Little did I know, how my life would change because of the internet. I’m not sure if I should be thanking Al Gore, or other powers that be for inventing the internet – but I believe all homeschoolers should be praising God for this wonderful tool. Why?

As was made abundantly clear early on, the internet also has a dark side with not-so-good things also online; but, with supervision and content filters, the internet has so much good, useful information to offer most of it for FREE, that it is an almost invaluable tool and resource for the homeschooling family. Everything from dictionaries, encyclopedias to full-fledged curriculum can be gotten online – for free.  For just the cost of printer ink, a family could homeschool. That’s about as close to free as you’re gonna get!

With the recent, yet to be resolved, issue of the new US CPSIA law that is supposed to go into effect February 9, 2009, homeschooling as we know it may be in jeopardy. This law basically states that any product (clothing, toys, books – anything) that is made and intended for use by children age 12 and under is now subject to mandatory testing and certification as lead-free.

This law encompasses books in schools, libraries, homeschool curriculum publishers, toys, games, baby equipment and furniture, clothing (new and used), resale shops and used curriculum swaps/sales: online and offline.  It even includes garage sales!

It may be difficult, if not impossible – bordering on outrageously expensive  – to obtain printed curriculum intended for any child under age 12, especially used curriculum; because of the cost a company would incur testing all their merchandise. Many small business, especially home cottage businesses, will most likely fail.

The internet was a friend to homeschools before CPSIA, but may be our saving grace should this law not be overturned or modified. Printing out ebooks, worksheets and curriculum from online sources may be the only affordable way to homeschool our children. Of course, the internet has always been the most affordable way, but now may be the only way many families will be able to obtain curriculum at all.

So if you have not already incorporated the internet into your homeschool, why not check out some of my favorite online resources for homeschoolers. Even if CPSIA does not come to fruition, the economy is still rough for many, and saving a few dollars is always wise.

Recommended Online  Homeschool Resources
Homeschool Legal Defense Association : a must have resource for every homeschool family
An Old-Fashioned Education : a free, fully planned curriculum for grades K-12
Science for Kids : by the American Chemical Society. Excellent science projects!
Writing and Grammar by Scott Foresman : Top-notch program! Very well done.
The Math Worksheet Site : excellent site
The Fallacy Detective : good site for Christian logic and critical thinking
Super Teacher Worksheets : math, language arts and spelling. Lots of good worksheets here.
Elementary Art Lessons : nicely done.
Project Gutenberg : free ebooks to download. Most are public domain books, but some are copyrighted where permission was given to Project Gutenberg to offer these books free for downloading. These are full books – many textbooks too! Excellent resource!!