Ways to Make Extra Money at Home

Need an Online Side Job?

Whether you're self-employed, under-employed, or just always looking for more cash, there are many legitimate ways to make money at home online. As a self-employed entrepreneur, I've tried many different side gigs. I've always got a bunch of irons in the fire trying to find one that is the best return on my time invested. Some things pay well, but are tedious and stressful. When that happens, it causes a shift in my mood. I'd rather do something that took less time and caused less stress. I mean who wouldn't? If you're looking for ways to make extra money at home read on for a list of things you can do as a side job online.

This post contains Amazon and other Affiliate links.

Need a side gig?

Ways to Make Money Online

When working online, you never have to leave your home. Let's get real, you never even have to leave your bed! Unfortunately, you do have to have some marketable online skills. However, there are a range of activities for the amateur to the professional online entrepreneur. So, if you're hoping to become self-employed or to add a little extra cash to your monthly bottom line, it might be worth it to brush up on some English grammar lessons, Microsoft skills, and understand how social media is beneficial to your bank account.

• If you're a teacher of any sort, including a homeschooling teacher/parent, you can make money by selling your printable lessons online. #worksheets People don't have time to create these and they appreciate the work being done for them by a professional.  Some great sites to start selling your teacher resources are TeacherSherpa.com and TeachersPayTeachers.com  Each website is reputable, and as an added bonus, you can sell the same items on each site. They work sightly differently, so go for it and see which one works best for you! If you're a serial entrepreneur like me, you'll continue to do both.

• Do you have some random skill? Something you're an expert at and can do quite well in a very short amount of time? Maybe you're a freelance writer, a musician who does jingles, you were born with a great voice for voice overs, you're an amazing cartoonist, skilled at graphic design, or perhaps you can write a kick*** cover letter and resume. Whatever your marketable skill, you can promote it on fiverr.com. Just offer something for $5 and you can add additional fees or add-on work. I haven't sold anything over there, but I have used the service many, many times!

• My first venture into the making money online came via UpWork. Back in the day, it was known as Elance. With UpWork, you can charge whatever you want. The more skilled you are, the more you can make. I started out low-balling bids on jobs until I gained confidence in a particular subject. Now, I work as a consultant and bid a much higher wage.  I work as a freelance writer, SEO specialist, and social media marketer. However, you can find jobs for draftsmen, architects, interior designers, product testers, reviewers, and virtual assistants. Sometimes, you can even find work offline.

More ways to make money online.

• If you're a blogger or anyone with a large online following, you can do a search for sponsored social media posts. You've heard of celebrities getting paid to post on their Twitter and Instagram? You can do it too! This is my favorite side gig. It only takes a few minutes to complete and the pay out can be just as good as a sponsored blog post. You decided what pay you want. Your stats, engagement, and follower count play into it. Anyone can do it and earn $1 to over $1000 for a short post.

Learn how to get sponsored posts on Instagram.

• If you are still uncertain about what type of job you would love to do at home or what profession is the most suitable for you, it's important to keep an eye on new trends and analyze different open positions and their requirements. In this case, you can use the best job search websites. For example, you can have a look at the work-from-home vacancies listed on Jooble. Filters such as location, date posting, salary, work experience, and work employment will help you speed up your search and find the most appropriate vacant post in the long run.

• Write a how to manual, a comic book, or a full-fledged novel! Using Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing tools, you can create book covers, upload content, and sell your book on Amazon. I've done this several times now. The key is quality. This is a pretty hefty time commitment. However, once you've done one book and created a template, it becomes easier. This is not for the faint of heart, the easily stressed, or the perfectionist. If you're any of those things, do the book, but pay someone to set it up for you. Here's one of my best selling Amazon books: Circle Time Activities. Tip: I also have versions of this book available on TeacherSherpa and TeachersPayTeachers.

Now, once you've created your own ways to make money online, you'll need to promote your business. You can do this yourself through boosting Facebook posts, running ads in Google AdWords, Pinterest, Twitter, or Instagram,  or enlisting a digital marketer to help. Pick me, pick me!

Still looking for more ways to make extra money online? Check out this article from the PennyHoarder.

