How to Find the Right Curriculum Without Breaking the Bank

The best way to find a curriculum that will work with you and your children is to sample as many different types as possible.  But of course there’s that little problem of cash to fund this little experiment. But there is hope …

Homeschoolers love to share resources. Because of this (and it’s just good business) many curriculum stores give away freebies and sample so that you can try before you buy. Another great source of freebies are homeschool expos.  You can check around to see when one is coming near you. Or you can enjoy a virtual expo from the comfort of your home. Virtual expos provide you with samples of all of the vendors that have participated that year.  You’ll get MP3s, ebooks and sometimes special websites for you to learn more and/or try out products.  I went to my first one this year and I’ve been enjoying it at my own pace.

There are also people who collect free resources from across the internet, such as Homeschool Freebie of the Day. The Erksine Family has great websites that give away free curriculum, ebooks and audio shows to enhance the homeschooling experience. The Erksines encourage people to sign up for their weekly notifications so that you know exactly what day each resource is offered. This is very important since they take down each resource at the end of the day and you don’t want to miss any of their finds!

Another way to experience all that is homeschooling is by getting a subscription to a monthly magazine and seeing how other homeschoolers are getting things done.  Right now there is a great Summer Bouquet subscription drive that not only gives you an in-depth look into homeschooling, but they’re also giving away 19 bonus curriculum packages. These packages contain ebooks, real books, software, DVDs, movies, etc. What better way to get an overview of the many, many different types of ways there are to educate your children today? Just a word to the wise, these particular bonuses are only available for the first 5,000 subscribers, so if you are thinking about doing this, you need to get it right away. (If you’re one of the first 1,000 subscribers you’ll get additional gifts!)

Oh, another cool aspect of this particular subscription drive is that they’ve also created a really cool interactive catalog so that you get an in-depth understanding of what you are really getting.  You know, I always hate those ads that tell you you’re getting free bonuses and then just list a bunch of stuff under it. I mean, what if you are unfamiliar with a certain product and want to know more? But these gals are taking full disclosure to new lengths, so you won’t be surprised when your packages arrive.

This short list should be a good place to start on your curriculum hunt.  And always remember that Google + FREE + curriculum is always a winning combination to find more great curriculum ideas and samples.

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My Best Christmas Present

On December 25, 2008 I got the very best Christmas present ever! My gift took a long time to arrive, but I was prepared to handle it, or so I thought. I read the books on it, outlined what I needed to do, got the necessary training and then … I waited.

Waiting is very hard for me, so I tried to prepare myself even more so that when my gift arrived I could just jump right in and begin the new journey of my life. Hah! So much for my grand plans.

On December 25th my friend and fellow entrepreneur and I purchased our SBI sites together (it was a great two for one sale!). After pushing the “Submit” button I clicked over to Outlook just waiting for my email that would give me the keys to the kingdom. Tick, tick, tick when the second hand and then it came — BINGO!!

I opened my email and was shocked … the keys to the kingdom were hidden behind The Action Guide. I would actually have to watch some boring (or so I thought) videos before I could actually start working on my masterpiece. I felt my lower lip moving into the classic pout position. You know, I read the free reports, did my research, I didn’t need any stinking videos — the nerve of some folks!

So, I settled in to watch the videos so that I could hurry up and start building my site. And after about 15 minutes I realized that I had a lot to learn before I got started. Wow! And I had already done the legwork (or so I thought), but the videos really explained the little things that I didn’t really appreciate as I did my read through of the material previously.

So, with a humble spirit I emptied my head of quick starts and know-it-all attitudes and settled down to watch. And the more I watched, the more I learned. And the more I learned, the more refined my ideas became. And now I’m redoing my blueprints, tweaking those little things that would have killed my standing in the search engines and maybe, just maybe in a week or so I’ll be ready to actually begin my work.

Why am I sharing this with you? Because as you get ready to download the free material and watch the free videos I want you to know that these are just the tip of the iceberg. You’re just a freshman taking a few courses to get your feet wet. Once you sign up, the real education begins. And the more you know, the less time and money you’ll have to spend fixing yourself up later.

P.S. If you want to read the book that got me started on my path to independence click the picture below!

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	affID = “cajam.html”; Wait until The 3 Minute Shortcut has finished, or pause it, before touring these visual links… Tube It! Tour It! Join It! Tortoise It! Doubt It? Try It! Videos From The Heart How SBI! Makes You Succeed SBI! Family Bulletin Board SBI! Business Philosophy Ask Anything To An SBI! Owner Risk-Free Test Drive (The middle four links above open a new browser window.)

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The Homeschooling Lounge

I just wanted to tell everyone about the wonderful world of The Homeschooling Lounge. I have made friends there and learned a lot about the way that parents homeschool their children around the world. I have met families from Australia, Brazil as well as the United States and I find everyone fascinating.

I highly recommend every family that is part of the homeschooling world to check it out and give me a shout! The great moms who put this site together now have given us a new website called Freebie of the Day. Everyday they offer free homeschooling resources for homeschoolers. I just found out about it yesterday, but I’ve downloaded two free audiobooks and they offer different things on different days. I highly recommend signing up for their updates so that you can know what to expect for the week ahead.

Speaking of freebie sites, Giveaway of the Day (www.giveawayoftheday.com) gives away free software on a daily basis. The available programs vary, but you can download utilities, games and other applications. You only have that day to download and register the software, so don’t download it and think that you’ll be able to install it at your convenience.

Being a work at home mom, well as a homeschooler I really appreciate these free sites and all of what they offer. Pass the word along — freebies without strings really rocks!

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