4Real Forums: Could you do next year for free?

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Planning and Ordering our Days
4Real Forums : Planning and Ordering our Days

Topic: Could you do next year for free?

Poll Question: Could you do next year for free??
Poll Choice	Votes	Poll Statistics
Yes, absolutely	18	[36.73%]
No...I need too many things	5	[10.20%]
Mostly... would need to pick up a few items	13	[26.53%]
Yes for some of my kids, no for others	7	[14.29%]
It would be a stretch	1	[2.04%]
What? No shopping for school supplies? GAH!	5	[10.20%]
You can not vote in this poll

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SeaStar
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Posted: April 27 2012 at 9:27am \| IP Logged

Just for fun, think of all the homeschooling items yup already own.

Think of all you could borrow from the library or ILL. Think of all your craft supplies, music cds, crayons and pencils, missals, saints books, math programs, etc.

Think of all these things that are already in your house.

So... could you do next year (for one or all of your kids) without spending a cent?

Now, I know that it would be terribly painful for some of us to forgo buying new post-it notes or another Bethlehem book

for the coming year.... but could you? Would you?

Can you estimate how much money you would save by using what you already have? What would you do with it?

Hmm....

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JennGM
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Posted: April 27 2012 at 9:33am \| IP Logged

I really don't buy much for the school year usually, as I do have a good library. But I know I will have to buy a few things. RightStart E and Nebel's Foundation Book 2. We're entering into Book of Centuries age, so contemplating how I'm going to approach that, which might mean buying something, although I know I could do it for free.

I don't buy many school supplies, although they are soooooo enticing.

But all year round I do buy living books, used ones usually. They are used for school, but does it count as my school budget? I haven't decided.

Inter Library Loan I use liberally, but it's $3.00 a book, so I never would be "free" homeschooling.

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jawgee
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Posted: April 27 2012 at 9:39am \| IP Logged

I'm only just finishing up my first year homeschooling, so I'm still buying a lot.

I hope by the time my younger two are schooling, I won't have to buy much.

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Donna Marie
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Posted: April 27 2012 at 9:59am \| IP Logged

At this point I have gathered quite a bit so it may be easier for me than someone earlier in their homeschool journey. I would still need math at the very least. I love using living books and having inter-library loan. It is much easier to own, of course, especially if a book needs to go through 3 children, but it can be done. ILL is free here.

Oh, and how could I forget...I would need Michele Quigley's planner. (this isn't just a me indulgence) It is like a good friend helping me keep my head clear and it reminds me to put God first (I love that the readings are listed and that is how we start the day)

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SallyT
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Posted: April 27 2012 at 10:08am \| IP Logged

For my two younger kids I *could,* though I don't think I'm going to. This past year we leaned heavily on Baldwin Project and MEP math, and though I added other things mid-year, between those two resources and what we already owned, I did do at least the first semester pretty much free. All I bought at the beginning of the year were pencils, binders, and Mead Primary Journals.

I could do it again, but am letting myself have a "to-buy" list for next year, because there are resources I don't own that for a variety of reasons I really do want to use with these two. Still, though, Baldwin particularly is a great budget-stretcher -- I know that I can cover all our subjects with readings from their lists, and that's where I'll turn when we need more. And we do already own most of the books and resources I'm planning to use.

For my rising 9th-er, I definitely have to buy math, because he won't be doing the same thing his older sister did. He's also taking some outside classes, so we'll have to buy books for those. Otherwise, for his history and literature core, we either own the books already or can access them as free e-texts.

Sally

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CatholicMommy
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Posted: April 27 2012 at 10:33am \| IP Logged

We can homeschool the next year without buying anything, if needed; though we will likely make some purchases because our local libraries (yes plural) simply do not have the lovely living math books I want to use; there are also likely to be a few science supplies if I want to do it completely; however I COULD get by until the following year without the science supplies.

So yes - I CAN. And this coming year will certainly be a minimalist year since we have so much AND we're looking to focus on other areas of life. :)

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JodieLyn
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Posted: April 27 2012 at 11:10am \| IP Logged

I need some high school supplies.. mainly the higher level math.. and science unless we decide to use the local ps for the science.

The younger kids.. yep.

ETA - excepting pencils and more computer paper.. the computer paper is getting low and pencils vanish around here

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AmandaV
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Posted: April 27 2012 at 12:42pm \| IP Logged

My vote was yes, but I will be buying some things. But as they are 3rd grade and under, our math is MEP- free.. there is a good library system and we have an ipad- can read for free online... I think we could. But I will continue to buy used classics/classic picture books to build our home library. Oh, but since I scored an entire set and a half of the 1960 How and Why Library at a garage sale for $8, I guess I really could use that as reader, science, history, geography, copy work from the poems and tales... But I'll want to mix in more recently published texts. And I need to get some pencil grips as well.

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mommy4ever
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Posted: April 27 2012 at 1:23pm \| IP Logged

I don't think I could pull it off, I only started 2 years ago, and right now the youngest hasn't reached the age of the elder was when we started, and then the elder needs the next years session....

However, I live where we get money for schooling, so I don't spend much out of pocket other than music lessons for 1.

