Various tips on used homeschool books and curriculum

One way to cut your expenses in your homeschooling is to buy and sell your used homeschool books and curriculum. There many ways on how to find those used books and curriculum that you should know.

How to find best used homeschool books and curriculum
• Let your homeschool support group know that you are interested in buying used books and curriculum. This one of the most perfect place to find one. Sometimes families have unused or outgrown materials and do not know what to do with them. Sometime families who have been homeschooling for a long period of times know that many families are looking for used materials. So they carefully handle materials for possible reselling.
• Online websites are good source of used homeschooling materials and most of the time you can buy good quality materials for a very low price. Check out blogs, message boards and forums. There are a couple of homeschool books and curriculum swap websites that you might want to search in the internet.
• You can post for ads for a specific place where most homeschoolers hangout such as play grounds, public libraries and etc. Usually the best time to look for used materials is a month before the end of a school year.

Used books and curriculum are a great buy but there are a couple of things that you should take considerations before buying them.

How to buy best used homeschool books and curriculum
• Carefully inspect books and materials before buying them. It is because most of the sellers do not offer returns on these items.

If you buy nearly torn materials there is a tendency that it will not last for a whole year and you are forced to buy another one. Instead of saving money you might end up spending more than buying a brand new material.

Moreover, if you buy used materials that are still in good condition, you might resell it again after the school year, saving you more money.
• Be careful and be aware of the outdated textbooks and materials that you are buying. You might end up buying outdated materials and never find a workbook that go with them. Do your research first before anything else.

After each and every school year, there are two things that happen: you look for a new curriculum and get rid of the old ones. The best thing that you should do is to resell them.

How to sell used homeschool books and curriculum
• Join your support group in reselling used material or if your support group does not do that, ask and encourage them to have a used book sale. Have all parents bring their used books and let them put price tags. You may lay all them down on a table and all of you will pick materials that you need.
• You may post your used materials online. You may join in an online group where they swap and trade in used homeschool materials.

Rememeber to be always open minded. It does not mean when a certain curriculum did not work for a certain family, it will not work to you too. New textbooks and curriculums are not always the best, you may use second hand homeschool materials to cut expenses and save money. Also, handle your books and curriculum with care so that at the end of a school year you may resell them and save more money.

Tips on Organizing your Homeschool

It is important to organize for us to keep our lives more manageable. Everything will go on smoothly if we are organized and prepared, whether it be time, home, garage, desk, home office, vehicle and homeschool.

Here are some valuable tips on how to organize your homeschool:

Know your priorities. Everyone has different priorities. For example, most people put God first, then family relationships, discipleship of our children, academic learning, and home management. What is yours?

Set a specified study time. Your day will go smoother if you know what to expect in the course of each day. Make the schedule yourself because freedom to choose is too much for most children. Make sure to stay on schedule.

Use a planner to plan, educate, and record. There are free web based planners available for your home school needs. Use it to plan ahead, or as a diary or for recording your children’s learning accomplishments. It can do the clerical works like creating flexible schedules, calendars, summaries, and reports. It can be used with any homeschooling method or curriculum. It creates a safe place and can show you what your child has done, is doing, and will do.
“A place for everything and everything in its place”. Have a designated place for homeschool supplies by using bookshelves, baskets, bins or cubes. You can store a child’s daily required lessons into individual folders or workboxes by subject. Also designate a game center. It can encourage more game-playing and puzzle putting-together.
Once you have finished organizing, keep it organized. Labeling organizing tools helps the kids put them back the home schooling supplies to where it came from. Have a Mommy section and a kids section. This varies based on your kid’s age.

Reduce, re-use, and recycle. You do not have to keep every piece of work of your child. Throw it out if you do not need to keep it. For art projects, make an “art line” like a clothes line except that is used for hanging artworks. Utilize the door space by using a multiple-Pocket Over Door Organizer or a file folder holder. Use a binder to compile paper works for each week. Go Paperless. Do the math works on a chalkboard to minimize the worksheets used. You can also scan your child’s work and keep the digital scans. Some scanners can scan many documents into one .pdf file. Upload your child’s work to a blog and keep an on-line journal of their work.

