http://www.booksamaritan.com

Also try

http://www.abcteach.com

http://www.homeschooldiscount.com

http://www.rocksolidinc.com

http://www.kn.att.com

http://www.wxdude.com

http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/star

http://about.com/education

http://www.freeworksheets.com

http://teacher.scholastic.com

http://www.tlsbooks.com

http://www.mathsisfun.com

http://www.coolmath.com

http://www.dltk-kids.com

http://www.auntlee.com

http://www.funbrain.com

http://www.brainpopjr.com

http://www.iknowthat.com

http://kidsites.com

http://www.eclectichomeschool.org

http://www.rainbowresource.com

http://www.donnayoung.org

http://www.triviumpursuit.com

http://themathworksheetsite.com

Some of these are free and some are just reasonably priced. There may be a few that are geared toward younger kids, I think I weeded them out of the list, but I might have missed a few.

For Science that is FREE I suggest Krampf.com. All you do is sign up at his website (he has a yahoo group too) and he sends you Science Experiments at no cost and as he freelances with the school system, his stuff qualifies as too what they learn in a classroom (but much more fun). There are websites for just about everything and if you look hard enough you can find the FREE stuff. I suggest that you invest in a printer/copier as it will save you in copy money…the Lexmark 1200 series is good as it is an All in One (print/copy/scan). It runs about $65 dollars but worth the investment.

I get workbooks for my daughter from a variety of places, but Amazon.com is the best place as you can get used workbooks for half the price ( I bought about 4 that were considered used, but had no writing in them) and they have one about Presidents & States that has President flashcards you can cut out. Walmart carries some of the workbooks but they will run you about $15 just for 1.

Here are some good sites:

www.aaastudy.com

www.handwritingforkids.com

www.polytechnic.org (U.S History practice quizzes)

www.multiplication.com

www.OBDK.com (virtual Owl Pellet dissection)

www.funology.com (science)

www.printablemaps.net

www.the teacherscorner.net

www.math.com

www.Iknowthat.com

www.pecentral.org (for PE)

www.teachertools.org

www.totallyfreemath.com

www.howstuffworks.com

www.hotchalk.com

www.lessonplanspage.com

Also troll the Thrift stores (remember stuff is always coming in).

Hope this helps.

http://www.norman.k12.ok.us/088/index_files/page0001.html

We probably spent less than $20 a year so far and most of that on craft items since we have so many young ones in our home. We also have memberships to the local museums, science, art, history as well as the zoo, so that is another $200 a year, but worth it because their programs are free to members and the kids have learned so much there.

As for multiplication, when kids have trouble with that, usually it’s because they don’t understand that multiplying is nothing more than fast addition. There’s a great website for teaching it…http://www.multiplication.com/teach.htm

but these are fun too

http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/mmathmult.htm

http://www.teachingtables.co.uk/

We h.s. with “a la carte” curriculum, never adhering to one particular program. I have never seemed happy with just one way of doing things anyway. You may agree, that’s why you’re making the sacrifice you are. 😉

I go with Horizon Math for the arithmetic portion and for the 6th grade you’ll probably need the teachers edition to help you answer questions and correct his work. (hint: have him correct his own work if you can, it teaches them to be responsible for this area. All kids are different though so go with your gut on this) You can get new consumable math books for around $11-$13, you’ll need 2 per year, one for each ‘semester’. You also should have a good selection of used teachers editions at the homeschool store you use for these and it’ll save you a few $’s not buying the boxed set. Just make sure the T.E. matches the workbook, sometimes they revise these every few years. Horizon is a wonderful program, inexpensive and proves you don’t have to go with a pricey “A-Beka” type to get a thorough system.

For science we use Apologia Creation series. (Right now we’re on Exploring Creation through Botany) A little pricey but you may be able to find it used. $30 for a hard cover that’s good for the whole school year and I use it for a group session with my 5th, 3rd, and kindergartner. So think about it being used for more than 1 child, it’s not too bad. It’s very well written and very organized with a complete list of needed supplies and the option to purchase a kit instead of following the shopping list.

