1. Borrow them. If you know other homeschool families with kids of similar ages, you might be able to work out a trade. For example, your 9th grader might use their science book for a year, while their 8th grader uses some of your older history texts.

2. Hit school sales. Schools unload their old texts every few years and tend to sell them off to raise funds. You can pick up these books, often en masse, for a song. Not only can you use them yourself, but perhaps sell some extras and earn some cash to pay for other school supplies.

3. Find used books online. You might be surprised at how much is available online. Ebay is a great place to start looking for used texts, but you can also find them on homeschool forums and membership sites.

4. Make your own. There’s really no reason you can’t create and print your own homeschool texts using information found online. If you are into DIY homeschooling, then this could be the way to go. It will take some time, but you will have everything you want your children to learn laid out in one book.

While textbooks should certainly not be the only way we teach our children, they are definitely useful. Finding ways to get them cheaper is always welcome for homeschool families that are struggling to stick to a budget.

1. Teach them. They can’t practice good study habits if they don’t know what they are! You’ll find plenty of information on this online, but there are also workbooks that you can go through with your kids.

2. Provide the materials. Give your kids highlighters, notepads and a well-lit area to sit and go over their texts.

3. Practice, practice, practice. This is very important. You can practice by having your kids watch a documentary and take notes, then quiz them afterwards. Notetaking is a very important part of studying and your kids should know how to do this whether they are unschooled or strictly textbook learning.

What are your tricks for making sure your kids know how to study?