Free or cheap homeschooling resources

I've had a few mamas ask about homeschooling and what we do with N's level/age. As you know.......I am really not too organized of a person (remember, I am an un-medicated ADD mama), so Lord help me being responsible for my child's education.

Right now, the only "curriculum" I use in the way of following a book/structured lesson is Bob Jones Math (which I bought the older edition for very cheap, $15 for everything! For the most part, an older edition of most textbooks contain all the same material, it just might have older photos) and we use Explode the Code for phonics which is fantastic.

We have a weekly Bible based science class that meets here weekly. I use Bob Jones Science and make up short lessons with a craft and snack.

We go to the library (free, free, free) once a week as well. Our local homeschooling group always has a craft day, a board game day or some type of function planned at least once a week. In fact, today we are heading over to National Day event where homeschooling families each chose a certain state, researched it and made an exhibit.
Next month N starts pottery at a local studio who offered to do a session for homeschoolers. She is very excited to join in this class of 16 with ages ranging from 5.5-12 years old. She also will be starting soccer in the spring. I guess this is why I am confused with many people's notion that homeschoolers are thought to have no social interaction. Quite the contrary.......I find myself cancelling some obligations to have some "down time" with her.

So getting back to acedemics......We subscribe to a few magazines/publications that we read throughout the week and base projects off of, such as God's World News, Answers in Genesis and National Geographic for Kids

She has a journal to practice sentence writing and we play various games for sight words, math facts and memorizes Scriptures.

We do at least one form of "art" besides our typical daily crafts such as watercolor.....clay.....mixed media style projects.

We use The Bible for basic stories, lessons and crafts. In my opinion, there is no better Book to learn from that has such an amazing history lesson to go along with it. We just finished up The Tower of Babel. N made her replication of The Tower with those foam peanut packing things (man, I hate those....but I hate to throw them in the landfill even more) Her tower resembled the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
It's nice to use a thematic approach as you can tailor your lessons as you see fit. You can stay on it for as long as their interests are peaked or until you run out of materials/ideas. We bake alot (measuring, reading, etc), research where the stories take place (geography) and do plenty of reading. Danielle's Place is great for Bible crafts as is DLTK-Kids, which also has lesson plans too.

Star Fall is awesome for phonics/learning to read.

Here are some great sites that have fun educational games and also tons of information about a variety of topics:

Highlights for Kids
National Geographic Kids
Time for Kids
Scholastic

These sites have great printables that are free

The Learning Planet
Time For Kids/Teacher's site
Free worksheets (phonics)
Soft Schools

And I think these sites are totally worth the $19.99/year membership.

EdHelper
Enchanted Learning

Oh, and one last thing.......I've mentioned The Homeschoolers Buyers Coop before.....this free membership allows you to purchase many curriculums/learning resources at discounted prices. You also can get a membership card that validates your homeschooling status, which can be used for an educator's discount at many places such as Barnes and Noble or Borders.

ChristianBook.com has tons of homeschooling books at great prices.

Another great tip is that many homeschooling groups offer book swaps or sales where you can grab used resources very inexpensive. Or you could even get super lucky and score some for free.

Those are just off the top of my head.....but I thought putting all these resources today would make a good Works for Me Wednesday post. Check out many other great ideas and tips over at Rocks In My Dryer today too. :)

Please leave a comment and add any sites that you use that would make a great addition to my list. Or maybe you have a tip to keep me more focused and organized. I could use all the help I can get!

Happy Wednesday :)
peace
*~Michelle~*