Costco Connection - August 2009

on a single income so that one parent can act as the primary educator. For this reason, the savings Costco offers on books and school supplies, not to mention the everyday products necessary to run a household and feed a family, are especially valuable to home-schooling families.

The resource for home schoolers

Some families use products purchased at Costco to develop their own curricula or create “unit studies” that cater to their children’s individual interests and learning styles.

The road less taken

Home schoolers get assist from Costco

By Will Fifield

"For 10 years I have home-schooled my five children, who range from 3 to 15 years old,” says Costco member Meri Price of Gold Bar, Washington. “Costco always has a variety of books, workbooks and educational CDs to support subjects in my curriculum such as math, English, world languages and history. One of our favorite book series is the American Girl book collection. The book sets are hardback and beautiful.”

“SCHOOLING AT HOME is an all-inclusive model for learning because ‘school’ is more a way of life, really, than something that only happens between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.,” says Stephanie Fifield, my wife and the primary educator of our five children for the last 14 years. “Because learning takes place in so many situations, something as simple as making a pancake breakfast on Saturday morning incorporates math lessons, reading comprehension, home economics and several other disciplines.”

Ready-to-go snacks are great for home-schooling families who love to experience the subjects they study firsthand at museums, factories and city tours and by visiting remote locations to observe historic sites and geologically rich areas. Costco’s Tire Centers and gas stations offer home-schooling families savings for such excursions.

Like my family, many parents believe that because they can provide greater attention to an individual child’s learning style and interests, home schooling can offer a richer education and a more positive attitude toward learning.

Costco members also use their local warehouse and Costco.com for educational materials, such as office supplies and computers to start home businesses that teach their children life skills that will last beyond their teen years. The flexibility of schooling at home affords the time for this sort of opportunity, and Costco helps stretch home-schooling families’ budgets. C

These parents are also drawn to home schooling because of its fundamental difference in structure from formal schooling. A more flexible schedule puts the onus on students to learn time-management skills.

Against the tide

Home schooling is the educational road less taken. While the official number of home-schooled children in the U.S. has reached 2 million, the 2006 public census counted almost 50 million children enrolled in grades one through 12 in public schools.

One reason home education is a road less taken is that it is a more demanding path in many respects. It often requires families to live

A Costco home-schooler shares her story

By Monica Z. Utsey

I MAKE A SPECIAL point of shopping in late July or early August, when Costco stocks school supplies. I load up on home-schooling staples such as construction paper, gel pens, pencils, file folders, binders, ink cartridges and scissors, saving our single-income family tons of money.

He’s learned about unit price and its role in determining the best deal on an item.

Cruising the book aisles for deals on books to use during the home-school year is a must. Costco offers some of the best prices on the well-respected Math Made Easy series and Math Smart and English Smart series.

My youngest, Ayinde, 3, is not left out because our Costco warehouse is his toddler playground, full of new experiences, sights, sounds and textures. Tasting samples keeps him quiet in the cart as we go over colors, numbers, vegetables and everything in between—using Costco products, of course.

But that’s not the only way Costco helps us as educators. Our shopping trips are learning opportunities too. I’ve devised a spread-sheet called the “Costco List.” During our visit, my oldest son, Zion, 9, is in charge of making sure we get everything on the list.

I never feel like the day is lost after a visit to Costco. At the end of the trip, we’ve studied math, reading, science, health, nutrition and social studies. And the best part: My toddler will usually take a long nap afterwards. C