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How to Make Homeschooling More Fun

Tips for Fun Ways to Homeschool Every Day

Has your homeschool become monotonous? When we homeschool everyday, it can become boring and repetitive. Find out how to make homeschooling more fun with this round up of tips from homeschool educators!

This post contains affiliate links.

10 Ways to Add Fun to Your Homeschool Schedule

How to Make Homeschooling More Fun

Here are some other homeschool websites that have come up with cool ways to make homeschooling more fun.

6 Ways to Make Homeschooling More Fun by True Aim.

5 Secrets to Add Fun to  Homeschool Routine by Rock Your Homeschool.

Homeschool Do Over by Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Top 10 Fun Homeschool Ideas by Homeschooling-Ideas.

Tips to Help Kids Have Fun in Homeschool by Natural Beach Living.

Liven Up Your Homeschool by She Knows.

How to Make Your Homeschool More Fun by Homeschool Hideout.

Make Homeschool Fun by Abeka.


So, how do you make your homeschool days fun? Share with us in the comments and then hop over to Pinterest to follow our homeschool boards.



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Free Online Homeschool Curriculum Recommendations

Curriculum Recommendations for Online Homeschooling

Whether you're new to homeschooling or you've been doing it for years, you're probably on the hunt for new, exciting, and engaging curriculum ideas. We get bored with the daily grind and change it up from year to year or even season to season. Here's a list of mostly free online homeschool curriculum recommendations that we've used and enjoyed. We've tried MANY other options, but these are our favorites.

This post contains affiliate links.

Free Online Homeschool Curriculum Recommendations.

Brainpop Jr. is my favorite program for younger elementary and preschool. The videos are fun to watch, and the kids always looked forward to using Brainpop Jr. for Homeschooling. 

Brainpop has a an online homeschool for middle school and high school, but we often found topics we wanted only on Brainpop Jr. The upper grade version is nice for supplementing classroom curriculum. If you use the paid version, you have access to more functions and all lessons.

MobyMax is a great online homeschool app to find out where your kids are in their homeschool learning experience. They can take placement tests in all subjects and then the program finds learning gaps and helps kids focus and build on the areas where they may be struggling. The content isn't as fun and engaging as Brainpop. It is a more definitive tool for classroom use, helping teachers to keep all students on track. MobyMax can be used as a supplement or as full homeschool curriculum up to eighth grade.

Khan Academy is (or should be) a household name for homeschoolers. In the beginning, Khan Academy targeted older students and even offered SAT prep. Now, they also offer more curriculum for elementary school. It keeps track of their lessons and lets you know when students are struggling or when they are ready to move to the next level.

The kids prefer Khan Academy math to any other online homeschool math program, but homeschool mom always liked to supplement with free Brainpop math videos to make sure the kids understood the talking points. Khan Academy can get monotonous for day to day homeschooling. Sal does a great job, but it can get a little boring after awhile. We also supplement our Khan Academy math with Life of Fred textbooks. These books are easy to read and tell a fun story while sneaking in practical math lessons.

Now, there are new instructors and new curriculum on KA. My daughter enjoys studying high school and college level psychology and art history through Khan Academy.

My son does well with virtual homeschool. So, for online high school homeschooling, we are sticking with Connections Academy. In Indiana, it is a free online public school. Connections Academy offers group gatherings and field trips. He gets through the assignments quickly (though, I'm told many homeschoolers struggle to get their lessons done on time) so we supplement with weekly enrichment including museum homeschool programs and educational YouTube videos like John and Hank Green's Crash Course in American History.

Sometimes, when he's struggling on a particular topic, (for high school all text books are online) we find a compatible Life of Fred homeschooling book to fll in any gaps. It's nice to have a good, old book that you can hold in your hand and flip through the pages. He enjoys reading them outside while enjoying his hammock.

Sure, Connections Academy has teachers and attendance to keep, but when it's all done, he'll have official transcripts for college. 

I prefer Connections High School to their Elementary program. The elementary program seemed a little too intense. Especially, when you want the freedom of homeschooling. They're still working out the bugs and it gets better every year, in the past, we had to have weekly check ups with the elementary teachers. For high school, signing in and doing your work suffices. As it should...

