Education in Canada

Even in a slumping economy, the average home schooling curriculum ranges in price from around two hundred dollars and up. For this reason, many home schooling families are now learning how to take advantage of free educational resources for their children. Many of these resources can be found online while others may be right in your own backyard, through the use of library materials and hands-on experiences. Other than being free, one of the best advantages of free home schooling is that it allows parents to create their own curriculum and choose materials and activities that complement their children’s specific needs.

Using Free Primary Sources, Libraries and Online Resources

Primary sources make invaluable resources for home school curriculums. These original contain a wealth of information that can be used to effectively teach children about history, literature or other topics. Primary sources can be found nearly everywhere and many are available online. Some of the best primary sources can be found in local libraries or even in your own home. For instance, anything from old family letters and documents to books and diaries can be used for teaching kids important life events. Local libraries are always a great source of free learning information covering subjects in all areas and ages groups. Libraries oftentimes include fun learning activities, play groups, reading workshops and more. The internet is a vast sea of information filled with numerous free resources for educating children. One of these free resources includes Lessonplanz, which offers online lesson plans and other free home schooling resources for all grades and subjects. The site is easy to search and great for finding ideas on themes as well as learning activities, and most of the materials can be easily downloaded or printed. Another great site filled with high-quality educational materials is EDSITEment. Not only does it offer resource materials in nearly all subject areas but it specifically caters to educators, parents, and students. There are also many sites aimed at educational games for children of all ages. Other free online sources include National Geographic for Kids, local government sites, online encyclopedias, and more. All for free.

Free Home Schooling through Hands-on Experience

In addition to online sources and textbooks, free home schoolers can supplement their curriculums with field trips and hands-on activities from everyday life. These great educational resources not only cover various subjects, but also allow children to freely learn about the world around them. For example, everyday activities, like baking, can help children with reading, math, and important life skills. Teaching science and history can be accomplished through field trips to museums as well. Gardening with children is one of the greatest free home schooling resources available, teaching so many things-from math and science to history, language arts and more. Hands-on activities can also teach important life skills, such as responsibility.

Home schooling your children doesn’t have to be expensive, especially when budgets are already stretched tight. There are numerous educational resources all around us, from libraries and the internet to hands-on activities from everyday life. All for free. Even in today’s slumping economy, it’s possible for home schooling families to take advantage of free resources.

Wendy Pan is an accomplished niche website developer and author. To learn more about free home schooling, please visit Home Schooling Children for current articles and discussions.