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

by LauraMaery Gold, Joan M. Zielinski

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!

Genres: Nonfiction, Education, Parenting, Reference

480 pages, Paperback

First published August 3, 2000

About the author

Dr. LauraMaery Gold is a marriage and family therapist in private practice in Paris France and Washington State. She's the author of many books on parenting, family finances, practical religion, and personal technology. She holds multiple advanced degrees and certifications in family counseling, personal finance, and law.

LauraMaery and her husband are the parents of seven children and believe they may hold some sort of world record for being the longest-married (and most happily-married) couple to have met on line -- back before the Internet was even a thing.

She blogs regularly at www.AlliedFamilyTherapy.com and at www.TheRelationship.Institute, the home of her new series of books on relational communication

Reviews

[Ruth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Websites mentioned are almost entirely outdated, and the book consisted mostly of links. When was the last time you visited www.geocities.com?
The appendix does have a broad scope and sequence that may help someone get started googling newer links. If you're interested in building your own curriculum, you might find the book a little helpful.

[★ℕłℂØℓҾ★ (Nix) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave up on this book pretty quickly when every link I tried to access was no longer available. I understood that this was going to be a very real possibility (the nature of the internet is so fluid and changing), but having no luck during a handful of attempts was pretty demoralizing. I'll be looking to other materials for homeschooling resources in the future.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me this wasn't about finding free resources as much as finding a way to add some fun and excitement to what we were already doing. I am not through the whole book yet, but so far I have found an amazing amount of resources that I am excited to add to our learning. Some of the websites noted in the book are not around anymore, but most are either accurate and current or can be found in a simple google search. Not a final review by far, but so far I am very pleased with this book!

[Shauna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many good points, but outdated. Several (many) of the websites are out of commission or charge for their services now.

[Rebecca · Rating 1 out of 5]

This would have been amazing, if every link wasn't outdated. Needs a revision.

[Tina]

Other reviewers are correct: most of this book is internet links that are outdated (I'd say around 1/3 still work). Parts that are still relevant include the collection of topics you might cover (& ideas of what kind of resources you might use to cover them) and the scope and sequence by child's age at the very end. However, the ordering/inclusion of items in the scope and sequence felt fairly arbitrary to me (perhaps it's what the author's family did).

I recommend an internet search instead instead if you're looking for free resources, as there are many available.

[Ashley Rolland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very dated. Many of the links no longer exist. Decent as an overview if you’ve never looked at homeschooling before but likely better options for actual resources. Does a good job of explaining different styles of homeschooling and ways to approach teaching and field trips.

[Crystal Hart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of outdated, but I still found a couple resources I didn’t know about.

[yuzzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

NICE LINKS

[Gee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Invaluable resource for a collection of free homeschooling items and curriculums...!

[Jonna Higgins-Freese · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a VERY basic overview/introduction, focused more on materials and resources than on methods of how you would actually employ them. There are some nice, basic introductory sections on various curriculum plans (unit studies, unschooling, etc.) She offers resources for all subject areas, from teaching literacy skills to trigonometry, art, and anthropology. Perhaps the most useful sections, for me, were the vignettes from various families about how they homeschool. I was most impressed by how many wrote about the importance of deschooling (a period of doing nothing so children's natural affinity for learning could re-emerge), and unschooling. So many families have found that their children, given the chance, are self-motivated and self-directed, and that life itself offers opportunities for learning at later ages much as it does for young children. I know that was certainly true for me (I read voraciously, wrote research papers and essays from personal interest, learned to crochet and sew and refinish furniture and garden -- all on my own and without formal instruction.). I have a concern that it might not work well for one of my children, but those assumptions -- that someone else is teaching him better than I can - are something that I feel more able to question after reading this book. It seems that, if I decided to homeschool, I feel more confident that there are resources and methodologies available.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ordered this because I am always on the lookout for great homeschool resources. I mostly rely on teacherspayteachers.com, so I thought this would give me a little variety.
I really like the concept of this book, and I am a fan of the writing and the attitudes of the authors. I feel like their values align with mine.

It's difficult to know how to rate this book. I have already found some websites that I feel will be invaluable to me, so that seems worth it to me!
MANY of the links do not work, so that is very frustrating. I feel that going through this book takes up precious time, but if you can slog through and cross out links that are no longer functional, you can find some great stuff.
It might be better to go ahead and just get an ebook version (as long as the links are actually clickable in the book -- I am not sure about that). It is kind of a bummer to have to manually type in some of the URLs. Most of them are not big websites with a ton of resources -- there are quite a few "hole in the wall" types of websites from faculty members at universities and such.

