Textbooks and other printed materials are undoubtedly one of the biggest expenses associated with homeschooling. Got a tight budget? Here are some inexpensive (& free!) options that will allow you to offer quality materials to your kids without breaking the bank!
1) Check out the local library
A lot of the recommended reads and texts for various curricula are available in public libraries. Look especially for out of print books in your library, as they may have copies of these older books that are difficult to find and often quite expensive to purchase.
In the Montreal area, keep in mind that you can get a free membership at any of the Montreal municipal libraries as well as at libraries in the boroughs and de-merged municipalities. Montreal is working towards including all of the community libraries on its network, called Nelligan. Information about most of the island’s libraries is available on the bilingual Montreal Libraries Network web site. You can query the caralogue or get the location and operating hours for all the network libraries here. Don’t forget, if you want a book that isn’t available at your local library you can ask for an Inter-Library Loan (ILL)!
Another network of libraries, the Montreal Association of Independent Libraries, has several members including the Montreal Children’s Library. There are three locations, including the Atwater branch which is right across from the Children’s Hospital. Parents who are bringing their children to the hospital for procedures will find a large collection of materials that deal with doctors and hospitals, to help increase understanding and reduce fear associated with having medical tests or treatments. Again, membership is free to anyone living in the Greater Montreal Area. Bring a proof of address (driver’s license, hospital card, lease, etc.) and be prepared to provide an adult reference that is not living with the child.
University libraries can also be a good place to find reference material, textbooks and children’s literature. Look especially in the education collections, as universities keep copies of current and past textbooks for the use of students training to be teachers. Undergraduate students from any Quebec university, and graduate students or faculty from any Canadian university are generally given free reciprocal access to libraries at other institutions. You may also find you can obtain materials through ILL.
Members of the general public can purchase a library membership (usually around $50 or more for a semester, although alumni often benefit from discounts.) If you just need to look at the books, however, you may find that you can access the reference section & stacks without a membership. You just can’t borrow materials.
For more information about access to university libraries, consult the appropriate web sites at Concordia, McGill, Université de Laval, Université de Montréal and UQAM.
2) Second Hand Books
Used book sellers often have a section for children, and some even specialize in reselling textbooks. Also think about Freecycling or about Bookcrossing, PaperbackSwap, BookMooch, etc. Want to learn more about these options? Check out this review, which I originally posted to another one of my blogs.
3) Free eBooks and Curricula
I can never recommend this enough! There are several places on the web where homeschoolers and afterschooling parents can find free curricula (lists of texts, by grade level or subject area.) My absolute favourites are Old Fashioned Education and Ambleside Online. Again, I’ve written about these resources elsewhere. These sites do not dispense actual books, but they will help you to locate suitable materials according to the needs of your children. If you are a beginning homeschooler and you want to find an inexpensive way to educate your kids, while feeling confident that the materials you are using are age-appropriate and that you are presenting a well rounded set of readings, this option is a good one.
There are also many web sites that offer children’s reading lists, as well as sites that list living books for subjects such as math, science and geography. The living books can supplement or even replace a traditional textbook or workbook. This approach is great for those who unschool, as well as for those whose children have difficulty learning with a textbook oriented approach. Use your favourite search engine and plug in terms such as “living books, (subject)”. You can also get a list of books from your local children’s librarian, or try checking out web sites associated with librarians’ associations, literacy groups, and of course book awards such as the Newbery. These books will usually be available at your library.
Free e-books can be had at a number of web sites, usually because the copyrights have expired and the books are now in the public domain. Again, I have written about sources for free children’s literature online elsewhere here. Check out some of my favourite resources: Project Gutenberg, the Baldwin Project, and a source for free audiobooks: Librivox. For college level texts, try Freeload Press.
4) Commercial Booksellers
Going through an educational book dealer for new texts can be expensive, especially if you need approved texts for several children. Cut your costs by checking at places like Amazon or Indigo first. Sometimes you can find the textbooks you are looking for, and there is usually a deal on shipping for orders around $40 or more. In the fall there are textbook sales that offer significant savings. Winter holiday savings may allow you to purchase literature or books not usually classified as textbooks, and benefit from sales or shipping deals.
If you have not yet checked out BookCloseouts.com, this is a site you will want to visit. They carry deeply discounted copies of books. Most are just overstock, although they do have some in a special category (even less costly) that are slightly damaged. Books are sold in US dollars, but they do ship Canadian orders from within the country so you can avoid customs-related waits and fees. You may not always find the books you want when you want them, but if you visit often you can save a lot of money on this site.
A last favourite is to buy e-books, and my favourite seller for this is CurrClick. They specialize in materials for homeschoolers and other educators, and they’ve got a huge selection of e-texts and audio downloads for both kids and adults. One of the benefits of using e-books, especially for things like unit studies, workbooks, lapbooking, etc. is that you only print out what you need and you can print multiple copies if you are teaching in a classroom or homeschool co-op. For larger families, the same book can be used several years in a row for one low cost. CurrClick offers one free e-book each week, plus they have several times a year when they do a holiday giveaway or a deeply discounted theme sale.
This work was created by Ruby of Freehold 2, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Canada License.
Excerpts copyright quoted authors. Please visit their sites to read more, and respect the terms of their copyrights. Thanks!
If you enjoy the articles in this blog please feel free to visit my other published works at Associated Content. Thanks!