In 2017, this homeschool mom broke her leg. That made planning homeschool curriculum and doing enrichment activities difficult. So, my daughter was pretty much on her own. She did great with MobyMax (so I could keep up with her learning) and supplementing with YouTube videos of her choosing. But, homeschool mom felt like maybe she was failing her daughter by not being as involved. So, this fall, we are trying something new! Acellus. I stumbled upon Acellus last year when I was laid up in bed. Many other homeschoolers told me it was expensive, but I was sure I found a free or nearly free version. 

But whenever, I looked it up, I found the paid online homeschool version, which seems to be set up like Connections academy, but with a private school fee. That's not for us! I gave up for a while, and recently tried again. It seems they also have a homeschool app which is found on a separate website, PowerHomeschool. The homeschool app differs from the online homeschool version, because the videos are canned - meaning they are pre-recorded 

That's just what we wanted! We like working at our own pace. These videos are similar to videos my daughter finds on YouTube, but these organized by grade level. We'll choose math, science, language arts, foreign language, and music this year. At the time of this posting, the app is $9.99 per month, basically the same as the paid homeschool version of Brainpop. We're looking forward to starting her in the homeschool middle school program this fall. 

The PowerHomemschool website describe the homeschool curriculum like this: "Students proceed through the course in a step-by-step fashion watching a video lesson and then completing assessment problems. Students receive reviews and unit, mid-term, and final exams as they proceed through the course. Learning gaps are assessed and filled as students move through the course concept by concept."

Seems like a fair option to give it a test drive before you jump into their online school curriculum. 

We'll also supplement with Life of Fred fractions and beginning algebra. One thing I've missed the last few years, is doing hands-on science experiments. After previewing the Acellus app's science curriculum, I was excited to try it. With a Google search for online homeschool curriculum, the app is hard to find. They have moved it to a new website with a different name. Find it here: PowerHomeschool

Bottom line, don't break the bank to homeschool. We have SO many books, every year, I'd go out and buy new books. We never got through most of them. Find a free online homeschool curriculum, that works for you and stick with it. Then, supplement with fun enrichment activities and family outings.

We also involve the kids in day to day household concerns. We talk about finances, debt, and even recently including them in every step of the home buying process. That included going to a lender, saving for a down payment, creative ways to find extra money like garage sales, selling off items no longer needed, the highs and lows of Craigslist and eBay, getting a water and septic test at the state level, watching our credit scores, budgeting for groceries, finding ways to cut costs to save for the new house, and even going to a county courthouse to pick up documents needed to close. So many lessons here. At the courthouse, we all had to go through the security, empty our pockets, etc. The next steps, include renovating the new house. 

Family struggles and life lessons are often kept from kids. In my opinion, this tends to give the kids an unrealistic view of what it is like to be a grown up. They can't wait to get out of the house and start their own life, but reality gets in the way of their happiness. Keeping kids life lessons and keeping them in the know, helps them better prepare for the future. Isn't that what homeschooling is all about?

So, what do you think of this list of free online homeschool curriculum recommendations? Do you have something you really love? Tell us about it in the comments or find Kids Creative Chaos on Instagram and chat with us there!

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Homeschooling Advice from Becky Hunt

Homeschooling Advice 

This guest post on homeschooling advice is by Becky Hunt from Experienced Mommy. Becky has homeschooled four kids (including one with special needs) for the past 20 years. Listen up!

This post contains affiliate links.

In case no one ever told you, homeschooling comes with making a lot of decisions.

Some moms are super-fast decision makers. They do a little research. They pick a book or a curriculum, or a study group, they buy stuff and BANG they are done.

No regret, no second guessing, no wringing the hands, no worry that they are going to ruin their kid forever.

Except I don’t actually know any of those moms.

I’m not saying every homeschooling mom friend of mine is a basket case, but let’s just say the vast majority of moms, especially those just getting started, do way too much stressing out.

My Story

I have a special needs daughter, Anna, who is 17 but operates at more of a one-and-a-half-year-old level. She is a category all her own and will always keep the nest full.

But I also have two boys and a girl, all three of which I homeschooled from kindergarten through 12th grade. My oldest son and daughter graduated from Purdue and my younger son is still studying there.

I assembled my own curriculum, didn’t do too much in the way of co-ops or groups, changed things up for each child, and generally made my own way.

The kids all got good scholarships, test scores, etc. and are doing just fine.

But it doesn’t matter how I did it.

