– Make close friends with the local librarian – they know a lot and are huge helpers!
- Make close friends with strategic people at the local university – again, they know a lot, have loads of resources and are huge helpers.
- Dig into the resources available especially found at universities that offer teaching degrees. They often have a curriculum library you can browse. You probably can’t check out the books, but you can get an idea of what those books teach, what topics you’d like to add to your own books and other inspiration. Also, they often have a stash of cool teaching manipulatives!
- Keep an eye out for mid-year sales at office supply stores and stock up on school supply basics.
- Use whiteboards for spelling practice or a quick math problem rather than paper.
- Laminate cards, pages, or other paper items that will be used by more than two children. Obviously they will be more durable and can be written on with a dry erase marker and used many times over.
- Sneak in extra writing practice by writing weekly letters, starting a mini blog, or writing a family newsletter.
- Use a well-written series of historical fiction as a spine for a history textbook. While reading each story, research the facts behind the events and historical time period. (Ask your BFF, the librarian, for a few recommendations!)
- Troll the bookshelves at local thrift stores for fiction titles and other lower elementary level readers. Keep a list of desired books in your wallet or on your phone.
- Hit the books sales at the local library. Snag an old atlas and use for crafting, gift card making. Also use it as a resource for locating places around the world.
- Make friends with other homeschoolers and share resources.
- Ask local professionals to come visit your co-op and share about their skills.
- When grandparents ask for Christmas wish-lists, suggest museum passes, monthly subscriptions to particular magazines, or fabulous art supplies.
- Write letters to favorite authors to thank them for their work. Perhaps they might skype in with you and/or your co-op friends. You could even host a themed party (matching their book, of course) and invite them to join you via online chat.
- Use Google Earth for countries you are studying. Look up specific monuments, statues, palaces, gardens, sports arenas. Someone even posted their pictures of the interior of the Palace of Versailles, so you can see inside without even going there!
Between the internet, the local library and a wild imagination, homeschool hacks are just about endless.
Have fun hacking!
Lindsay Banton is a caffeinated mother to three great kids. She never expected to homeschool, but has found that it is a wonderful addition to their lifestyle and wouldn’t change it for the world. In addition to homeschooling, Lindsay works alongside her husband in campus ministry at a large university in Connecticut. She grew up in Virginia but has settled into life in New England, learning to love the long winters, cool springs, green summers and gorgeous autumns- and has built a boot collection to meet all the demands. She is currently blogging at www.oaksreplanted.blogspot.com.
