The candle was already lit and the verse was on the chalkboard when my five-year-old walked to the reading nook, chose a picture book from the basket, and settled into the soft chair with it. That whole beginning cost us nothing. Most of our mornings do, and I want to tell you why, because I know how heavy a curriculum catalog feels when your budget is already stretched thin.
Begin with what is already in your house
For two years we homeschooled at the kitchen table, and I bought very little to do it. We had a table, a pencil cup, crayons, paper, and one basket for each boy. That was our school, and it was a good one. The classroom came later and it came slowly. If you are curious how it grew, I wrote about designing your homeschool classroom, but please hear me: the table was enough.
If you are working at the kitchen table, clear one end the night before and set one basket there. Put the day's verse on a scrap of paper and prop it against the basket. Tomorrow morning, that is a homeschool room.
Spend on the few things, not the many
I am not a curriculum expert, so I keep my rule simple. Before I buy anything, I ask whether both boys will actually use it this week. If the answer is a maybe, I wait.
This is also why joining as a free member is where I would start. Membership is free forever, and it comes with 24 free printables, including the nature-walk basket list, the weekly rhythm chart and the morning basket guide. More are added through the year. Use those first, and let them carry you for a good while.
When you want something more, every worksheet in the worksheet shop is $4.00, or $2.00 for members, because members get 50% off. They are print-at-home PDFs on US letter paper. I pick one at a time, for a reason. The Fall Colors leaves worksheet has four maple leaves to color and red, yellow, orange and brown labels, so my three-year-old colors and my five-year-old reads the labels beside him. One page, both boys, one unhurried morning.
A free morning you can try tomorrow
This takes about fifteen minutes and needs a basket, a pencil and whatever the yard gives you.
- Say the verse. Write it and the date where everyone can see it, then read it aloud once. Do not quiz them.
- Take the basket outside for five minutes. Each boy finds five things: leaves, acorns, sticks, a smooth stone.
- Line them up at the table. Your three-year-old counts his out loud, touching each one. Your five-year-old puts his in order from smallest to biggest, or sorts them by color.
- Ask one question. Say, "God made every one of these and no two are the same. Which is your favorite?" Let the five-year-old tell you why. Let the three-year-old point.
- Give them a home. Put the favorites on a shelf or windowsill. For us it is the nature shelf.
That is counting, sorting, talking and a little worship, and you spent nothing. If you want to turn the same walk into a craft later, the Fall Leaf Stamping activity pack uses those same leaves.
The free things I lean on most
- A walk with a basket, which is the heart of our nature study.
- A basket of picture books turned face out, so the covers do the inviting.
- The chalkboard, a verse and the date. That is a whole morning opening.
- Reading aloud while the boys build or color.
- Baking together, with the three-year-old pouring and the five-year-old counting scoops.
When the budget is the weight
I will admit it once. There have been months when I scrolled past other families' beautiful shelves and felt my chest tighten. I started to believe my boys needed more than I could give them. What helped was remembering what the early years are for. They are for habits, wonder and being close to your mother, and none of those come in a box.
If you need company, the members' forum has a room for the hard days, and it is free and moderated. For state requirements, remember that they vary from place to place, so please check the resources page for state laws and the curriculum I trust. And if you are still deciding whether this is for you, the case for homeschooling and the FAQ may settle your heart.
You do not need a bigger budget to give your children a rich morning. You need a verse, a basket and a little time. The rest, the Lord has promised to supply: "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
