In the house of the wise are stores of choice foods and oil, but the foolish man devours all he has.
Tightwadding The Trivium
by lmj
MikeJaqua@worldnet.att.net
"Can you do classical homeschooling on a budget?"
Yes! Classical education is a method and not a list of books or a curriculum. You CAN use what you own and adapt it to fit this method. Surf the web for favorite classical sites, listed at the end of this article and learn how to change your materials accordingly.
The methods and materials mentioned in this article are tested and true ideas from scores of mothers from three different email lists. All were deemed to be classical, excellent and economical for your homeschool. None of them is THE WAY to teach classical education. You are the judge of what works for your family. ...and REMEMBER: when money is really tight, you can homeschool classically with just a math curriculum and a library card.
...speaking of Math:
For the grammar stage, most of the math needed consists of drilling the 4 basic operations. You can print math drill sheets right from your browser at MathWorks. I got this tip from a friend when I didn't want to dish out money for CalcuLadder.
Many of the major textbook publishers, like ABEKA and BJU Press, sell the student work text or the non-consumable texts for between $10 for the lower grades and $40 for the upper grades per school year if you can get by without the teacher's manual. Use manipulatives found around the house, dry beans, buttons, legos, cups, blocks, measuring tapes et.c.
...speaking of LIBRARY CARDS:
Plan ahead so you have plenty of time to get the books you need for free. I go through all the homeschool catalogs I get in the mail (Veritas, Sonlight, Greenleaf Press, Emanuel, Bethlehem, Elijah Company, Timberdoodle, Rainbow Resource etc.) and rip out pages of literature lists for my 3 ring library binder, which also contains the "great books" lists off the web. I bring the binder to the library and do computer searches to find the books I need. We have also made friends with the children's librarians and have on more than one occasion got them to buy a book that we needed. Also, our library offers an interlibrary loan service that can get any title from anywhere. If my county doesn't have it they can search the colleges, universities and other libraries around the state, region etc. There is sometimes a nominal fee (1$ is about the most) to cover postage. Its a great way to get books you want to read but not buy yet.
For a lasting and fairly inexpensive resource, you can buy Christine Miller's All Through the Ages and use it as a reference for the best resources in history, geography, science and art. Also.....
Buy used!! We have bought used books from Germaine and also from VegSource. Another favorite is http://www.crecon.com/ creations/classifieds/classifieds.cgi And try to find classics at estate auctions, used bookstores, library sales, thrift stores and best of all garage sales.
Go for Non-consumable books which can be used for all your children and for multiple grade usage. Not only are you actually using the materials, but you are also saving yourself time in learning how to use a particular program. It is much easier on the teacher and more beneficial to the student when a course is taught for the second, third or even the fourth time.
Make your consumable text books non-consumable by having your child write the answers to the written work in a bound composition notebook. If your child is not old enough to copy the problems from a book onto paper, use a plastic sheet protector over a work book page and write with "vis a vis" markers, erase when done. This will preserve that worktext for the next child and the next.
Memory work:
The cheapest thing I've found for teaching memory work is index cards! Keep them in an indexed recipe file with categories of spelling, vocabulary, math drills, geography facts, art cards, history facts, science facts, Bible memory work, and so on.
For Language ARTS:
For cheap and simple phonics, the McGuffey Primer, which is featured in the picture, is a complete and systematic phonics program. The paperback book is less than $10 and you can supplement with easy readers from the library.
The Bluedorns of Trivium Pursuit sell an old speller, used in the 19th century called "The Blueback Speller." The Blueback Speller has all the lists you'll need through high school and costs only $8. Very elementary, but it works and is cheap. The cheapest way to teach grammar is to dictate and diagram the sentences in the above mentioned Blueback Speller. Look in used bookstores for an old English grammar handbook or a grammar high school text, like Warriners, as a reference text.
Shurley Grammar is more expensive, but a great investment!! Once you've taught (...or cheaper yet, browsed through a friend's copy of) a higher level Shurley Grammar text and teacher's manual, (level 4 or higher), you can easily teach the younger (1-3) grades by only buying the workbooks. Dictate the sentences for the child to copy into a bound composition notebook and you can use the same worktext for all your children.
Composition should be done by the ancient time honored method of copybook at least till the end of the grammar stage. Read a convincing article: Writing in the Grammar Stage" by Lynette Tedlund. All it takes is paper, pencil and a good piece of literature (the Bible, poetry, whatever). Copybook teaches punctuation, spelling, grammar and syntax along with great literature. See the August 1998 edition of this newsletter for more ideas for copybook.
Instuitute for Excellence in Writing is an great but costly writing program. It can be used through all the stages of the Trivium. You only need a piece of literature, paper and pencil to teach it. The program costs $130 which includes teaching videos, but you can get all the IEW essentials by purchasing the syllabus which is only about $18. Not bad for a writing curriculum which will take you to college level writing.
