You don’t need to spend insane amounts of money in order to successfully homeschool your child(ren).
There are a ton of free or inexpensive homeschooling/unschooling resources right in your backyard.
It takes a little research and getting out to explore your city as if you were a tourist.
Think I’ve mentioned that I recently moved back home after being gone for a decade. I grew up in Ohio, but so many of these places are new to me. I love having the opportunity to explore them with my kids who are 10, 8 and 5.
I think most of the activities I’m about to list would be enjoyable for any age.
We spent the summer and fall visiting different Metroparks, and I enjoyed our outings as much as they did.
1. There was the working farm/nature center…
2. Taking a trip back to the 1880’s at Carriage Hill.
3. We had a self guided tour though the Historical Woodland Cemetery.
4. We’ve walked trails at two of our favorite Metroparks.
5. Visited the Children’s Garden…
6. And gone back to one of our favorite parks see how the landscape has changed with the current season.
Most of the places we’ve been over the last four months have been FREE!
I paid $14 to get all four of us into the nature center.
7. I’ve pulled our telescope out several times over the last couple of months. We watched the lunar eclipse, and I’ve been able to get some amazing photos of a quarter moon and half moon.
8. You can get memberships to museums and a lot of them have reciprocity. If your child(ren)enjoy classes there’s the library, you can join a homeschool co-op, and sign them up for various camps such as lego, STEM, art, dance, band.
9. Join the email list for you local libraries, museums, and nature centers, and don’t forget to sign up for the ones in surrounding cities.
10. Macaroni Kid is a email list that you can sign up for and receive city specific emails about upcoming activities.
11. The Smithsonian has a free museum day every year. The Zoo and Museums in D.C. are free year round if you able to make that trip.
12. Take your kids on nature walks, visit a new park once a month.
Look at bugs through a magnifying glass, put grass or rocks under a microscope.
13. Join homeschool groups and set up Skype so your kids can video chat with other homeschoolers.
14. There’s painting, pottery, bakeable clay, cooking classes, baking at home, science experiments, video games, Netflix and Hulu.
15. Learn photography, drawing, music, musical instruments, volunteer at animal shelters, set up a lemonade stand, learn to knit, crochet, or sew. Thrift stores are another great place to find trinkets and treasures.
16. Visit a construction site, go see a play, go to the movies, have movie night at home and make popcorn and rice krispie treats. Take them to a Safari park, Younger kids might enjoy Animal Jam, and don’t forget about Minecraft.
17. You can check out my Unschooling board on Pinterest. There are printables about the human body, links to science and math YouTube videos, quotes, and links to blogs written by various unschoolers.
18. There are also several group boards I belong to for multicultural homeschooling, and year round projects to do with your kids.
There’s a big world out there to explore, and you get to be their tour guide and explore it with them.
Be their partner, learn and have fun with them.
Make your lives as interesting as possible.
Any resources you would like to share with us?
