We’re talking budget. As in homeschool budget for next year. I won’t really tell you the number I work with because to some it will be a pitiful amount to others it will be an astronomically high number. But I’ll say this much it isn’t the $10,000 that I’d have to pay to put them in the local private school.
Budget talks make me look at what I’ve purchased in the last year and evaluate whether it was worth the money spent. Unfortunately there are many times that the answer is Nope Not Worth It!
This next year I am considering adding our Gym membership back. That’s a big chuck of money but this winter was long. Long and cold with nowhere to run (literally). I’m still a little surprised we didn’t have a major meltdown with all the excess energy that was stockpiled during the cold, snowy days of January.
Anyway I’m making my list and so far I have this:
1. Laser Printer ($$ not $$$$$)
2. Gym Membership (maybe)
3. Science Center membership??
4. Piano Lessons
5. Curriculum (duh)
6. Book Budget (support materials)
7. *this space reserved for some really neat and necessary thing that I have yet to think of*
This got me to thinking about what we use and love.
1. Whiteboard also known as a piece of Melamine board from Menards cut to fit our space (6ft by 4ft). We spent $20 three years ago and it’s still working fine. My only addition would be to magically make it magnetic because that is super cool.
2. Chalkboard table. Absolutely the best “stole it from a friend” idea we’ve done. It is great to just be able to write the word or problem right next to the child. Not to mention that the paint is black so it hides a lot of hideous paint splotches. A fresh coat will go on this summer and all the paint splotches from last years craft projects will be “erased”.
3. Stereo Microscope. Okay I didn’t really buy this one. It was a present. Or rather it is really grandpa’s but he’s letting us use it. Unless we don’t take care of it then he’s taking it back. Wouldn’t you know the boys take really, really good care of it. There is really nothing more fun that finding a speck – that moves – looking at the speck and finding another smaller speck on the speck. Did you get that? Well just know it was really neat.
What would you add to the list?
We do so adore our laser printer. I will suggest paying the extra money to get a wireless one, or have the capability to make it wireless via router/airport/whatever.
I have to say, one thing we ‘splurged’ on last year that I definitely do not regret is science kits. I had all the books, and I have all the science knowledge, but I’m just not the person that pulls all of these things together. The kit has pulled them together – voila! Science experiments get done.
And now I’m about to go do some serious damage to the bank account with curriculum ordering, myself.
I’m with Kash on science – I am not the organizational guru I would love to be, so spending the extra for the kit helps. (I mean, come on, shouldn’t I be able to gather a small list that includes a rubber band?? Somehow it never gets done or Something is missing)
Agreed on the wireless printer too. Mine has migrated to a spot directly behind my couch so I can print from my laptop, which has zero battery life and can’t be unplugged long enough to walk a half flight of stairs! I <3 my laser printer though. They've really come down in price since we got ours, just make sure the toner cartridges are long lasting and not too expensive. Ours last about a year +, and run about $90. I think it's a pretty good deal considering how many things we print/copy.
I am jealous of your microscope, it's just not in our budget right now.
I love #7…it's so essential but you haven't thought of it yet, lol! It's nice to have that wiggle room in your budget that when you find that "must have" you can actually get it, rather than pining away until next year!
One thing we are going to "splurge" on this year are computer programs/online courses to use in place of texts. I think it will benefit my sanity more than anything, which is priceless
christine´s last blog ..I am an idiot.
Ugh, I wrote out a long comment and lost my internet connection. Do you have good internet? I don’t. I miss it. Top on my list and way out of my price range (I would have to buy/rent a T-1).
1) We had a science museum pass. We loved the museum, but I tended not to go other places because the museum was “free”
2) We too love science kits.
3) Games – Things I find on the internet, things I’ve bought, things from books, games are golden here
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when my boys were your boys’ ages, LEGO DACTA kits — gears, levers, pendulums, etc.
and we usually try to buy used, so that I spend < $100/kid. I think I was right at $100/kid for three years, then it dropped severely as we recycled and used real books once they began reading.
This year we did physics, so obviously our choices reflect that.
The TOPS books & starter kits worked great for electricity & magnetism both. We also have used three of the Science in a Nutshell kits – Water Physics, Flight!, and Sound Vibrations. I couldn’t find an age-appropriate kit for heat, so we just did some stuff on the stove with what *I* had on hand, adapted from Physics Experiments for Children (which is $5 or so, so not bad as a back-up!). Finally, we’re using the Thames & Kosmos Physics Workshop. If I were doing it with a 3rd grader or younger, I’d just go with Physics Discovery and a time or two I wish I had this year, just because it’s taking longer to go through it than anticipated. The one bomb we had was Adventures in Light & Color (I think that’s the name) from Rainbow Resource. It’s $12 or $13 and I wish I’d gone with the Science Wiz Light kit (which is still just $15). Ah, well, I’ll know next time!
Next year, I’m looking primarily at Thames & Kosmos kits, and a few Science in a Nutshell kits, plus a couple of Magic School Bus kits for my little guy.
Kash´s last blog ..Secular Thursday: Planning and Pre-Planned
Why “curriculum” duh? I would throw that out! I have always created my own! Even when we were classical homeschoolers (way back when) LOL There are heaps of free teacher sites where you can print out theme work or grade apporpriate stuff if thats what you prefer. Having said that, my first curriculum wowed the homeschool inspector into shut up mode. (Maybe I should go into business? LOL But then that would go against my natural learning beliefs! hehe!) Every now and then the “teacher” in me pokes her head out, I have to stomp on her to shut her up.
Seriously though, we have no budget. I spend quite a lot of money on books and resources. I have been trying to tone that down as we have loads of them now. I was just thinking the other day we need to pass some on to others.
I wish we had a white board. (that has been on our list for a while) We have a small one but a huge one would be useful that I could wheel around the place. I doubt we will get that one in a hurry, no where to put it but we will buy more science kits this year as we need to “blow things up” as the boys put it. Actually, I was thinking more in the lines of a chemistry set .
We are skipping the curriculum this year. I think we have all we need in that department. I added a few books that I know the kids will read again and again like the Cartoon Guide to Genetics and The Physics of Superheroes. Most of my budget goes to books.
We did renew our Science Center membership. I have the inside scoop on a really awesome exhibit they are trying to get. We go a few times a year so it makes it worth it. I am not renewing my zoo membership. We just don’t use it enough. The older kids don’t get anything out of it anymore and the younger ones just don’t care enough about it for me to spend the money.
We are doing a lot of science this summer so we spent some money there. We have a microscope, but I needed specimen jars and a dispay case for Matthew’s project.
I also spent some money on an artist easle, oil paints, canvases, and some other basic art supplies.
Other than that we had all we would need.
We also have a wall mounted dry erase board we built with Mark R Board on the cheap. And we love, love, love our microscope. I also really like having a printer/copier/scanner although I do wish the ink was cheaper.
I’m working our budget and resources for 2010-2011 also. We’ve gotten a great deal out of our art museum’s homeschool workshops, so those will be on the agenda. Plus memberships it and the children’s museum, I think. We do use some curriculum but we also use the heck out of our library and the web.
Crunchy Mama´s last blog ..I’m Late, I’m Late, I’m Late