Having looked in Part 1 at our characters and our overall spending habits, lets now look at some smaller, but not less significant ways to save money.
Curriculums One area in which many families struggle is in being tempted to keep changing curriculums. You know how it goes: you buy a curriculum that looks great and to start with all goes well. But a few months down the road, your child starts to complain that they are bored, or they start to struggle and doubts about the curriculum suiting your child come into your mind. This is followed by Googling more curriculums and possibly being tempted to ditch the one you are using for a new one (at great expense) only for the cycle to possibly start all over again a few months later! Okay, maybe not this drastic always, but you know the feeling I am sure; we wouldn't be human if we didn't! So how do we overcome this problem? Presuming you have already bought a curriculum... Number one is not to look to your child and their fickle up and down feelings. Children often 'play the game' and if they can get you to interrupt schooling by doubting the curriculum, rather than them, they will! Most reputable currciulums will work: however the art of home-schooling is to make them work in your family. There is no one-size-fits-all. This does take trial and errror. You have to first sit down and try and work out what the problem is. Here are some possible things to consider: Too much book work at too young an age, overwhelming the child? Solution, cut down to the basics, reading, writing and arithmetic and do the other subjects in unit blocks only as you have time. Maths going too fast for your child so they keep getting errors and are getting despondent? Slow down the pace. Go back and re-cover the areas they are struggling with. Don't let a curriculum enforce a time frame as your child is unique and will learn at their own pace. Always make the curriculum fit the child and not the other way round! If you have not yet bought a curriculum, then be sure to do yourhomework thoroughly. You are looking for one that will provide an excellent, godly education, within a price bracket you can consistently afford. Aim to choose one to take all your children to at least the end of KS2, if not to 18. It is not good to keep chopping and changing and few can afford to but a lot of books that turn out to be unnecessary. If money is tight, look for one that does not use write-in workbooks as you will have to buy new ones for each child. The Robinson Curriculum truly is brilliant in both academic ways and money wise, and if you can't afford that, read about the principle as it really works and is so freeing of not just money, but time and energy on behalf of the parents too. Books Do not feel that you have to buy all your books brand new. Charity shops are fantastic if you have any near you - the secret is to go regularly. Some days you see nothing and others you find treasures. Look through 'for sale' lists on for example the Deut6v7 e-mail list. Many sell unwanted curriculums through these lists too. Do utilise your local library. The books on the shelf may not attract you (especially fiction), but they may be able to get other titles ordered in for you and its free for children. Paper Paper is expensive and the home-school will need a plentiful supply. Utilise cheap stationary outlets like 'The Works' and Aldi and Lidl when they are offering such things. Never buy paper from a supermarket as you will pay more for the convenience of buying it alongside your shopping. Help yourself by saving enevlopes to reuse that come through the door - amazon book envelopes can be reused, as can white envelopes - just stick a label over the printed address. If not, keep them as paper for shopping lists, jottings, drawings etc... The same goes for white paper that comes through only printed on one side. Keep it in a pile for easy access. If you do printer work that goes wrong, keep the 'wrong' ones as you can use the back of the sheet. Keep card from inside shirt packets. Large cereal boxes can be cut up - the large panels of cards are great for models. I'm sure you do many of these things already. Clothing Most of our children have far too many clothes. Have you noticed, they have 'favourites' and tend to only wear the same few over and over again? Work out how many they actaully need, and then only replace as they grow out of them and/or the season changes. Once again, charity shops are brilliant, if you keep your eye on them regularly. I am surprised at how often I get brand new items from them, many good quality at a fraction of the price of buying new - even teens trousers. Buy carefully though and don't be afraid to return items if they don't fit. Do the same for yourself and you might find you free up a lot of space in your wardrobe as well as a few pennies! Extra curricula lessons/activities These are great, if you can afford them. But your child will not be damaged if you can't! There are many free physical activities to engage in, like cycling, scooting, walking and swimming in the sea. It is cheaper to teach your child to swim yourself than send them to lessons. Besides if you actually watch them in lessons, a lot of time is spent standing on the side awaiting their turn. What is better is to do things together as a family as much as possible, bonding that all too important parent-child relationship, which beleive it or not, even in home-scholing families with mum around all day, can suffer from lack of input. It is too easy to assign 'school' time to the children, and then take our minds off them while we deal with other household matters and be 'too busy' to listen, do things together and build bonds.
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Welcome!After studying for an Early Years Specialism degree (B.Ed. Hons), and teaching in mainstream education, I home-educated my own children, after my husband and I were persuaded of the need to take responsibility for bringing up our children 'in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.' (Ephesians 6:4) We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
This costs the purchaser nothing extra. In this way I can continue to provide free resources. Thank you for your support. Looking for a read-aloud?
Here's one I heartlily reccomend for ages 10 +. Search
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The First book from Christina Eastwood - the first in a triology - only £5.99 (ages 8 to 13).
Now available in PRINT!
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See here Now available in PRINT
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