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Sunday, April 13, 2014

Saving Money and Adding Variety with Used Curriculum


Saving Money and Adding Variety with Used Curriculum

Home schooling in the elementary years doesn’t have to break the bank!  I’m not for being “cheap” and skimping on quality when it comes to education, but you can build or enhance a terrific home library by acquiring some of your collection in the form of used books.  We have hundreds of children’s books and curriculum items in our home, and only a fraction of them were purchased new.

As I started planning out what my youngest daughter will do for home school next year, I realized I only need to buy a math workbook and a grammar workbook for her.  After over 20 years of home schooling 10 kids, we already have everything else right on our own shelves, and a lot of it was used when we got it.

Our favorite sources? 

Chairs in the Brightlight 
children's section
painted by Amy Huber
Used bookstores: We have a wonderful one a mile from our house with an amazing children’s literature section.  You can also order from their web site, Brightlight.  That store is my first stop when I’m looking for a great novel or biography for my kids – and these are the core of our history and literature program since we use the Charlotte Mason approach.  Our public library also has a used bookstore in it, again with a lovely children’s collection.  All of the kids’ books are a dollar or less there.


CFHE used curriculum sale
Annual used curriculum sales:  Here in the Orlando area, there are several annual used curriculum sales hosted by home school support groups.  In some cases, two or more groups will collaborate to pull off a huge, well-organized sale with thousands of books arranged by subject and grade.  Here is the web site for the Central Florida Home Educators Used Curriculum Sale. This sale is where we look for text books and work books, as well as more reading selections.

Family: Many of our books were given to us by family and friends.  I have a substantial vintage collection and many more contemporary titles from my parents and my in-laws.  Some of them were my childhood favorites that I wanted my own kids to enjoy.  In that spirit, I also pass along books to my own adult daughters for their children, too. My sister gave me a few huge boxes of books that her children had outgrown. 

Friends:  We've gotten a lot of great stuff from friends who were cleaning off their shelves and wanted to share with others. At times, I have put out a request on Facebook asking if someone has a particular title to loan and pass along for free.  That has been a huge blessing.  At our old home school co-op, moms would bring in boxes of books they weren’t using any more and leave them in the entry hallway for others to comb through.  Of course, I give away a lot of books to friends, too!

On-line:  Amazon and eBay are the two places I most commonly order used books on-line.  I also visit home school used curriculum sites such as Home School Classifieds and The Swap.  There are a ton of other sites that you can Google, but those are just the ones I have used.

Yard sales:  Looking for a really inexpensive way to supplement your curriculum? I’ve found children’s fiction, biographies, hands-on manipulatives, work books, and so much more at yard sales.  Yesterday, I picked up a a write-on/wipe-off math facts practice board for my youngest daughter, a lady bug paper model kit for my youngest son, and phonics flip book, a quiz deck, a construction vehicles puzzle, and some fun picture books for my oldest grandson.  I also saw a lot of educational software, good quality children’s dictionaries, and workbooks. Sure, yard sale finds aren’t the core of my curriculum.  I like to be a little more intentional than that.  But yard sale finds sure can spice up the mix for just pennies! 

My own shelves:  What?  Yeah, sometimes what I need is already right there.  I bought it for an older child, and forgot I had it.  Why not take a peek at what you have and see how you can used it in the future?

Public library:  I’m not talking about buying, but borrowing. I know you are raising your eyebrows.  Of course the books have been used – over and over again by hundreds of patrons!  And you don’t have to allocate long term storage on your own shelves.  All the variety, none of the hassle, and available in your own community. Perfect.

Where do you get your used books?  We want to know!  Leave a comment!

Grace,
Virginia Knowles

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