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4 Easy and Frugal Homeschool Art Projects

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I don’t know about you, but the homeschool day goes really fast! And, it can be hard fitting in the time-consuming, clean up-consuming subject of art. To help my fellow homeschool moms, I’ve come up with a simple, yet SUPER engaging list of easy and frugal homeschool art projects.

Kids LOVE art — getting messy is fun! And, any creations they concoct can be proudly displayed or shown lovingly to their Grandma on FaceTime.

However, for Moms — crafts can be exhausting! The time suckers and messy materials can be somewhat daunting for our busy days! Yet, we also know our children’s joy and creativity soars with art. It’s an important subject NOT to skip.

That’s why these fast, simple, and frugal art activities are perfect to use as boredom busters for any preschoolers, kindergartners, and elementary school aged kids.

Are you looking for simple items you can purchase to keep your Homeschool Art Supply Closet full?  We’ve compiled our favorite, frugal products and brands to make it easy for you to keep your art cabinet stocked.   All of these products are tried and tested in our own homeschool classroom, and are well loved by the kiddos.  We’ve picked these specific items because of the price and the quality, this is a list you don’t want to miss!  Click Here

On a budget? No problem! Most craft materials can be found at the Dollar tree or on Amazon at a great price (and shipped right to your door!). These art crafts are also wonderful time fillers and distractors for after school, on weekends, playdates, and gift giving!

Popsicle Stick Crafts

The possibilities are endless with popsicle stick crafts but when you’re in a hurry, here are some exciting ideas. Remember, kids have vivid imaginations and giving them materials only will get their creative juices flowing! Grab some glue sticks, washable markers or paint and ask the kids to get creative.

Here are some ideas to use for Popsicle Stick crafts:

  • Build Tic Tac Toe Grids, glue together, and cut out 9 pieces of paper to fit inside boxes. Write ‘X’ and ‘O’s using markers on pieces of paper with different colors.
  • Make a star using 2 triangle shapes. One will be upside down on top of the other. The kids can paint or color them with markers.
  • Create a frame with sticks shaped as a square. The kids can write “family” or any words they wish or paint with favorite colors.

Beads

Beads are wonderful materials to make gorgeous designs, bracelets, necklaces, and much more! These innovative ideas may require a purchase of a bead kit for a low price. Using beads strengthen hand eye coordination, focus, creativity and fine motor skills!

Please note: We wouldn’t recommend attempting beads until your child is about 5 years old or any child who puts things in their mouths.

Pipe Cleaners

Pipe cleaners are one of the most versatile and simple craft materials you can use for tons of kid activity! They come in a variety of colors, they’re inexpensive, and easy to manipulate into any shape!

Here are some ideas to get you started with your creative kid:

  • Make a flower arrangement: draw and color a flower, cut it out, and pull stem through. Put it in a pretty vase or cup and pass it onto a neighbor!
  • Bend and twist 2 favorite colors to make a bracelet or necklace.
  • Cut pipe cleaner in half, add a wonderful array of colorful beads, and twist the end.

Playdough

Playdough is SO easy to make! Here is a step-by-step recipe and tutorial.  Just combine 2 cups of flour, 2 tablespoons of oil, ½ cup salt, and 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar. Then, start adding 1 to 1 ½ cups of boiling water in increments to determine best consistency. Food coloring is also an option for a variety of colors.

Give each child a ball of dough, and the sky’s the limit! If you see some inactivity, throw some cookie cutters on the table for a little help. You’ll be amazed at what your child can create with his/her imagination!

Now, if you just don’t have the time or prefer commercial play dough, check out this colorful Play dough package.

Finding ways to give your kids creativity time fosters mental growth, stimulates new ideas, and encourages new pathways of thinking and problem-solving! Take time today to give your children these wonderful opportunities to grow and learn exponentially!

Looking for more easy and frugal ideas on homeschool art projects? Check out these crafts, activities, and printables here!

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10 Places to SELL Your Used Homeschooling Curriculum

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What do you do with your used homeschooling curriculum after the semester is done? Each time you need to purchase new homeschooling curriculum, you also have old curriculum you need to get rid of. One of the best things you can do is to sell your used homeschooling curriculum, helping fund the next set you need to buy.

[Read more…]

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Dollar Bin Homeschool Deals… Are They Really Worth It?

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These days, homeschooling on a budget means you look for every deal or discount you can. If something is free – you grab it. If something is a great deal – you stock up. So what about those dollar bin homeschool deals? You know – the little school supplies, notepads, and other trinkets you often find at the front of large megastores? Are they really worth it? [Read more…]

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Homeschool Hacks: Money Saving Tips to Stretch Your Budget

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Homeschooling can be costly.  Couple that with the fact most homeschool families are single income, it can really be cause to tighten the purse strings.

