Ok I was thinking that since homeschoolers are very good at saving money maybe we could share ideas with others and if we could maybe get this made sticky so it stays up top where we can get to it quick. I have a few ideas thanks to a wonderful store I visited today. For cheap clipboards use the cardboard out of an old binder with some rubber bands at the top to hold the paper. Bottle caps can be used for counting and also as pieces for a homemade game The tape from old cassette tapes is great for teaching children how to tie shoes (because it doesn't break) Large carboard tubes (from lg paper rolls and such) make great rain sticks File folders (everyone's favorite resource) make great stencils, also they are great for making cards and even weaving baskets Old Maps make great book covers, also great for cutting out to make little mosaics from Old wire is great for book binding, and hanging mobiles and pictures Anyone else have some great ideas?????
Great idea! I'll have to think some. Most of the ones I can come up with right this moment have to do with scrapbooking... which is slightly odd, as I haven't scrapbooked in over a year. LOL
Used 1/2 gallon milk containers, pint size too, make great log cabins when covered with recycled paper bags. Use toilet paper tubes as molds for chunky chalk.(In case your child is into doing math on the driveway like mine.) TeePees can be made with some twigs and brown paper bags. Egg cartons make great catepillars for a science and craft project. Used glass bottles are great for housing spiders and insects. Small coffee cans can be covered with paper and made into a pencil holder. The ends of books are great for a straight edge. Beans help with fractions.
M&Ms ( 3/99cents at my store) make cheap counters and are great for playing games! windsocks are easy to make from TP or PT rolls and tissue paper or streamers TP and PT rolls are also great formaking colidascope or telescopes, mirror and all! Egg cartons also make good planters for seeds!
Most libraries have freebie magazines left to be recycled by other patrons. These can be read by mom or student then used for cutting up for posters etc. Gift wrap for birthday gifts can be made from rolls of shelf paper, or butcher type paper with cut outs from magazines that fit the personality of the kid getting the gift. My kids have fun with stuff like this and we save like 3.50 on a roll of batman paper or whatever. Spounge painting will also work nicely. Goodwill and other thrift shops are great sources for homeschooling materials. I have quite a nice library for my kids from thrift shop finds. This takes multiple trips. My kids love going in and getting a stack of "new" books. We have found workbooks and other items there also. YouTube is a great source for educational video clips. We get our art stuff from there. Please find and select these yourselves, youtube is not appropriate for un attended children. LOL
I'm so glad you all like this thread. I personally am enjoying reading the other suggestions. I will add more as I come up with them or find them.
These are great thanks! I will hopefully add more as I think of them but for now. 1. Use bottle caps from liquid laundry deterigent bottles for water to rinse out kids paint brushes in between changing colors for a cleaner brush. I saved a whole bunch of these for our co-op class and taught paint by number class so the kids can learn to not only paint, but numbers and colors as well.
I have also used old magazines for language, or grammar. I have Ems pick an article or story she likes and she had to underline all the adjectives, circle the proper nouns and so on. She really like this!
We've been pulling the pages out of a workbook (the thin kind, Remedia Publications) and putting the sheets into page protectors. Ds does them with a dry erase marker by writing on the page protector instead of the page. When he's done, we erase and they can be re-done by him or by siblings in the future.
I've saved the frozen juice lids (the metal circle) for ages. DD and I just made a matching game from some of them, we put letter stickers on them, and she matches the capital with the lower case. I think we're going to make more with shape stickers, or animals and the letter they start with, etc. I'm sure there's got to be a ton of ideas for these little buggers. Also, we use those plastic bingo chips with the magnetic wand for counters. One color per kid, or someone can use them all for math concepts. Bingo ink stampers are fun too, for when the kids want to paint, but mom is too tired for the set-up, clean-up of it. :wink:
BRILLIANT!!!!!!!! 1. Egg cartons can be used for art supplies. I usually put small amounts of paint in each section to control how much paint gets used. Then there is no clean up - just recycle! 2. Clear contact paper can be used to "laminate" just about anything - and it lasts. 3. Cheap table cloths from the dollar store keep tables clean when life gets messy (art/science fun, gluing, etc.)
You know those free AOL cd's that are always in the mail where here's some uses for them They can be painted or decorated in many ways to make weather proof ornaments. I saw some pictures somewhere where they were used to make a strand of christmas ornaments they were all strung together and painted and little sparkles an such were hot glued on it really was beautiful but I can't find the picture now... Also they make great little bases for art projects and such.
one more helpful hint if you are having young children cut straight lines (like to cut paper in four pieces) have them or you fold the paper on the lines and let them use a letter opener to cut through it. it's much safer for little fingers and more fun Letter openers also work great for cutting wrapping paper quickly.
Well this isn't homeschool savings, but personal products, I love my mooncup menstrual cup. No more buying feminine products. It's the best $20.00 that I've ever spent. Search google Diva Cup, Moon Cup, Keeper cup for more information. Kristine
We just found a great use for the empty pinkie paste containers. We filled them with paint and put the brush through the hole in the middle. When we are done we can put the dipstick back in and close it up to keep the paint fresh. The also works well for water cups for cleaning brushes.....only you don't have to save it when you are done.
. 1. Use bottle caps from liquid laundry deterigent bottles for water to rinse out kids paint brushes in between changing colors for a cleaner brush. We use yogurt containers for this. When they get "icky" enough, we just recycle them. Carol
This is more of a "schooling" tip - I cut off 2 slots on an egg carton so that there are five spaces on each side. I then use this as a "tens" container, and we use counters to make different combinations up to ten. I.e. put 4 on one side and 3 on the other = 7. Helps to learn beginning math skills.
