Educational Materials...

Dear Charles,
Curriculum can indeed be very expensive. I would suggest that you do a little research, discover which curriculum (or combination of curriculum) you would like to use, and then search one of the following places: Half-Price Bookstore, Craigslist.org, freecycle.org, garage sales and used curriculum stores. I don't know where you are, but there are two stores in the Dallas area that sell used homeschool curriculum. I know everyone has their differences of opinion, but I have found the best quality classical curriculum to be from The Calvert School. I would also recommend two books: Educating the Wholehearted Child and The Charlotte Mason Companion. Also, Alpha Omega sells a computer-based curriculum called Switched-On Schoolhouse. My children learned so much the year we used it and they especially enjoyed the lessons on Benjamin Franklin's life. Although you would purchase the CD's new (about $300 per child) you could save them and use them for your younger children when they are older.(and this particular one automatically keeps the grade book and records for you for quick printing if you are ever required to show a record).
If money is especially tight, don't forget that the public library has a copy of all of the public school textbooks in the reference section. Although you will not be able to check them out, with a little time and a pocketfull of change you could use their copy machine to copy the lessons you needed until you were able to purchase the curriculum of your choice.
I know this is a lot...I could go on and on about other books and things I have used that I loved! I hope this helps.
Heather