Saturday, October 22, 2016

What if Your Homeschool Curriculum Were Free?


So, I've been homeschooling since before some homeschool moms were born! I understand trying to provide a quality education but not having funds to purchase quality materials. I had to make due for many years.


We used library materials extensively. We joined other homeschoolers for co-op classes and field trips. Anything we purchased was used. Math "counters" were milk bottle lids. (M&M's didn't work because "B" ate them without counting!" Oh how I envied folks who purchased new materials each year! Oh how I coveted the things I saw in those homeschool catelogs that arrived in the mail!


As the years passed we gradually budgeted and spent more money on our homeschooling, but it always felt like we were spending too much, and yet there was always something (many somethings) that I wished I could buy!


Do you ever fantasize about homeschool materials? Could you imagine having so many choices that you can't keep track of them all? All for free? Well, in exchange for using them and then writing a review to tell people what you thought of the materials?


Well, I would like to invite you to apply to The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Review Crew! As a part of the TOS Crew you could, potentially, homeschool every one of your children with the very latest materials, in every subject, for free! All in exchange for writing a review!



Through Homeschool Review Crew, I have received materials to homeschool my last student (and myself) in every subject I needed, and then some! I have received materials for English (composition, handwriting, literature, grammar), Science (elementary, middle school, Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science), Social Studies (history, geography), Math (elementary, middle school, Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry), Art (artist study as well as instruction in doing art), Music (composer study, music appreciation, piano, guitar), Physical Education, Health, and foreign languages (Spanish, French, German, Finnish, Latin, and the opportunity for a lot of other languages including ASL and even "Pirate"!).


From the email I received from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine:
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Some requirements for being a part of the Crew include the following:

* First of all you must be a homeschooler. You don't have to homeschool all of your children, but you must have at least one homeschooled student, preschool through highschool.

* You must be willing to use the review products with your students for about six weeks in your homeschool, before writing your review. We feature reviews from people who actually use the product. Review periods have deadlines and requirements for the reviews. 
 
* You must have an active blog on which to publish your reviews. By active blog, I mean that you should be blogging regularly about your family and homeschool. We like bloggers who like to write and enjoy the social media aspect of blogging.

* Speaking of social media, activity on at least one social media platform is also a requirement. Which one is up to you - Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or Pinterest. You will need to commit to promoting your reviews in social media.

* You must be willing to check in on our Review Management forum. This is where we communicate with our team. We do everything possible to make things easy for you, outside of writing the actual review, but you need to be willing to participate by checking in nearly daily and completing required forms when reviews become available. You will also be required to post your reviews in prescribed windows of time.

* Sample reviews are helpful. If you've never written a review on your blog, go ahead and write one for curriculum you are currently using in your homeschool. This will help us see how you approach writing reviews. 
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The Homeschool Review Crew experiences transition all the time. People join the Crew, people leave. People decide not to homeschool. People run out of students.

I'm nearing the end of my homeschool journey. I'll be "aging out", if you will. My last student is a high school junior. The bottom line is that we are trying to grow the Crew. With more folks on the Crew, the vendors can get nice big reviews, with 100 reviewers of their product, even if (for instance) it is a high school product. 

We need you! Please consider applying to the Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Review Crew. Please let them know you were referred by Diana M. at the Homeschool Review blog! Read more about applying to the Crew HERE. Then fill out the New Crew Application.

I hope you'll be joining us soon!


3 comments :

  1. I love how you included a photo history of your homeschooling through the years!

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  2. What a touching view of growth. And there is so much truth in the statement about always seeing something you want to purchase. With the Homeschool Review Crew, I find myself wishing that less and less. We often have something on the shelf or coming up for review that fits that need. Homeschool Review Crew is amazing and I'm blessed to be on it with you! - Lori

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