The choices you end up making are a lot less important than the process you use to make them. And the key thing about the process is learning to RELAX!

The kids are going to be fine. You aren’t going to sabotage their futures and lives and jobs by choosing A instead of B or X instead of Y.

And that brings me to the first thing you need to relax about:

Relax About Curriculum

Yeah, you have to cover the three R’s, Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic, and yes, you need to work in whatever your state requires especially in high school.

But other than that, don’t sweat it!

Pick something that looks good, that fits with your direction and world view, and relax.

There is no magic prescription for the perfect education. How many expert educators would agree on a curriculum? Um, none.

Education is a long, long term process where we are exposing our kids to principles, ideas, facts and the world.

It is no simplification to say that all we are really trying to do is teach our kids to think. We are teaching them a process for learning.

That’s why the material itself isn’t that crucial. We are basically saying “here are some books and videos and projects: we are going to interact with this pile of stuff.”

We are going to:

• Figure out what the books want us to do
• Understand what the benefit of the content is
• Learn how to get the important parts out of it
• Learn how to skip over the stuff we don’t care about

And each time we go through a course or topic, our minds get better at learning, and that’s the whole point.

Which is also why the coverage isn’t the most important thing.

Relax About Coverage

Lots of text books have 50 chapters and I know so many moms who are stressed every week because their kid didn’t make through the 1.4 chapters necessary to get done by the end of the year.

But if education is about the process of learning, it just doesn’t matter whether you cover all 50 chapters.

What difference does it make if you plow through 10 extra chapters but the kid only remembers 5% of it and everybody is at each other’s throats the whole time?

If you are obsessed over getting a certain score on a standardized test, and the test has stuff on it your kid has never seen before, you have to have a plan for that. But you still relax and chill and be strategic at the same time.

Relax About Milestones

My kids didn’t start writing papers until they were in 5th or 6th grade. Turns out that was perfectly fine. It gave them a chance to have hundreds of really great books read out loud and discussed with them.

Kids don’t have know the alphabet, read, write or do algebra by a certain age. Relax. It will be fine. They will get it when they need to get it.

Not only will they eventually get it, they’ll learn better when they are ready for it.

Relax About the End Results

I wanted it all. I wanted my kids to excel academically, be well rounded individuals and get great jobs. But most importantly I wanted them to become men and women of character who love God and are kind, honest and unselfish.

Credentials flow from character.

And kids learn character from how you behave not from what you say.

So how do you relax about a big list of goals and dreams you have for your kids?

Well that’s a tough one, but you just have to realize that the end results will come from a steady, consistent relationship that you have with your children over a period of years.

You will sit with them, love them, fight and make up with them, learn with them, learn how to learn with them and persevere when you are tired and want to ship them off to school.

And it will all work out. The kids will be fine.

Just relax. - Becky Hunt - Learn more about Becky.

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10 Educational Videos for Teenagers: Homeschool

Homeschool Videos for Teens

Homeschooling? If you're looking for educational videos for teenagers YouTube, we recommend the following 10 Educational YouTube Videos for teens. We've rounded up teen friendly homeschool videos in science, history, health and wellness, and internet safety. Many of them are filmed or acted out by real teenagers. Enjoy!

Post contains affiliate links.

10 Amazing Science Tricks Using Liquid

Teenagers are fascinated by unusual and different tricks and/or oddities. This is a great way to teach science while keeping their attention.

A Glimpse Of Teenage Life In Ancient Rome
This animated video shows how teenagers had different lives in ancient times. It's a good way to learn social history and the hard times teenagers went through on a completely different level than today.

Teenage Anxiety

These days, teenage anxiety is common. This video helps teens realize they aren't alone.

Self Control Video

This video on self-control shows teens how not to give into impulses and how to do the right thing. It's filmed in a funny way that will keep their attention.

Managing Anger & Fears

Teaches teens how to manage their emotions and shows teens they aren't alone

Communication Skills For Teens

This is a good video to help teens prepare for future job interviews.

"What Would You Do" 
An informative drug & alcohol awareness PSA. This YouTube video was made to educate students on the dangers of teen alcohol and drug abuse.

Harmful Effects Of Tobacco On The Human Body

Perfect for teens feeling peer pressure to smoke.

