We start our homeschooling journey 6+ years ago. And in that time, I think it is far to say that I have learned a lot! So I'm going to share with you 5 things I wish I knew about earlier in our homeschool journey that might save you some of the same frustrations, research, and money that I had!
If you would like to hear more about these resources, I share all about them in this video. It was actually a collaboration as well, so there is a playlist where even more mom's share resources they wish they knew about sooner!
Number 1) YouTube
Yup! I came to YouTube late in the game of homeschooling for me. And man, oh man do I wish I had discovered it sooner! In the short time I have been watching I have learned more about homeschooling than in years past. There is just so much we can learn from others who have been in our shoes before us.
YouTube has such a great community of people who want to share what they have learned with you. That want to help make homeschooling an easier journey for others. They want to help fight misconceptions people may have. They just flat out like talking about homeschooling! So if you are not watching homeschoolers on YouTube, what are you waiting for?! Head on over and check it out. And don't forget to Subscribe... it's such a small thing to do, but it helps more than you know!
Number 2) Local Homeschool Community
When we first started homeschooling, we were the only ones in our group of friends. Everyone else choice brick and mortar schools and it felt us feeling a little isolated. We were always waiting on our friends to be out of school or have free time on the weekend.
But in our second year of homeschooling we found a secular homeschool group in our area and it was wonderful. We joined a co-op, learned about homeschool resources in our area we had no idea about, and we even made some homeschool friends. I wish I had looked into homeschool groups in our area before we started homeschooling, but I'm so happy we found them when we did!
Number 3) Teacher Discount Programs offered to Homeschoolers
Did you know that some places that offer teacher discount programs also offer them to homeschool teachers! As a former teacher, I had many of these discount programs already and they really can save you so dough.
When it came time to renew my card at JoAnn, I mentioned to the cashier that I was no longer teaching and we were homeschooling. She said "oh really, well homeschool can use it too!" So I started asking around at other places. And sure enough many places offer the same discount cards to homeschoolers as well.
Some of our favorite stores that offer Teacher Discounts to homeschoolers:
Books-a-Million
Barnes & Nobel
JoAnn
Office Depot
Some stores require an id card, but it is very simple to make one. I just typed in homeschool id card generator and found a website where I entered our information and it generated one for me. I also made some for my kiddos, because some places who offer student discounts will accept homeschool ids as well!
Number 4) Epson EcoTank
Y'all... I did not buy ink for TWO YEARS! Yup. And I do a ton of printing. I print stuff off for our school work, I print PDF curriculum, I print stuff for co-op classes. I print all the time. And it took two years to use the bottles of ink that came with the printer.
I do love my Epson EcoTank, but since making the video it started having some issues. It start flipping the corner of the page when when printing double sided which caused some ink mess. And eventually the plastic gear on the back panel broke and it would no longer load paper. I called Epson both times, and both times their solution was buy a new printer. I'm sorry, but this printer is an investment and some people can't afford to just buy a new one! The printer would still work just fine if the plastic piece was replaced, but there was no way for me to buy a replacement. And honestly something worth this much money should not not have to be replaced every two years.
So while I do love my printer (I was able to get a replacement part from a service shop I found), I will say that Epson's costumer service is severely lacking. So I will continue to use my printer as long as I can, but I will be looking for other cartridge-less systems in the future.
Number 5) Pinwheels
And my last resources I wish I knew about sooner I unfortunately could not have know about all that much sooner. Rooted in Language is newer company. But we discovered Pinwheels and it has been such a game changer for my middle daughter. We both really love this program.
Pinwheels is a learn to read program, but it is so much more. They have included writing, grammar, spelling, narration, and more all in one program. It is fun, engaging, and very well designed. My daughter went from not even being able to remember letter sounds to level 1 readers in just a few short months! She is older than the recommended age for Pinwheels, but using it has helped take concepts she had been taught before and make them really stick.
What are some resources you wish you knew about earlier in your homeschooling journey? I would love to hear about them down in the comments!
Comments