Here are the best money saving hacks to slash your homeschool expenses while not sacrificing on education or fun.

Saving Money On Craft Projects

  • Have a place to store craft supplies. If you have a central place you can keep your craft supplies, then they are more likely to get used and not lost.
  • When you’re looking for a new project, google the project based on the supplies you have on hand. Pinterest has so many ideas, limiting yourself to the great ones that you can make without spending additional money is always a plus.
  • The dollar store can be your best friend or worst enemy. There are a ton of great craft supplies in there, but I highly recommend going in with a list and sticking to it.

Saving Money On Books and Media

  • Use the library.
  • Return everything on time.
  • Keep a lookout at thrift stores and garage sales. You can’t beat 10 cents for a book.
  • Search regularly for free Kindle books for kids.
  • Make use of the Gutenberg project for free classical literature.
  • Look for free educational apps periodically as well.
  • Take care of the books you own, clear packing tape has saved a ton of beloved books in our house.

Saving Money On Curriculum

  • Choose the right curriculum the first time. Check out Kathy Duffy’s Homeschool review from the library months before you need to make a decision.  Try to make the most informed decision possible so you don’t wind up with something that doesn’t work and can’t be returned.
  • Buy new, if the curriculum has an excellent return policy. In some ways, this can save money.  I am stuck with more used curriculum that “I got on a good deal on,” than I care to admit.  It’s not a good deal if you never use it.
  • Combine grades when you can. Sonlight and Bookshark, for example, are both great for this.  Both are expensive curriculums but if you can use them for two grade levels, or multiple times then they become worth it.
  • Join Facebook, swap and used curriculum groups. Obviously, research, research, research first.
  • Enroll your kids in a homeschool charter school program. Depending on your state and the program these are free and some are fantastic.  With that said sometimes these charter school programs can also be schools of last resort that aren’t all that stellar.  Absolutely do your research. (Are you sensing a theme)

Saving Money On Household Expenses

(I include this because when you’re homeschooling it can cut into time that could be spent couponing or shopping sales.)

  • Only go to one grocery store. Unless you have excellent willpower and ability to stick to a list.  For me needing to go to a different grocery store just to pick up “one thing” ALWAYS busts my grocery budget.
  • Use curbside grocery if it saves your family money. If the store you normally shop at has a curbside program, being able to see your total on the computer at home before you check out can really help cut down on expenses even after the curbside convenience fee.
  • Shop your cupboard. Before you do your regular shopping trip always look in your cupboards for food that you can incorporate into your weekly meals.

Taking Advantage of Homeschool Freebies  (Sign up for our Newsletter Here)

  • Have a dedicated homeschool e-mail account you can use for newsletters.
  • Save your pdfs in a dedicated file, flash drive, or external hard drive.
  • Organize your computer files by grade and subject. (Trust me)
  • Invest in a printer that gets great mileage on ink.
  • Print in black and white.

PLAN to Shop Homeschool Sales

  • Contact your favorite curriculum publishers BEFORE you order.  Ask them if they have any coupon codes or upcoming sales.  Often, store owners will share discount codes to make the sale.
  • Take note of the dates when prospective programs go on sale.  Many publishers will have yearly sales right around the same time of year.  Make yourself a small mental note when you see these sales pop-up or mark them on your curriculum planner for next year.

Have a Homeschool Budget Tip to share? What else would you add? Tell us in the comments below:

 

 

 

 

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Back to Homeschool Curriculum Discounts

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Discounts

If you’re like me you like to stretch every single penny with your homeschool curriculum.

Sometimes I’ll wait ALL year for a curriculum to go on sale just to save $2.50.  No Joke.

I even pass up the 16 cent spiral notebooks during the Back to School Sales, because I know we’ve got 65% of our pages left from last year. Our binders are tattered and worn, but if they still work they still work.

When I do buy school supplies I try to focus more on quality than quantity, and I look for resources I know will last through different seasons of our homeschool.

Almost half of my Curriculum is digital. I purchase many eBooks for their re-usability factor, and many online subscriptions that can be used with multiple children.

Investing in a Home Binding Machine was one of my smartest purchases for my classroom.  It takes me less that five minutes to print, punch and assemble a curriculum for my children, and provides me with options to switch things up as needed.

I also create many of my own resources and share them with our newsletter readers.

If you don’t already, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter.  It’s free and it’s a great way to stay updated with our newest freebies and eBooks added to our curriculum store.

We also feature many exclusive offers from Top Homeschool Curriculum publishers.

Currently, our newsletter is featuring  50+ Deals on some of your favorite publishers at up to 89% off. 