Include cleaning and organizing time in school time. Instilling good habits and values in your children is part of their education too. Organizing homeschool supplies also teaches them to sort and classify. Books can be organized alphabetically by title or author. If your child learns how to organize then life will be easier for you.

Tips on how to organize your homeschool

The success of homeschooling depends on how you organize things. Before starting a homeschool, careful planning and organizing are the most important task to fulfill. Failing to fulfill them, schooling would end up in a disaster.

A well planned and organized homeschool can be achieved through these following simple tips.

Plan and choose the curriculum carefully. Before you start homeschooling, know and get information on different kinds of curriculum. There are vast numbers of curriculum available in the market and if you will not careful on choosing curriculum, there is a tendency that you will replace them at the middle of the school year. This will not only cost you more money but your child will suffer burn outs and lost of interest.

Bear in mind that there is no right or wrong curriculum. It’s just that every child is unique; the curriculum that you will choose must meet your child’s needs.

Organize your classroom. Classroom may not need to be in a separate room. It could be anywhere inside or outside the house just as long as long as it free from possible distractions. It must be pleasant, comfortable and neat so that your child could study well and do the tasks accordingly.

Organize your storage. Homeschool materials and supplies can be a possible cause of clutter. If they are not properly stored they can cause unpleasant workplace for the student and may affect their study habits.

Designate certain storage for the materials and supplies and organize them in a schedule basis. You may sell or give away some old and used materials to avoid clutter in your classroom.

It is advisable also to put your storage near the work area of your child to make it more comfortable and easy to study and do their work.

Organize your records. Make sure that you keep your records organized and up to date. Make sure that you keep records of their tests, scores and projects on a weekly basis. Some parents are having trouble recording the activities due to unorganized files.

Store them in a secured area to keep them from damages such as filing cabinets, shoe boxes and storage boxes. Make sure that they are all labeled.

Do not take record keeping for granted. Homeschoolers are required to submit proper documentations to make it legal. Be sure to follow your state’s guidelines carefully.

Organize your schedule. There are several things that you have to consider when you are organizing your schedule. You must consider your family’s lifestyle, your own schedule and your child’s developmental level.

When you are organizing your schedule you must remember that it should be individualize. It needs to go well with your family. You must determine when the best time for you to teach and when is the best time for your child to learn.

Do not be afraid to change your schedule on a weekly or monthly basis to make it more fun and eliminate boredom.

Be flexible. There are some unavoidable circumstances and you must be able to work around those circumstances and must be able to determine what task should be done if ever they happens.

Remember, homeschooling should be fun. It should be an enjoyable way of educating your children. It will turn into a nightmare if you fail to get organized and stay organized.

Tips on how to choose homeschool methods

Before you can start homeschooling, careful planning and thorough research are needed. First you plan for the curriculum you will use. And in choosing the right curriculum for your child, there are two things that you must consider. First, you must consider the ability of your child when it comes in learning. Second consider what teaching style you are comfortable with.

Thorough research and lots of time will be spent on familiarizing yourself to the different kinds of homeschooling methods. This will help you choose what are the best for you and for your child.

Choosing a Homeschool Method
Choosing the best homeschool method is based on your teaching ability, your child’s learing ability and your situation. A well-known method or a sophisticated method is not necessarily means that is the best for you. It should fit to your goal and life style, or else you will not be able to use it.

You must first understand each and every homeschool methods and find out what method that will it into your goals and lifestyle.

Homeschool methods

Traditional homeschooling or school-at-home method. This type of homeschool method is based on a traditional school set-up. Students are using textbooks and workbooks. Breaks are minimal and usually have strict time schedule for a day. This method will give surety that your child will still adopt the traditional school setup making homeschooling is not unusual.