Overall, I think this book will be worth it to me, although I am not a fan of the huge investment of time I am having to make.

[mRose · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are looking for an Internet listing of free stuff to assist in your homeschool (or kids in public school) this book is of some help. If you don't already own a computer and a printer this book probably will be of little help to you. There are outdated links, but many that I looked up were useable. Although NOT all links she lists are functional in the way the description of the list makes them appear. For example, a history link for kids actually went to a News website. Overall it's helpful but you probably could do just as well to google topics you might want. However, the book gives some ideas like virtual field trips/tours and sites to do that. I wouldn't have thought to google that. When I say "google" I mean search engine. I don't use Google myself lol. I would NOT recommend buying this book - it's too expensive for just an index of links. Check it out at the library for FREE. There aren't many tips outside of the links for homeschooling for free.

[Deanna Sutter · Rating 1 out of 5]

This large book is a reference for over 1,200 websites for homeschooling families. I liked her commentary and learned some useful things. She had several Internet addresses for every subject you could ever think of.

I looked up a good many websites that I was interested in. Almost every single one of them was either a bad address or not worth anything to me. The book was published in 2000 which is a lot of time in the computer world. I think with a little creativity you can google anything you can think of and find sites for yourself.

[Jeepster · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many free resources. This is a book to flip through and skim and then go back numerous times to specific subjects/areas that you are planning for.
This book highly encourages digging deep in your community for resources you never knew were there. Lots of anecdotal stories to inspire and give ideas.
This book is a keeper! A must-read for anyone who is currently homeschooling or is keeping it as a possibility.

[Kcshrader · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this one because it promised access to ongoing updates electronically. Let's just say that didn't work well. Thanks to the nature of the internet, the book was outdated before it ever came off the presses, and without that update system, it's really not worth a whole lot. Still, if you don't mind double-checking all the links, it does offer some good websites to try.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I have not read this cover to cover, it has a great number of sites for educational use. I do not use the internet exclusively as we like books, crafts, outdoor fun, and trips, etc... for the majority of our schooling. I do use educational sites for extras like learning about holidays, specific topics, lapbooks, educational games and more however.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

lots of internet addresses. resources that way. probably many outdated because book was written in 2009 but some of the info between the lists of websites is good and relatable although nothing incredibly new after having read a few other homeschool books: why homeschool, socialization, special considerations, opposition, field trips, etc.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

the idea that you can do homeschool for free and without ready-made cirriculums was not one i had heard of in my study of homeschool until this book. a very encouraging read for anyone who is or who is thinking about homeschooling.

[Fiona Endsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Book is packed full of helpful educational websites, clearly whatever you are looking to teach your child, there is an excellent chance you will find what you need online. I got this one out of the library but I think it's worth getting my own copy.

[Ami · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was basically several lists of websites where you can get free information in various subjects. It could be wildly helpful, but it is not the type of book that offers much more than website resources.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bought @ used book store even though there is a newer edition out. Lots of information & websites (not sure if duplicated as you can find so much on the internet). But will have it on hand as a resource guide.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure if there is a new edition or not, but there needs to be. A lot of the links were out of date/didn't work and I know there are tons more resources out there than when this book was written.

[Helena · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't think I'll ever be "done" with this book, as it's a resource that's in use as needed. Definitely got a lot of helpful information in it--I ended up getting my own copy so I could have it to refer to, as I had to give the library's copy back. :)

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

This books give lots of information about where to find free worksheets and other materials on the web. I found alot of the websites are no longer available.

[Kerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent book, but it is a little outdated. Still, it would be a good book to start out with, and you will be able to find a lot more resources online these days.

[Jodi A · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book had a lot of really good information and it was laid out pretty well. It was a little bit too much for me, too overwhelming.

[Alinton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am reading the book, not ebook, and am less then 30 pages in and it has already given LOTS of infomation . I will have to purchase this book.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great resource

[Sundy DeGooyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many great websites to check out. So many great ideas. Almost every page of this book is highlighted or folded down or marked in someway. I'll be using this reference book A LOT next year.