My Top Ten Favorite Freebie Sites

I was asked to be a part of a homeschool mom panel for a local support group today. One of my areas of "expertise" (why I was asked to be a part of the panel) was homeschooling on a budget. My handout from the mini-conference workshop is still available under Homeschoooling on a Budget.

I thought it would be nice though, to post my Top Ten Favorite Freebie Sites. These are sites I go to a regular basis, some of them daily! I will describe them for you, and you can click on the highlighted title to go directly to the site.

The Homeschool Freebie of the Day is a site I frequent Monday through Friday. The daily freebie could be an e-book, a classic book scanned or typed to e-book format, a unit study, a classic radio drama, downloadable coloring book, and list goes on. The Freebie of the Day is available for one day only, so that why I'm on there each day. It doesn't take long to download and I save the file on a USB memory drive under the appropriate file to find when I'm ready to use it. Sometimes we change our plans for the day and study whatever they have for us. Right now, if you sign up for their weekly e-mail "heads up", you will recieve their directory of free worksheets that they compiled and researched after many of their readers suggested sites. I have checked the directory out and it is awesome!

Honestly, the Erskine Family who runs the site are an awesome family! They have a sister site, called Homeschool Radio Shows or "Living Books for the Ear". These are classis radio dramas of everything! There are research shows, biographies, old family radio shows, classic books and plays. They are a wonderful addition to any homeschool.

Another daily freebie favorite is the devotional from Alpha and Omega. You'll need to sign up for an account with them, go to the freebie tab, then to the e-news link and check the box for the Daily Focus. I liked the devotionals so much, I bought the book through the Homeschool Buyers Co-op (you can get free student and teacher ids with them!). I still get the Daily Focus in my inbox though. Sometimes the devotional is so touching, I have to comment on the site.

I told the ladies at the meeting I am a bit Charlotte Mason in my teaching style. My favorite Charlotte Mason site is Simply Charlotte Mason. They have a free curriculum guide for those who are interested in teaching with the Charlotte Mason Method. There are three wonderful free e-books under the book section. You can download free samples of the things for sale. My husband originally got on this site and printed the free guide for Scripture Memory. There are loads of cool things to explore on this site. They have a wonderful e-newsletter, too, that I enjoy.

The Old Schoolhouse has some very enjoyable free we-e-books. Look on the left hand side under categories for "Freebies". The books range from things for the teacher to things for the student, and even things to share with those who are skeptical about homeschooling. You can also sign up to be on the list for the monthly free we-e-books.

A friend of mine, locally, has a great site called the Homeschool Helper. Before I knew this site belonged to her, I saw it in all kinds of national homeschool publications. I felt like I knew celebrity when she told me that was her site! Amy is a wonderful person, amazing mom and friend. Her site is a place that homeschoolers share unit studies, lapbooks, worksheets, and much more. She also shares homemaking tips, menus, and more. She also shares about homeschooling and family on her blog. She has an e-newsletter that updates you on the newest additions to the site.

Speaking of Amys...my next site is not just freebies, but amazing online homeschool magazine started by two Amys. I have won a couple of free things from the site and many homeschool moms share unit studies, lapbooks, crafts, and so many helpful teaching tools. This is a site that I have actually made friends with ladies across the country. I have done multiple Bible/devotional studies with my cyber-friend, Lori (that is to make the distinction between her and my co-op friend, Lori, and my sister-in-law, Lori). This site is the Heart of the Matter. They also have an e-newsletter that always includes a freebie link.

A site that I discovered through a couple of these sites is Don Potter, a Christian school teacher with a heart to share what really works with parents, educators, and homeschoolers. He has spent much time and energy to share old books and links and even make mp3 tracks to teach Math, Spelling, Phonics, and many other things. This is a site well worth spending some time perusing. He also has links to other sites and books and things related to the things he shares on his site. Checking out his "Education Pages" is a must. You can even learn Greek, Latin, Spanish, and Hebrew on his site! I'm looking forward to using his materials in the coming school year.

I recently discovered a couple of sites through the Homeschool Freebie of the Day. One is Practical Pages. The homeschool mom, Nadene, who runs this blog is incredible! She could totally being selling all the wonderful things she shares for free. She is Charlotte Mason style teacher. She has incredible notebooking pages, lapbooks, paper dolls,... you name it, I think she does it.

The other site I found recently through the Homeschool Freebie of the Day is kind of three sites all hosted by one homeschool mom, Lee Giles. Links to All Things Free for Homeschoolers is her newest site, I believe. She has also written a book called The King Will Make a Way (which I'll be reviewing at a later date) and has a blog called Just Us, which was linked to by the Homeschool Freebie of the Day, where she shares free lapbooks and homeschool info. These are new sites to me, but I really like what I've seen!

So, that is my top 10, but I'll give you two extra freebies! Another favorite spot of mine for freebies is Currclick. Not everything on the site is free, but they have weekly freebies and sometimes huge freebie selections for Mother's Day or some other event. If you sign up for their e-newsletter you'll find out what the current freebies are and know if you want to hit the site for a download.

Bonus number two is the place to go for free American History curriculum, Kindergarten through 12th grade. American Heritage (.org, not .com) has award winning American History curriculum for free. You can get the whole set of K-12 on cd, mailed to your house, for free! If you'd rather have paper form, they have the printed version in a binder for $19.50. This would be the one site of the twelve that I don't frequent, but should visit more often.

I slept and woke up and remembered another wonderful freebie that I have been enjoying during our homeschooling adventure, No Greater Joy magazine. You can read the magazine on-line, or get a print version for free! The magazine has information on homeschooling, child training, Bible Study, marriage, and much, much more! There is even a recipe for Peanut Butter Play Dough in a back issue that I shared with a friend recently.

So, that completes my baker's dozen of favorite freebie sites. Hope you all enjoy these freebies! I'd love to hear from you by e-mail or comments.