Charlotte Mason Homeschooling Method. This method was from the philosophy of a British educator, Charlotte Mason. She believed that books that a student must use, was written out of one’s passion and love for a particular subject. If your child is very passionate and has a fascination about the things that happen around him/her this method will surely get his/her interests.

Unschooling method. This method allows the child to learn according to his/her own interest. Parents will give encouragement and support while the child is learning to prevent boredoms.

Classical Homeschooling Method. This method is based on ancient Greece and on Europe way back during the Middle Ages. Students are to read books as their requirements. This method has 3 stages known as Trivium. At first stage, children are to memorize facts. Then connections are made to the facts by the students. Lastly, students must clearly express his/her opinions.

Online Homeschooling Method. This method is very suitable for the children who are very fond of using computers. Instead of wasting time playing computer games, why not take it as an opportunity to educate your child using his interests in computers.

Mostly, the entire curriculum is web-based while others are on CDs or DVDs.

Eclectic Homeschooling Method. This method is the combination of other methods
Parents may select only certain parts of a curriculum that are suitable for their child’s needs. Every child is different and not all the time certain curriculum may meet all child’s needs. This method is like selecting just the only part that is suitable for their child and then putting it up all together in a curriculum.

Bear in mind that no method is right or wrong. Just choose method that will meet your goal and life of style and you will find homeschooling very easy and fun way of educating your child.

Tips on Homeschool Record Keeping

Record-keeping should be a tool to help your homeschool run smoothly and efficiently. It would not be a mind-numbing burden if you just follow the KISS method or “keep it so simple!”.
You should be aware of the law. Know what is mandatory. You do not need to keep every scrap of paper unless your state requires it. Remember that each state and school district has its own requirements. The Home School Legal Defense Association has a helpful website where you can check the home schooling laws and regulations in your state.
Generally most states requires the following records:
• Health records such as immunization records, physical exam records, etc.
• Attendance records that shows the number of days your child is studying.
• Assignment records which are usually kept in a portfolio or storage box.
• Assessment tool such as test scores, grades, either formal or informal, which serves as a proof the child is making progress and can be used in the annual assessment option.
• Transcripts for high school students

Know the home school recording style that works best for you. There are plenty of record keeping methods to choose from. Choose what is comfortable to you, whether it be formal or informal. It can be as simple as a daily journal or as detailed as a notebook system or computer program.

Here are some record keeping methods to choose from:

• Calendar – It is the easiest way to keep record of school days and attendance. Use a pocket calendar, desk calendar or wall calendar to make notes about daily activities
• Daily Log – It can be used for detailed notes about your child’s daily accomplishments in each subject.
• Weekly Log – It is used for making list of your child’s daily accomplishments in each subject per week on a single page.
• Course of Study – It is a list of all the subjects learned and all the materials used.
• Report Cards – Prepare report cards every six-week or quarterly. It is used to assess your child’s performance.
• Journal – It is usually used to record the memorable events in your homeschooling years.
• Daily planner – You can layout your plan and check later when completed.

• Portfolio – You can collect and store various materials in a portfolio that shows what your child has learned, experienced, and accomplished for the quarter, semester or school year. You can also file your Immunization records, certificates from extracurricular activities and lists of books in your child’s portfolio.

• Storage box – A plastic storage box–sweater-size is a great place to store portfolios, notebooks, artwork etc. Use a separate file folder or keepsake box for each homeschooling child.

• Purchased Record Keeping Systems – There are lots of software available for this like Edu-Track and Homeschool Tracker. Use a planning sheets designed specifically for homeschooling. You can check NICHE for forms to help you with homeschool record-keeping. Free Homeschool Forms is site where you can find free free record-keeping resources

File the homeschooling records as soon as possible or you might end up with an overwhelming stack of records that has to be sorted. Stick to your plan. Keep it up and be diligent!

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Tips How to Cut Homeschool Expenses

Most parents considered homeschooling because of some personal issues. One of those is financial issue. It is true that homeschooling is less expensive than private schooling. However, homeschooling might be too expensive if you will not plan carefully.