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lapazfarm
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Posted: April 27 2012 at 1:41pm \| IP Logged

I totally could, easily, but probably will buy a few things. I have no idea what, but surely there will be some thing we decide we cannot live without.

Pretty sure most of our paint pens need replacing this year, too. They are a frequently used item and though we certainly *could* do without them, I don't want to.

I could also sell some stuff we've outgrown to pay for new stuff. We have tons of Montessori materials I am itching to get rid of this year. Could buy a lot of paint pens with that money.

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SeaStar
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Posted: April 27 2012 at 1:57pm \| IP Logged

Seaking of art supplies, it was looking this book: Art Lab for Kids
that made me stop and think about what I already have and could use vs. what I really need.

Do I need this book? No

But would I like to have it? Oh, yeah

Looks like it could be a lot of fun....

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Mackfam
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Posted: April 27 2012 at 2:00pm \| IP Logged

SeaStar wrote:

Now, I know that it would be terribly painful for some of us to forgo buying new post-it notes or another Bethlehem book

for the coming year....

Perish the thought! Heck, Mary M would have to resort to doing her lesson planning on the back of grocery receipts if she had to give up her post-its!

Although....thinking about it....she probably already does!

SeaStar wrote:

but could you? Would you?

I absolutely could! And would if needed! I'm set here!

One of the fabulous things about days and plans that are more literary/book centered is that there is no concern about a particular curriculum not working for a particular child and needing to be replaced. Or a consumable that needs to be replaced. There are just lovely books to choose from. And good, common-sense tools that work across ages and learning styles. I haven't always chosen wisely in home ed purchases, but at this point, I'm really reaping the rewards of having made frugal, considerate investments in our home education over the years. I actually haven't made a big, fat summer home ed purchase in a few years. I go to my shelves and current resources for most planning, and if we need a tool, I tend to stagger purchases by term rather than buying everything at the outset of a year.

NOW....since I don't HAVE TO do the year free....I plan on buying what else......??? BOOK SHELVES!

We have actually been in the process of replacing older bookshelves. We replaced two last summer, and are ready to replace two more. I haven't gotten far enough into my planning for next year to know what I may want to consider purchasing, but I don't anticipate it being much.

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SeaStar
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Posted: April 27 2012 at 2:17pm \| IP Logged

Bookshelves are something you totally can never have enough of....at least at my house

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JodieLyn
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Posted: April 27 2012 at 2:20pm \| IP Logged

I don't have enough house for the bookshelves I need

But that does remind me.. I AM going to get a set for my bedroom asap. I'm thinking about making them.. to get the most shelf for the space I have.

Kristie 4
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Posted: April 27 2012 at 2:45pm \| IP Logged

Math solutions guides for upper level math! Uggggg! They are so expensive. Besides that and some agar and petri dishes (and a few animal parts from the butcher) I think we are good.

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Angie Mc
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Posted: April 27 2012 at 3:10pm \| IP Logged

BAM! Yes I could!!!!!

Will I? No, because I'm not in dire need - praise God. I will purchase a few things here and there, mainly to keep things fresh and motivating for all of us. But I will keep purchases down to a minimum.

Love,

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kristinannie
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Posted: April 27 2012 at 5:16pm \| IP Logged

jawgee wrote:

I'm only just finishing up my first year homeschooling, so I'm still buying a lot.

I hope by the time my younger two are schooling, I won't have to buy much.

My situation exactly!

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DominaCaeli
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Posted: April 27 2012 at 5:55pm \| IP Logged

My two oldest will be in first grade this year, so we are just starting out...but I could still easily homeschool for free next year if needed. We have a decent library, and we have plenty of everyday items for living math. We also have a great collection of art supplies, so we would not be lacking there either. One of the things I love about a CM education is that I'm not buying "curriculum," which is so much more expensive than living books! Almost all of the books for Ambleside Year 1 are free as ebooks if I choose to go that route, and the ones that aren't can be substituted with ones that are or resources at our library or already in my collection.

That said, if we were doing the older grades (high school), I would be less confident about doing a full courseload for free. Lab materials, math texts, a foreign language program, etc.--I'm sure it could be done, but it would be a lot of extra work pulling that stuff together.

We are actually enrolled with a homeschooling charter, so we have some money available to us each year to use on educational items. The main reason my art supply shelves are so well-stocked is because I used most of my stipends on that this year.

The only out-of-pocket expenses I anticipate for this year are our religious books. I will also buy at garage sales and off cathswap when I see great deals on books we love.

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guitarnan
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Posted: April 27 2012 at 6:24pm \| IP Logged

I could do it for fee, for sure...but I'm switching biology and math texts.

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stellamaris
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Posted: April 27 2012 at 6:43pm \| IP Logged

After practically a lifetime of collecting homeschool materials, I definitely could homeschool for free.
I think I'd need some pencils.

But I won't. I have too much fun trying out a few new things each year, and it has to be fun for mama, too.

If I had to, though, I could. I'm glad I have accumulated so much over the years, because I am in the position of being able to loan out quite a lot of material during the year to other homeschooling families in need.

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