When we were new homeschool parents, while we were excited about all the freedom and flexibility homeschooling would give us, we quietly lamented the extra cost. if we sent our children to the local public school, at least our tax dollars would essentially cover their education. but not so with homeschooling.
The good news is that there are some great gifts you can take advantage of as a homeschooler.
They will help keep your kids engaged and looking forward to what comes next!
homeschool gifts
1. teachers pay teachers
This website is a treasure trove for homeschool parents. here you will find more than three million affordable educational resources for students of all levels.
The good news is that there are lots of gifts here too. in fact, there are thousands of free resources on tpt.
tpt’s vision statement reads: “to make the experience and wisdom of all the world’s teachers available to anyone, anywhere, anytime.”
Quick Note: If you have some great resources you’ve created to use in your homeschool classroom, you might want to consider selling them through TPT. not only would you be helping your own bank account (which is always a good thing), but you would be blessing other teachers across the country.
2. amazon
whether you’re an amazon prime member or not, you can get free e-books every day. Many, if not most, e-book authors mark their work as “free” for a limited time in an effort to gain readers and reviews.
You can take advantage of those deals simply by knowing where to look.
You can get some free children’s e-books.
Looking for new worship and devotion materials? they have them too.
Be warned, sometimes when you click on a category, there are books that clearly don’t belong there. errors are possible. but keep scrolling and searching because there are often plenty of good books.
3. physics search
Teachers around the world are raving about this free activity kit for students in grades 6-9. is a story-based learning adventure that teaches them about physics in a super fun way.
Kids work together to complete experiments and gather clues and then submit their results to the American Physical Society for a chance to win all kinds of goodies.
aps provides everything you need: teacher guides, student guides, and materials for students to complete the experiments.
To register, join their waiting list. the website says the number of kits is limited and is on a first-come, first-served basis.
4. nasa
If you live near NASA, you already know that there are always many activities for students and teachers.
If you live out of the area, you may still benefit. There are tons of free webinars where your kids can learn amazing things from real NASA scientists.
It’s a rich resource of materials that you’ll want to mine again and again.
5. buddy bison school program
from the national park trust comes buddy, the bison, to remind children: “explore outdoors, the parks are yours!”
The goal of this nonprofit program is to educate children, promote health and wellness through outdoor recreation, and encourage park stewardship.
One of the several homeschool gifts you’ll find are printable Bison Friends stories that are formatted to allow your child to draw all the illustrations themselves.
6. save the manatee
This program teaches children about the history and habitat of manatees. they will learn why manatees are in danger and what kinds of things they can do to help.
you can request a guide for educators, coloring & activity books, cards & free coloring sheets and poster.
What’s most amazing, however, is the free streaming webcam that you’ll find on the site. Kids can watch endangered manatees at Blue Spring State Park and learn more about their plight.
click here to meet the manatees on youtube.
7. the energy shift project
This great project is about exploring energy education, awareness and efficiency.
You’ll find a variety of incredibly well-crafted K-12 lesson plan downloads designed to educate and engage students.
In addition, this is the home of change, an award-winning documentary that explores the future of energy and all the benefits and challenges of each energy resource.
from the site: “Teachers are eligible to receive the documentary, a chapter menu that breaks the film into 5-minute scenes on each type of energy, 14 Energy 101 videos, and all 28 Energy Lab videos.”
There you have it! Those are 7 homeschooling gifts worth looking into. If you’d like me to share more homeschool gifts as I find them, please comment and let me know.