When we first started homeschooling, we made a big life change, an inter-state move and had recently switched to one income. To say that money was tight would be putting it mildly. Our budget allowed for necessities: rent, food, utilities.  So, how was I supposed to homeschool and keep up with my book addiction? I will admit, the book problem was solved by a bit of luck (which isn’t always the case) and some excellent libraries.

Library Book Sales

Our first stroke of luck was the library book sales. We took advantage of a massive library clear-out which had tables full of excellent children’s books, fiction and non-fiction, for the low price of 25 cents each (unheard of even back in 2016), which was later dropped to 10 cents each, and finally marked free. I built quite a library for approximately $12 over the period of a month and a half. Another excellent library book sale offered $5 per box, with all books free on Sunday. We were able to attend this sale two years in a row and scored many excellent books.

More About Libraries

More books were enjoyed through visits to various local libraries. Our tiny town has an incredible library – it still has all the children’s classics you could hope for, a wonderful collection of new, wholesome books for children, and a small, but varied collection of non-fiction and biographies. The librarian, Mrs. Celia, had a wonderful budget and was happy to use it to purchase books on my recommendation. We attended several other libraries: one was free for all homeschool families, one was a free library for several area towns, and every town library in our school district was also free. We were faithful LEGO club attendees at one library for 4 years.

Used Curriculum for the Win

My friend told me about a used curriculum sale through our state’s homeschool organization, which resulted in a huge haul for $8 – the most expensive purchase being my son’s math textbook for a whopping $3!

Did I Mention the Library?

My savvy homeschooling friend also told me about the plethora of free passes available through the local libraries. We were able to get a state park pass, attend art museums, history museums, and children’s museums for free, and visit our botanical gardens.

Science, AKA Go Outside

Science was almost all nature based and unschooled. We attended as many outdoor hikes as possible (a few times we had to forgo the hike due to lack of gas money). We attended a monthly science class for homeschoolers that was only $5 per class and my preschooler was able to attend for free. This class was an amazing resource that never returned after 2020 and was sorely missed. We also spent a lot of time outside in all weather. When my son took his end-of-year test, a full two-thirds of the questions were on topics we addressed just through our daily experiences and from going outside and talking about the world around us. And he got every one of those questions right, because they were relevant to his life!

Free Outings and Programs

For free, we visited lighthouses, historic sites, beaches, nature parks, public gardens, and walked the Museum in the Streets (if you have this, make full use of it). We learned about bird migration, marine life, duck hunting, survival skills and more through various free programs for children. We went to free obstacle course gym days for homeschoolers. My son went to three (3!), free tennis camps one summer. He also was offered one free fencing class.

Community

We attended our town’s Memorial Day ceremony and Independence Day memorial. We visited the fire station, the town office (which has giant maps of our town on display), the post office. We went to church and Sunday School. We visited a veteran we met on our daily walks to the post office. The children attended a local Kid’s Club run by one of the churches in town.

Taking Advantage in a Good Way

If you have read this far, you can see that we had many opportunities, spent very little money, and were helped by many people who shared the sometimes hidden resources in our new area. I learned to use my social media account to follow historical societies, conservation groups, museums, and libraries … all these organizations receive grants for free children’s programming and educational opportunities. Take advantage of that! Start with your library and expand to your local historical society. Look up state historical sites online. Attend any event that piques your or your child’s interest. Follow your local organizations on social media or subscribe to their email lists for early notification of free events. And TALK to people when you go somewhere. I cannot stress this enough. Almost everywhere we go, people we talk to have more free events to recommend to us, more free outing locations to suggest. Be willing to listen and be willing to try new things. I promise, besides some paper, pencils, and crayons, you don’t need to buy much to homeschool well. Make sure to subscribe for more tips and encouragement for your homeschool journey.