Planning your curriculum. Common mistake of parents is they fail to plan before they start homeschooling. They just buy curriculum packages that are expensive then later on found out that it is not for their child. And eventually, change their curriculum in the middle of the school year. Causing them more money spent than private school.

Create your own curriculum. One of the most exciting and advantageous part of homeschooling is that you can create your own curriculum. Every child is unique and you as a parent know your child very much. The opportunity to tailor your child’s curriculum will not only meet your child’s needs, interest and abilities but also will give you a chance to choose a curriculum that are less expensive or even for free.

Get free material from the internet. There are vast numbers of free downloadable materials such as worksheets, curriculum, lesson plans, etc. This will cost you less than buying at the bookstore. You can also search for videos that teach on how to create your own materials that you will need for homeschooling.

Watch educational TV programs. There are some educational programs that your child can watch. Whether your child is in preschool or in highschool there is an educational program that will fit for your child. For example, if your child is in preschool or kinder, nickelodeon, barney, Disney channel or programs of the same kind will be perfect for them. Grade school and highschool students can watch Science Channel of Discovery Channel would be very helpful to them.

You can ask your cable or satellite provider for a tv guide and be familiar with the program schedules. This will help you arrange your homeschooling schedule.

Library. You do not have to buy expensive books such as encyclopedia for your reference. You just have to go the library and borrow books that your child needs. Borrowing books from the library is free unless you forgot to return books on time. Though you will pay for fines but still it is very cheap.

Used books. There are lots of used books that are available online or bookstores. They cost less than buying new curriculum packages. Just make sure to check the condition of the books before buying them. Check also if the book is outdated or not.

You may also look for used curriculum packages with workbooks. Many homeschoolers let their children write on the other paper instead on the workbooks for resale purposes. You may also do that for you to be able to resale it again. Do not worry, many homeschoolers preferred used curriculum than buying a new one. Just make sure to take extra care of the materials.

Remember homeschooling may not need to be expensive. Just make sure to plan ahead before the start of a school year. Also be ready for extra time and work because you will be doing a lot of things on your own.

Pros and Cons of Abeka Curriculum

Abeka curriculum is one of the most popular homeschool curriculum for these past few decades. This curriculum has an in-depth Biblical foundation which most parents prefer because of decreasing educational quality standards and moral values of most traditional schools. Children’s developments are through series of activities through reading and working on workbooks.

Abeka curriculum is systematic, sequential, well organized and high quality curriculum. These features make it an advantage for some parents and disadvantage too.

Before considering Abeka curriculum here are some of the pros and cons of this curriculum:

Pros:
• Bible based curriculum. It gives Biblical principles throughout every subject.
• Manuals – Abeka curriculum has a laid out tools and materials which will tell parents and child what to do on a daily basis. This is an advantage to those parents new to homeschooling.
• Accelerated curriculum – Lessons and materials are advanced. First grade lessons are equivalent to second grade traditional school lessons.
• Easy to resell – used materials are easy to resell. Many people who can’t afford to buy new Abeka materials and prefer to buy second hand materials.

Cons:
• Expensive – Abeka curriculum is very effective and a high quality curriculum, also it is considered as one of the most expensive curriculum packages. A complete material cost more than $1000 compared to other materials costing $700.
• Burn out – The most common complaint of the parents and the students as well is that Abeka materials are overwhelming, repetitive, long-winded and boring.
• Very advanced material – To some students who are fast learners, this could be an advantage. However, some students cannot cope up with the fast pacing lessons of Abeka curriculum. The materials that should be very challenging, turns out to be very frustrating to some of the students.
• Textbooks often change – This is one of the complaints of many parents. They cannot find workbooks that correspond to their old textbooks.

To give more insights here are some of the comments of the parents about Abeka curriculu.

