Homeschool Your Child for Free: More Than 1,400 Smart, Effective, and Practical Resources for Educating Your Family at Home [Paperback]

LauraMaery Gold (Author), Joan M. Zielinski (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 4, 2009

Provide a solid education at home without breaking the bank.

Introduced in 2000, Homeschool Your Child for Free gave countless parents the plan and peace of mind to get their kids’ education on the right track. Now, authors LauraMaery Gold and Joan M. Zielinski have revised and updated their popular guide, offering their expert homeschooling advice and information, plus new tools and resources to help you and your child succeed:

• Complete curriculum plans for a comprehensive education, from preschool through high school
• Where to find free online courses; NEW!
• Ways to partner with public schools; NEW!
• Legal guidelines and compliance requirements for home educators
• Keys to graduating a homeschooler; NEW!
• Developing personal finance management and life skills; NEW!
• Teaching tips and motivators from successful homeschoolers
• Career and vocational guidance; NEW!
• And so much more!

Comprehensive and clear, Homeschool Your Child for Free gives you access to free instructional material–from reading-readiness activities for preschoolers to science projects for teens–to help build a strong foundation that will last into adulthood. You don’t need to drain your bank account to guarantee a good education for your child. With a computer and the Internet, you have the largest library and laboratory right at your fingertips–all for free!

Editorial Reviews

Review

For Families Who Want to Splurge on Education but Scrimp on Spending

About the Author

LAURAMAERY GOLD writes a popular weekly online column for homeschoolers and operates one of the largest homeschooling lists on the Internet. She and her husband, Dan Post, are the homeschooling parents of seven and the authors of a number of books on technology, religion, and business. The family resides in Kent, Washington.

JOAN M. ZIELINSKI is the mother of four–one of whom is LauraMaery. A professional educator for nearly thirty years, Joan is a former Teacher of the Year for the Kent, Washington, school district, where she lives with her husband, Stan.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (August 4, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307451631
• ISBN-13: 978-0307451637
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 1.1 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #263,537 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Resource Book for Homeschooling Parents, October 21, 2009

By 

J. Sullivan - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Homeschool Your Child for Free: More Than 1,400 Smart, Effective, and Practical Resources for Educating Your Family at Home (Paperback)

This is my first year Homeschooling so I really need materials that I can read through easily and find information quickly. This is one of those kinds of resources. It is laid out well and we have used many of the websites recommended for many different subjects of study. My son has enjoyed the activities on these free websites included in the book and when he wants to practice math or whatever subject online he has many options to choose from. It includes preschool ages on up to High School.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Could have been better..., June 10, 2010

By 

V. Smith (NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Homeschool Your Child for Free: More Than 1,400 Smart, Effective, and Practical Resources for Educating Your Family at Home (Paperback)

I've read the last version of this book at the library, some of it is a rehash from the first. I found so many dead links in the new version it frustrated me. While there are a few good quality sites in the book it's not worth the price of this book to come by them. I began searching the internet for my own links. I have found much better sites with a number of free things to download or print. There is a homeschooling mom who locates and publishes free homeschooling sources on her blog and her sources are much better than this book. There is nothing life changing here. If you want to homeschool economicly or start out on the right path I recommend reading When Children Love to Learn: A Practical Application of Charlotte Mason's Philosophy for Today. With the methods described in this book you could use the library for nearly all your curriculum.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Homeschooling is not as expensive as you think!, March 20, 2010

By 

Cynthia E. Downes "Cindy Downes" (Broken Arrow, OK, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Homeschool Your Child for Free: More Than 1,400 Smart, Effective, and Practical Resources for Educating Your Family at Home (Paperback)

Homeschool Your Child for Free is a homeschooler's guide to more than 1,400 free educational resources on the Internet. Each resource listing includes a brief description of what you will find on the site, as well as its URL. The resources are organized in chapters as follows:

* Why we homeschool
* Homeschool How-tos
* Education Essentials
* Language Literacy
* Mathematics Mastery
* Art Appreciation
* History Highlights
* Music Marathon
* Social Studies Skills
* Humanities Home
* Science Scholarship
* Health Handbook
* Graduation Guidance

Gold and Zielinski prove that education doesn't have to cost a lot of money. Using this book, your local library, a computer and an Internet connection, your family will have a good start on homeschooling for free. The resources listed here cover every subject and every grade level.

I will add, however, that education is never totally free. You'll still need to purchase supplies, a computer, the Internet, the price of this book, etc. So, although you can't really homeschool for free, you can homeschool "without breaking the bank," as stated by the authors on the back cover of the book.

If you want a resource to locate these free educational resources for you, this is the book to buy. The only problem with a book consisting of Web links is that it has a tendency of going out of date quickly as Web links frequently move around on the Internet. That is the reason I gave it four stars. I found a number of links in the book that did not work; however, using the description supplied, I was able to do a Google search and locate most of them.

DISCLAIMER: As well as receiving this book free as a review copy, I also discovered, upon reading the book, that the authors have listed several links from my Web site. Neither of these factors influenced my review. My goal is to provide an honest review based on my opinion and one that will meet the needs of my readers.