Top 5 Food Mistakes Teenagers Make

Teen interviews- an educational video on the importance of food for health and well-being.

Dangers Of Social Media For Teens

This video is an educational experiment on what someone can find about you online in only 6 clicks. Learn tips on how to guard yourself on social media and use it safely.

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Homeschool Videos for Teens.

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Math for Homeschoolers Online

Homeschool Math Classes Online

If you're looking for math for homeschoolers online, you'll want to check out Make Math More Fun by Shenek Altson. She teaches homeschool math classes online. Check out her guest post to make math more fun by playing simple math games. Enjoy!

This post contains affiliate links.

Make Math More Fun by Playing Simple Math Games

Keep It Simple Mommy

As a homeschool mom, if I don’t get anything else done in a day, I like to get some type of reading and math done, because I know those two subjects form the foundation of so many other things.  For me, I’ve seen just how beneficial being good in math is, particularly as a homeschooling mom who sometimes needs to help out financially.  There’s always someone who needs a math tutor! But many times our kids don’t see the benefit of being a Math Ninja, and they need a lot of convincing that this subject is worth spending tons of time on.  So, what can we do to help them learn a subject that has gotten a bad wrap for being boring and tough at the same time? Play simple math games with your kids. Make math fun through games! And you don’t have to come up with these complex, mind blowing games.  You’ll be amazed at how much fun you can have with your kids playing simple games.

I find that one of the best ways to make math more fun is by using games.  It’s amazing that our young children love spending time with us.  I’ve heard that one day this may change, but for right now, one of the number one things my kids like to do, is to spend time with me.  And they really enjoy it when we are able to play a fun game together during this time.  A huge tip though is to keep things simple.  As a homeschooling mommy who has other subjects to cover, lunch to fix, dinner to start prepping, errands to run, bills to send off, appointments to make, you already have a lot of things on your plate.  So having simple go-to games that you can play with your kids on a regular basis, can help you to make math more fun while not having to re-invent the wheel (because no one has time for that.)

How to Play Simple Math Coloring Game

I made up a simple Math coloring game that uses dice.  My kids are not the type of kids who generally like to color, but they enjoyed playing this fast paced game.  What I did was take two coloring pages, and numbered different portions of the pages with the numbers 1 thru 6.  Then each child was given a die.  They were given the instructions of rolling their dice, and whatever number came up, they were to color one section of their picture with that number.  The first child to finish coloring his or her entire picture would be the winner.  Boy, oh, boy, my “non-coloring children” became coloring machines.  They were throwing those dice and coloring up a storm trying to be the first person finished.  We used large dice that I purchased at a dollar store.  The next time, to add more learning to the activity, I am going to give each child two dice, and then have them sum the numbers on their dice.  Then they’ll color the number on their page that is the sum of the dice.

So step 1 is to take any random coloring page, and number it from 1 thru 6 in the different sections of the picture.  If you are going to have them work with sums, number the sections 2 thru 12.   For each child, make sure that you number the same number of sections on each child’s coloring page to make the game as fair as possible.  It’s not necessary to use the same picture for each child.  Just make sure you have numbered the same number of sections on each child’s coloring page.  So for example, pick 15 different sections to number in each child’s picture.  Below is an example of me numbering a coloring page.

Then give each child a die.  If you were going to be letting them figure out sums, give each child 2 dice, so that they can roll up to a sum of 12.  Then let the race begin.  Each time they roll the die, they color one section that has that number in it.  My two children who played did not use the same coloring pages, but again, I numbered the same number of sections in each of their pictures.

So, there you go.  A pretty simple way to have your kids practice number recognition or addition.  My kids had fun racing to see who was going to be the first one finished. My son ended up winning this simple math game!

About Shenek Alston

Now, let me tell you a little about me.  I’m a homeschooling mom to three kids ages 9, 5 and 2, and I have a PhD in Statistics.  Before I met my husband, I planned to be a College Professor. Now I’m a homeschooling mom who blogs about ways to make math more fun.  I also teach math for homeschoolers online. In my FREE ONLINE LIVE MATH lessons, I help kids with topics such a fractions, decimals, percents, and integers.  If you are interested in learning more about these lessons please visit Make Math More Fun and have a great time making math more fun with your kids!

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