There are products in Math, Language Arts, Science, Special Needs, Technology, Phonics, History, Geopgraphy, Art & Music and even All in One Curriculums.

You don’t want to miss these deals or the ones we have planned for our future newsletters.






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Free Homeschool Planning Printables

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Well, I’ve done it again.

I’ve waited until the last two weeks before really coming up with a solid Homeschool Plan.

Sure I’ve been collecting various eBooks and curriculum resources over the Summer, but it’s been more like a Homeschool Curriculum feeding frenzy instead of an organized and thoughful process.

It’s time to load everything on the table and see what I’m working with here folks

Classroom.

That is not even this years photo.

I’m so far behind, I haven’t even made the obligatory mess of dining room table yet.

It’s going to be a busy week folks.

So to keep myself invested in this process I decided to update our Independent Weekly Homeschool Calendar, as well as our Goals and Planing sheets.  You can still print the older versions here and here if you like them, but this year I needed a little Color Pop to get my act in gear.  If you’re struggling to wrap your head around how to schedule your curriculum, try this simple tip for each subject.  How to make a list of Goals, Resources, and Action Plan

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Download the updated Homeschool Planning Printables Here

I’ll be using these with my younger children this year for sure!  My older children are going to try Lesson Trek, mostly because I thought Middle School would be a great time to learn how to keep an online calendar as well.  We’re always looking for real life scenarios to add in that Technology requirement!

If you’re still curriculum shopping like me be sure to check out our Curriculum Reviews and our Homeschool eBooks!

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I’ve just finished our Letter of the Week Preschool Curriulum, and it’s very low-prep, so grab that if you need a quick fix for your kiddo too.

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Homeschool Curriculum Planning

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When it comes to curriculum planning I like to keep things organized.
But sometimes I get bogged down by the actual organization process.

This is pretty much how it goes every year:

I print up my planner.
I sharpen my pencil.
I heat up my tea.
I clean my desk.
I organize the drawers.
I check my email.
I look at all the curriculum I’ve flagged
I spend HOURS pouring over detailed reviews.
I hunt down the best prices for each title.
I load my carts
But before I EVER purchase anything,
I step back and make a list.

I list out ALL of the curriculum titles that I’m 90% sure that I will use.
Then I take the lists with me to each every homeschool book sale, and convention
in hopes that I’ll find each specific curriculum at a bargain price.

This also helps me deter away from impulse buys.

I usually write out this list by hand,
but this year I decided to make a printable Curriculum Planning List

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Download: Homeschool Curriculum Planning Sheet

Isn’t it cute?
It’s not rocket science,
but it sure makes my lists look a whole lot more organized.

Plus you can print one up for each child,
staple them together and take them with you to your Summer sales

When you’ve got a zillion kids it tow,
it’s nice to have something that fits in your back pocket and frees up your hands.

I think it goes perfectly with the simple Homeschool Budget sheet I posted last year.
Be sure you read all the rules suggestions for implementing this budget sheet.

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So there you go, 6 years of homeschooling and I’ve managed two planning sheets.
At this rate, I should have a full printable planner by the time my children graduate :)

Siggy

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The Homeschool Budget

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Do you have a homeschool budget?

Do you know what’s going out and what’s coming in?

Yeah.

Me neither.

And between all the Back-to-school supplies, Used-Curriculum sales and crazed Online ordering,
I am at a loss for what I actually spent on our Homeschool this year.

So in an effort to regain my sanity,
and in classic, “I should have done this FIRST” mode,
I have created a simple (and pretty) homeschool budget tracker.

Homeschool Budget Tracker

Nothing fancy.

Just a few places to keep track of what I spent for the year,
to help me plan for the following years.

It may look extra simple,
but over the past few years I’ve found that simple is good.

I even gave myself some simple rules for using this budget sheet.


Dear Self:

Rule #1: Don’t write down each and every individual item. Seriously, you have other things to do. You don’t want to give yourself a case of Budget Burnout like last year.

Rule #2: Don’t even separate things by subject, or child. Just keep your receipt and write down the dollar amount. Go for a general budget idea. Trust me, I know you.

Rule #3: Be proactive, write out a best guess at what you’ll spend beforehand. Come back and see how close to target you were. Give yourself a little incentive……Extra Homeschool dollars can be spent on coffee.

Rule #4 Tell the Truth. You know the difference between homeschool NEEDS and WANTS. You’ve got ZILLIONS of half used pencils. Reuse last years notebooks. Seriously. Get real girl and remember….coffee.

Rule #5: When you’re all done, look up the price of Private Education and pat yourself on the back. Job well done Momma!

What about you?
What Budget methods work for you?

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