For science, keep a nature journal! One spiral or bound notebook per child. Use colored pencils for drawing and go out in nature to observe, write and draw. Make it simple for younger children, and more detailed for older children. Draw a picture of what you saw on the trail, keep leave and flowers and other treasures found on the trail. Older children can write a descriptive paragraph of what they saw, younger children can narrate their passage and mom writes in down for them. Our county parks have three nature centers and offer free guided nature walks This our science program combined with library books, and sketch books.Your kids don't need to go on field trips every day, you have nature right there in your own back yard!
The Handbook of Nature Study $25 is a text that fits the bill for science in the grammar stage and can be used for all grades and multi level teaching.
The best value for science resources for high school, which can become quite costly, is Apologia Science.
For Latin and language roots vocabulary enrichment at any grade level, (and very similar to the book "English From the Roots UP"), check out this on-line book of Latin and Greek roots...and it's free
The cheapest Latin program for primary grades is Martha Wilson's "Latin Primer" sold by Canon Press . For older students Wheelock's Latin is very reasonably priced. It is about $15.
Our list of favorite Latin sites:
A terriffic, comprehensive on-line Latin site: http://eleaston.home.mindspring.com/html/latin.html
Latin Vulgate Bible http://estragon.uchicago.edu/Bibles/VULGATE.form.html
Online Latin English Dictionary http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/Latin/
Join an on-line email list to find out what programs other classicists
Contact MikeJaqua@worldnet.att.net for more information on how to get linked up with a Trivium based on-line support group.
Remember, most of us LOVE books and we love homeschooling, so this is not where we'd make the deepest cuts if the budget were real tight....so: Cut corners in other areas too. I would rather have thrift store clothes and spend my clothes budget on curriculum and books.
Some of our favorite classical education websites:
Classical Curriculum Guide
Trivium Pursuit Homepage
Teaching The Trivium Magazine Classical Christian Education Support Loop
Classical resources
Singapore Mathematics CD ROM
By Angela Polk
apolk@shentel.net
>
A Review of Active Primary Mathematics
in Rainbow Rock CD-ROM by Federal
Publications.
This is an educational game which corresponds closely with the methods and
imagery of PM for grades 1&2. The other levels are due to be released in
the near future.
General Description:
This is a well-organized, mulit-level math game
consisting of much of the same drill methods and problem solving as seen in
Singapore's Primary Mathematics, grades 1&2. The game is played directly
from the CD-ROM, and requires a 486 or better processor. It is colorful,
filled with cartoon characters such as frogs, dinosaurs, insects and
silly-looking monsters (NOT scary at all). There is instant praise for each
job well done, and encouragement for incorrect answers. A child with an
English accent gives one directions as to how to play the game, which is
quite delightful.
The music featured on this disc is a combination of classical and
easy-listening, at times a bit more "up-beat", but conducive to serious
problem-solving. As mentioned before, the characters are varied, and none
seem frightening, IMO. It is not overly-masculine or feminine in its
appeal, and well-balanced in color. The images do not distract from the
task at hand, making it easy for a young child to concentrate on the timer.
There are four major game functions: Game 1 involves addition, subtraction,
multiplication and division skills of whole numbers. They involve timed
drill in the form of a game, and are most exciting! Game 2 involves pattern
recognition, and contains more critical thinking problems than the other
levels. There is a separate section for Primary 1 and Primary 2, each
having games which correlate/compliment the lessons and practice in the text
books. They each have differing levels of ability which increase as the
player is successful.
Positive aspects:
generally, this math game is far superior than any
others we have seen in teaching both concepts and basic drill. This is not
boring math work by any means, and I believe that it will be an asset to any
student in their math work. As in the Primary Math texts, this game uses
strong mental math techniques for problem solving. There are word problems
with everyday practical application, and geometry requiring much critical
thinking. The music is beautiful, the color and characters are pleasant,
and the urge to succeed is most compelling. The number of games within this
CD-ROM is far greater than others such as Math Blaster, Thinkin' Things,
Jumpstart Math, etc.
Negatives:
the price. Family Things offers Active Primary Mathematics in
Rainbow Rock for about $42, including shipping, which is far more expensive
than any other math program we've ever bought. However, this could easily
exist as your ONLY math game for the 1st/2nd grade level, because of the
number and variety of games involved. Also, the mental math techniques
which are used may prove to be too challenging for children who are not used
to these methods; however, if one takes these areas more slowly it will
easily become less daunting.
All in all, we have been very pleased with this new product, and recommend
it for both those who are using Primary Math with their young children, and
also for those using other programs. The mental math techniques featured
here will prove to be an asset to any child's ability to succeed in math,
and the practical application will encourage young minds to be confident in
their mathematical exploration of the world around them.