Abeka Science materials Pros and Cons:
• Interesting and the photos are catchy
• Informative and self-contained
• Teacher’s guide is optional
• Grade school students does not show interest to the textbook, for they require a lot of reading.

Abeka English material Pros and Cons:
• Advantageous for students who love to read and write
• Fast paced material
• Lots of work
• Solid curriculum
• Clear and simple
• Colorful

Abeka Math material Pros and Cons:
• Advanced pace, sometimes too fast to some slow learner student
• To many worksheets, it can cause burn out
• Clear concepts
• Advantageous for gifted child.

Abeka curriculum may work for some and for some don’t. Before choosing Abeka curriculum, the mentioned pros and cons should be considered. In homeschooling, learning should be fun and enjoyable. And this could be achieved thru curriculum that will meet the child’s needs.

Lean how to choose a Christian Homeschool Curriculum

Christian homeschooling is gaining its popularity. More and more Christian and sometimes non-Christain families turn to this kind of homeschool curriculum. This curriculum has become very available in every form, from traditional approach to modern approach. And this ranges from a low cost curriculum to expensive one.

To help you choose the best Christian Homeschool Curriculum, here are some steps to follow on choosing the right one for them.

• First and foremost, join a Christian homeschool organization or join in a online forum. This is to keep you informed and you can ask questions to other members, if any.
• Research for the various types of Christian Homeschool Curriculum. Look and read for each reviews and do not be afraid to ask questions. Also ask the members of our Christian group what kind of curriculum they are using and ask them how they found the curriculum. Ask for the pros and cons. Although if the curriculum worked for them or not, it does not mean that it will or will not for your family. Just take note of the advantages and disadvantages; at least you have an idea if it will work for your family.
• After you have considered a curriculum, now pay attention on what method you are going to use. Or what style you and your child would prefer. For example, take note of a classical education, which will focus on the stages known as dialectic, rhetoric or grammar. While a modern method comes with complete subjects that are used in traditional schools. These are science, geography, social studies and language arts. Just remember in choosing what kind of method you are going to use, choose a method that is easy for you to teach and easy for your child to understand. You are the one who knows your child very well, so you know very well the kind of method that your child would prefer.
• Find a source of the material for the Christian curriculum that you want to use. You may look for the local bookstore near you or you may search for the available materials online. If you want to save money, you may choose to purchase some used curriculum. A lot of homeschoolers look for used curriculum for they cost much cheaper and this allows you to save money. You may ask for used materials within your group or online group, for a lot of homeschoolers sell their old materials.
• Purchase your materials and plan for your schedule for the whole year. This will give you an overview of what the school year is going to look like. Moreover, this will allow you to prepare not just physically but also mentally and emotionally.

Christian homeschooling is the ideal way of educating your child. However, wrong choices of curriculum might end up into a nightmare. Follow these simple steps in choosing your curriculum and before you know it, you and your child will enjoy homeschooling like other families do.

Resource box: To learn more about Christian homeschool curriculum and tips on how to buy and sell used homeschool books, visit us online today and learn more about homeschooling.

How to stay focused on Homeschool

Making a decision to homeschool your child is a tough decision. It needs a lot of thinking, researching and planning. Not to mention the effort that you must exert in choosing the Christian homeschool curriculum.

Having decided to homeschool your child, and have chosen the Christian Homeschool curriculum as your curriculum, staying focused on homeschooling could be much difficult. It will take courage and strength to withstand the criticisms that you would encounter aside from the daily challenges and hardships that you will face in everyday tasks in homeschooling.

Here are some of the tips on how to defend your decision to Christian homeschool.

