homeschooling Feedback: No, you don’t have to purchase a curriculum. I don’t. You don’t even necessarily need workbooks. There are plenty of free worksheets and worksheet generators available online, books you can get at the library…
One book to definitely check into would be “Homeschooling on a Shoestring”.
Homeschooling Feedback: You have to find out the requirements for your state before you plan your curriculum.
Homeschooling Feedback: No you don’t. You can create your own, and even those states that require you to tell them HOW you plan on teaching, will accept wording that states ‘age appropriate worksheets following state curriculum suggestions’
We have never purchased a curriculum, the closest we came was buying an algebra text for my son from the local homeschooling book sale. You might contact your local group and see when they might have one. Often they also have list serves online where people can sell their used items. But the AEP workbooks are regularly $4 (I bought every one they had on clearance for $1 each for every grade!) And they have specialty books about Maps, Geography, Space, Presidents that we have purchased to cover gaps. Most people don’t take it seriously because it’s cheap, but I think it’s a lie we’ve been sold to get more money for public schools. How can they justify spending so much on curriculum that isn’t teaching? But I went through our states standards and it exceeded every one, in every grade. Their website is
Good luck!
I personally love the workbooks, Everything for learning: X grade (by American Education Publishing) from Walmart of all places. They cover all topics in great detail, are inexpensive and fun. Esp with young grades like you are teaching, the focus is on essentials, reading, writing and basic math. Believe it or not, living a normal life full of reading, writing and purchasing groceries and cooking will teach most of those skills
Also, this sounds crazy, but our local dollar tree has a series of ‘tutoring’ items that we have used, self-checking math worksheets that have been wonderful. The kids do them for fun. At a dollar each, they are reusable for every child and go from basic math up to multiple digit division and multiplication of fractions and decimals. You might see if you have one nearby and check it out.
We have gotten a lot of books from the library as well, our local one has a ton of old textbooks anyway, and you can do interlibrary loans as well. Just get online and log in to your local library! We got our son’s prealgebra book there, and just renewed it until he had it mastered lol! As well, the librarians are wonderful at finding skills appropriate reading books, well ours are anyway. I know that some libraries may not have the resources or the caring librarians that we have. But we’ve always been able to say “So-n-so is reading this book and loves it, what are some similar ones? What will stretch them a bit?”
Too long I know, sorry, but I am so enthusiastic to tell parents you don’t have to be rich or spend a lot of money.
We have spent a little more on workbooks for handwriting, just because our oldest has a disability and the right type of work made on the difference in the world.
Homeschooling Feedback: Like the others have said, you do need to check your state’s requirements before you confidently have this question answered.
But really NO you don’t need to purchase a set curriculum. HOWEVER, be cautious of the learning stores workbooks and even some of the worksheet generators online. They are great supplementary pieces. Yes, they are free or low cost, but most are simply put together. I use the internet and thematic unit books for our social studies and science, but choose to use a curriculum for our core studies (reading, writing/spelling, math and bible).
By saying simply put together I mean that they are not always created or organized in the best ways - that produce more efficient learning. For example, if you are homeschooling because you have a child who is struggling in school (possible learning disability) some of the basic workbooks in the learning stores may not be best for your learner.
Many programs (I’m not sure how Abeka or BJU is organized) are formatted in a cyclical (or spiral) method. This means that your child is exposed to skills several times (not necessarily focusing on the one skill until they reach mastery) over the course of the year and generally the course of their education. It allows your child exposure and the opportunity to learn each skill and continue using each skill (instead of learning it, and then not using it as they focus on other new skills).
The cyclical method is found in Saxon math, Open Court, Alpha Omega HORIZONS (Lifepac is a single concept program, I believe). These programs do cost a little more than the workbooks found in learning stores, but are worth the cost. You can find used sets on ‘the bay’ and at other used homeschool curriculum sites.
Many people who homeschool do not use any curriculum at all and claim that it works well for them - I, as a homeschooling mom and certified teacher, am more comfortable using a researched based curriculum so that I know I haven’t missed any subskills.
So, check with your state, and then play around with the curriculums over the summer - figure out what works for you and your kids!
Good Luck and God Bless!
Homeschooling Feedback: I have never brought one my self.
I use free worksheets from online and workbooks
I buy from Wal-Mart or Sam’s club.
Their are also homeschooling/Teacher stores out there.
Where you can buy a piece at a time.
Good luck, Hope this helps some!
Homeschooling Feedback: No you do not have to buy a complete boxed curriculum.
I would not do so, just because children excel at different levels in most subjects.
It is easier, and it also takes the pressure off, when you let them finish a subject/book/worksheets, and move on when they are ready.
We do use a curriculum as our foundation, but we do not buy their grade level kits, we pick and choose.
Here are two other web sites that carry a large assortment of home school supplies:
Game, and computer software sites:
They only charge a small shipping fee - software is free.
Free worksheet web site:
These two web sites require only a $20.00 yearly membership fee, but are a complete curriculum by them self.
With the help of the library and these sites, you can put together enough to teach each subject.
You can check them out for free, but most print-ables require the membership.
Good luck.
Homeschooling Feedback: In some states you do, in some you don’t.
California, for example, REQUIRES a valid circulum of studies.
Homeschooling Feedback: Absolutely check your states requirements first. My home state asks what our curriculum is, but looking into it that is not something we are required to tell them.
We are fortunate in my area to have a great library that has ready made unit studies and they allow homeschooling parents to obtain (with proof of homeschooling) a teachers library card which allows us to keep things checked out longer, and it also allows us check the unit studies out for our home schooling.
I am going to be homeschooling a second grader and a kindergartner this next year also.. and for my kindergartner I have bought all kinds of work books at Wal-Mart and the dollar stores, they are getting them in now so visit as many as possible. And for my second grader I am going to piece together our curriculum.
For math.. Math u see (Beta)-
Language Arts-.. Learning Language Arts Through Literature (Red)-
History and Science.. My Fathers World-
We are also putting together our own unit study this year (I am very excited about this) Geography. As well as Music and Arts… these three both boys will do together.
Homeschooling Feedback: There are different methods of homeschooling. Check them out and decide which you would like or combine a few and go for it! Use the library and internet for resources. There are many many many free sites that you can get games, worksheets, and just other useful information. Type whatever you are looking for into google and then look through to decide what you would like to use. I spend maybe $200 a year on my homeschooler and alot of it is for her art materials, she loves art!
“Traditional—Textbook/workbook approach, emphasizing reading, writing, grammar, and spelling through drill and practice.
Classical—Following the medieval “trivium,” a child’s education progresses from fundamental facts and skills to logic and advanced language abilities. Students study the great works of Western literature.
Unit studies (instructor-designed thematic studies)—Progress in several disciplines is woven around a particular theme.
Unschooling / Child-directed / Delight-directed—Allowing a child to learn by encouraging and equipping him to pursue his own interests (guided or unguided exploration).
One of the great things about homeschooling is that you don’t have to be limited to just one approach—you can mix and match, taking what you like from each approach, to maximize your child’s learning.”
Homeschooling Feedback: Check for the laws in your state.