How to Start Homeschooling on a Budget
- Amanda Wayne
- Jan 9
- 5 min read
At the start of a new year, many parents and families are evaluating their life circumstances and weighing the costs of lifestyles on themselves and their children. Winter break usually ends up being a time where a schooling dynamic begins to show cracks and break down.
Because of this, a surprising number of families begin to homeschool not at the beginning of the school year, but rather right smack-dab in the middle. Children who were initially excited by the prospect of seeing friends and peers daily are now overstimulated and worn down - like butter scraped over too much bread (as Mr. Baggins would say). Other factors might include bullying or racism, neurodivergence needs not being met, and declining mental health.
Whatever the reason, many parents find themselves suddenly needing to homeschool one or more of their children when they had been expecting to be able to send them to another place instead. And, to make it worse, this is decided AFTER spending all that money on back-to-school supplies!
Well, if you've found yourself in this situation, here's some real life advice to help you get started homeschooling on a budget!
Assess what you have. Do you have a printer? Paper? Pencils or art supplies? Write it all down!
Make a list of essentials (or use ours!) What do you still need? Crayons? Paint? File folders?
Update your library card. Make sure your library card is up to date with your current address, phone, and contact info. Pay any fines you may owe, and grab their calendar of events!
Attend activities at your library. Make note of any activities or classes you'd like to bring your kids to including STEM and reading clubs.
Reach out to local support groups. Facebook (ugh) is a great resources to find local community groups, but definitely ask around at your library as well! Make friends with other parents at library activities to build connections.
Examine your state learning standards and laws. Make sure that you're following your local laws regarding home education, and you can use state learning standards to give yourself a starting point to move towards (if you like).
Look online for free and inexpensive unit studies. There are so many resources online to help you get started! Pinterest and Google are your friends here.
Plan field trips and playdates with friends and peers. Field trips are a great way to learn from real life experiences
Utilize educational streaming options. National geographic, Smithsonian, PBS all have great educational material!
Read lots of books. If you don't have a large book collection, then visit your library at least once a week.
Scour local thrift stores. Thrift stores often have educational materials that other facilities no longer need. They also have inexpensive books. A solid third of our book collection comes from the thrift store!
Research how to make every day experiences educational. Cooking and baking. Grocery shopping. Going to the bank. These are all opportunities to learn how the world and society works.
Use free educational apps and websites. Again, so many free resources online! Many websites have YouTube channels where they offer instructional videos for free.
Host or attend a curriculum swap. This is a great way to breathe some new life into your homeschool as you get to try products you might not have otherwise.
DIY your learning materials. Have you ever spent time drooling over beautiful layouts of Montessori sand paper letters on Pinterest or Instagram? Me too. But those cards are expensive! You can DIY those with some cardstock, glue, and dry jello. Almost anything can be DIY!
Nature Study when you need new ideas. Have a colony of ants that won't leave your driveway alone? Do a deep dive into the secret life of ants! A weed that won't stay out of your garden? Nature study. Bird that wakes you up at 5:43 am? Nature study!
Shop clearance sections for back-to-school leftovers. Many stores over order school supplies, and they often go on clearance once back to school season is over. Snap up what you need from there!
Borrow instead of buy. Swap materials with friends. This can cut back on the consumerist culture that inundates society.
Utilize public spaces like museums and zoos. Many of these spaces offer discounts to homeschooling families, so don't be afraid to ask what they have for student and family discounts!
Homeschool exchange or co-op. Do you have an expertise in an area? Host a class on your area of expertise and encourage other families to host their own in exchange!
Attend community classes. Libraries, your local arts commission, 4-H and other organizations often host classes for the community. Take advantage of those!
Teach practical life skills. Do you know how many children and young adults don't know how to safely cut up food or do a simple chore? These are important life skills, so don't neglect them!
Repurpose materials. Magazines, old books, newspapers (if you still get them) , glass pebbles can all have an educational purpose if you get creative! We use mancala boards to help us set up math problems. Anything can be educational if you let it!
Follow seasonal learning themes. Holiday themed materials are often inexpensive at local stores, and they can be repurposed in a huge variety of ways!
Request educational and craft materials as gifts. Instead of getting more toys to clutter your floor and trip you at night, ask for museum and zoo memberships, science kit subscriptions, and other things like that!
As you can see, there are a lot of ways to start homeschooling on a budget. Homeschooling often means sacrificing a lot of material comforts in order to provide a healthier environment for your child. But it also comes with some benefits for developing out of the box thinking that has real world applications!
One word of caution: while a lot of homeschoolers would say "don't worry about your kid's socialization, they'll get it from every day life!" that is almost never advice that I give to families. Many people have lamented the break down of socialization opportunities after the Covid pandemic, and children's opportunities to socialize and play are no exception to this.
It is significantly harder in 2025 to ensure adequate play time with friends for my children than it was before the pandemic. Where before it happened naturally as we went places, now people are much more secluded. Playtime with other children is ESSENTIAL for your child's mental health and well being, no matter what their age is. This is the perfect time to allow your children to play and socialize without the pressure of an academic environment weighing them down.
Over the summer, as I was teaching swimming lessons every day while my husband finished his Bachelor's degree, I knew that I would need to make their social opportunities a high priority. Since I didn't teach Fridays, I decided to arrange a Park Play Day every week and text a group of my friends and invite them to come. We went to a different park every week and people would meet us there. It was a different group almost every week and it gave my children some much needed play time outside of the children who live in our small neighborhood. Take as many opportunities as you can to turn an activity like a field trip or library visit into a chance to meet up with friends.
On that note, I'll leave you with a small product to download of all our suggested essentials for starting to homeschool. This list will help you get started for less than $50 if you already have a printer, or less than $100 if you don't already own a functioning printer. This printable also includes space to record what resources you already have at home. You may be surprised how little you actually need to get started!
Homeschooling on a budget can be difficult, but it is also deeply rewarding, giving you an opportunity to connect with your children on a deeper level while also giving them time and space to heal and grow. Good luck on your journey, and don't forget your free printable!
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