• Always remember the reason why you prefer to a Christian curriculum homeschooling. There is a tendency that you will begin to doubt whenever you hear criticism about your decision, but keeping yourself reminded on the factor or the factors that you and your family considered would lift again your spirit and will give you encouragements. Moreover, it is much better to tell politely to the person who is criticizing you those factors so that he or she may have an idea why you have chosen to homeschool your child.
• Be vocal to your decision and the reasons why you and your family have decided to homeschool. Tell other people about your choice on how you have incorporated your Christian values into every aspect of your child’s education. It would be much better to help other people understand what is homeschooling and what do the students do in a homeschool. Explain to them that homeschooling is a one-on-one type of tutoring, which can have better results in some cases and most especially into your case.
• Whenever you face criticism, handle it by telling them about the disadvantages of negative outcome of peer pressure in a traditional school. And tell them the advantages you have been experiencing in homeschooling. Most especially, the Christian values that your child has been learning, the joy that you and your child have been experiencing while learning and the flexibility of the schedule that you and your child have been enjoying.

There is always an argument about homeschooling socialization. They say that homeschooled children are deprived with socialization. You could tell them that socialization is different from social life. And there are numerous ways that a homeschooled child can have social life, in the support group for instance; there are vast numbers of activities held for the children who are being homeschooled. And besides, homeschoolers can plan for a field trip which is not only fun but also this can help develop child’s social skills.

• Share to the people how homeschooling can strengthen family relationships because of the quality time they spend with each other while learning. Most especially share to them that homeschooling is the ideal way of educating one’s child and that is from the Bible.

Facing criticism regarding Christian homeschooling is very difficult and frustrating. Just bear in mind that no matter how many explanations you will tell them, there are some that will stay critical about the issues. Just stay focus on the advantages that you have been enjoying and always remember the factor that made you decide to homeschool. Always ask for moral support in your group and always pray.

How to make a Homeschool Transcript

From deciding to starting homeschooling for kids doesn’t end your task of being a homeschool parent. Choosing the right homeschool curricula, books and materials to begin with is not easy not to take this lightly. Education is important to miss important decision.

The responsibility of being a homeschool parent is endless and of great significant. Successful homeschool program needs full attention, to engage wholly. The parent not only becomes the teacher but also the homeschooler too!

Being a homeschool parent is a big responsibility for the future career education of a kid – College. Aside from being a teacher, a guidance counselor, homeschool parent has to extend role of being a record personnel who records and keeps the grade of the homeschooler. To make this short, homeschooling responsibility is like bringing the whole education institution at home and the homeschool parent is the only one who runs it.

One crucial document of a homeschool kid is the transcript. Transcript is an official academic record or inventory of course and grades taken by a student. It is a collective record of every course completed by the student and graded by the teacher. The contingent of promotion of the homeschool student depends on this transcript of record. The record is the basis whether the student is possible to promote to a higher level or degree. This record shows the grades on every course, it can be rated as incomplete, withdraw or drop, honors received, degree conferred. This is one of the requirement when applying job after graduation.

Each homeschooling day is needed to be recorded in order to monitor the progression of the student. Every quizzes, exams, projects and activities are needed to be rated, recorded and monitored. To do this can lead to be disoriented and frustrating at times.

To be quite handy, computerized computation and recordings for transcript is highly recommended by many homeschool parents because it makes transcript neat and orderly. There are also free transcript templates available for download over the internet.

Recording transcripts on computer:

1. Determine the grades and credits of each subject or course and establish a grading system. College will request to see the basis of grading. Make sure the assessments are reasonable.
2. Calculate the Grade Point Average or GPA of the year. To determine the GPA, you need a calculator, or create an automatic program on Microsoft Excel.

SAMPLE OF COMPUTATION OF GPA:

Grades:

CREDIT NUMERIC VALUE

PLEASE SEE FIGURE BELOW:

1. Add Total credit of the year on its numeric value. Total is 18.0.
2. Multiply Credit Numeric value to Grade then get the SUM.  The sum is 58.60.
3. Divide the Total Grades over the Total Credits. 58.60/18.0 and the Grade Point average will be 3.25.

Cleanliness and Orderliness is a virtue. Always format the transcript carefully and be accurate and specific. On top of it, don’t forget the student’s full name, name of school and the dates of academic year.

The normal elementary or high school should fit on one page, front and back.