What resources & equipment do I need?

One of the biggest concerns with starting home education is the worry about the cost. How much will cost to start? What do I need to have ready? The simple answer is – nothing.

You really can home educate on a budget. Firstly, do not spend anything, I myself made this mistake when first starting and have regretted it ever since. In fact, we highly recommend not spending or buying any big purchases for the first couple of months until you’re settled in and have sorted what learning style, and what interest’s you child wishes to pursue.

The best things to ensure you have are paper, pens and pencils, computer access – wifi if possible and a library card. Even if you don’t have a computer at home these days most libraries have them with access to the internet.

As you start to settle into home education you’ll start to pick up how your child learns – do they turn to books for information, or do they look up YouTube videos, are they learning through their hands etc Check our page on learning styles on the website to find out more about home education learning styles. When you combine that with their interested you can then borrow resources, hire books out the library, rent or buy,  there are many Facebook home education groups which resell resources after use.

The resources we tend to buy or rent the most are scientific experiments or equipment – although some companies are now also lending these out to home educators at home education becomes more popular in the UK. Art & craft materials are also a great investment – who knew you could teach structural DNA through pipe cleaners! Subscriptions and sports equipment are also great investment. Do also remember most toys, even games, have learning value, especially toys such as Lego which are incredibly for teaching maths!

 With Museums also being free and places like National Trust offering huge discounts to home educators’ days out suddenly become much cheaper and it’s amazing how much can be learnt investigating. We also have a section on our website and a previous blog post about free resources found online. There is a wealth of knowledge out there and at your fingertips in the home so don’t let cost be a worry you when starting to home educate.