History for us is Story of the World. Some folks like it, some don’t. We do, so review it some afternoon in the bookstore and see if it fits with what you’d like to do.

The grammar we use is Easy Grammar. Super easy for them, they just love it. You probably won’t need a teachers guide if you’re good at this subject, or you may be able to find a used T.E. Once you’re done through 7th grade, that’s it. No more grammar because it’s time to move on from there.

We splurged on Spelling Power 4th edition, maybe you could find it used or on Ebay for less. We paid about $65 for the main book and 2 consumable study books for the 5th and 3rd graders. This program is AMAZING! I would highly suggest it. Once you’re done with the book, that’s all you have to do. It’s good from about 8 yr old through adult & you tailor it to your child’s skill level.

As far as a formal writing program, I’m still searching for one. Daily journaling is important is is very inexpensive. The writingfix.com site at the bottom can be a springboard for you to use if you’re at a loss for ideas, I know I do sometimes. It also has many ideas you can use for teaching this important skill at home.

Surf the web for sites that give free printable templates. There are many to choose from.

About the capitals and states. There is a great series of childrens music that teaches states and capitals, presidents and government, ABC’s, numbers, letter sounds, division, multiplication, adding, subtracting and is available in both tape and CD form. They run $10-$13 each, but the investment was worth it for me. We listen to them non-stop in the car and my 5 year old is well on his way, the older girls memorized all 50 states and the capitals in 2 weeks. The president’s song gets stuck in your head, but what better way to learn? Put to song, these drills become enjoyable and addictive. It seemed a lot to me at first, but I realized that weeding out some of our unnecessary expenses, we could afford these.

Now, affording these things takes money. Easier said than done sometimes, I know. We have 1 income and 4 kiddos. I don’t get my hair or nails done, or have a house keeper, or name brand clothes. We don’t eat out and we pack a snack on outings. Be creative.

1. When the holidays come around and the grandparents/aunts/uncles/cousins/friends ask what to get you or the kids? Be honest. School curriculum is just as good if not better than $ being put into a college fund because if you can’t get to college, what good is the $ going to do you?

2. Have a fundraiser. I’m personally going to do this in the fall to teach savvy money skills, savings, budgeting and charity. There’s a website that you can get T-shirts for your very own findraiser you can do with just 1 person. The link is below. What we’ll do is figure out our budget for the next school year (we school Jan.-Oct. and break for Nov. and Dec. Our family is in CA so an extended Christmas break is ideal). We’ll then figure out how many T-Shirts we need to sell to reach our goal, and any extra $ we make will be donated to a local at-risk childrens home in my children’s names.

3. Sell back your curriculum after you’re done with it. Obviously if you have more children to teach, you may want to hang onto them. But it can help defray the cost of the supplies and the store may give you more of a credit towards purchasing the next set you need vs. getting cash.

I’m in Texas too so if you would like, email me. I’d love to send you more links I have. I have them saved on my laptop, not on my Mac which I’m using right now…

Many Blessings!

***I just found this site, I have no experience with it but it may help you for now http://www.k12.com/dg/dg_K12_1.html?se=Google&campaign=National_K12_Brand_Job_926&adgroup=K12_Nat_Brand&kw=k12%20homeschooling

http://www.time4learning.com/homeschool-resource.shtml

http://www.usedhomeschoolbooks.com/used-abeka-curriculum.asp

http://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=UTF-8&fr=slv8-msgr&p=used+homeschool+curriculum&rs=1&fr2=rs-top

http://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=UTF-8&fr=slv8-msgr&p=free+homeschool+resources+homeschoolers&rs=1&fr2=rs-top

http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0geu9OlRrZGpMsA9k1XNyoA?p=+homeschool+support+groups&y=Search&fr=slv8-msgr