I have found all of these sites to be great supplements to our school work. They are great for busy days or days when I am sick and I just cannot get to everything with the kids. For our homeschool, we need more than free websites. How can you purchase all of that curriculum on a tight budget? It takes work, patience, and planning.
First, you have to decide what you want. This can be a daunting task. What curriculum will work for your child? Assuming you have decided, then you start to shop. I usually start at Rainbow Resource. They have great prices for everything I have looked at and if you order enough at once, you get free shipping!
After I check Rainbow Resource, I check Amazon.com. I have found books I wanted for literature free or very cheap on my Kindle. I have also made several great purchases of used books through the Market Place. EBay has also been great for a few deals. But my best deals have come out of extreme preplanning!
After extensive research, I decided on the grammar, science, and math programs I wanted for my oldest. I knew I wanted to use them for several years. I found a bundle of 4 levels of the grammar program I selected. I purchased four years worth of grammar for less than the price of one year new. When they arrived, all but one book was like new!
We began using a science program that I loved! I purchased the first year new at convention and received a discount and free shipping (convention is a great place to shop if you want new!) While exploring one day, we came across a garage sale of a homeschooling family. They were selling 3 semesters' worth of the next levels of our science program! I purchased them all for $25 total (Savings of close to $100)!
I love the Core Knowledge Group's series What Your.....Needs to Know. When all of the Borders stores closed, I found 4 years worth for a couple of dollars each!
I scour the books at the library book sale to see what I can buy to supplement or build courses with. I have a collection of books on events of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars in America. I have a large collection of cultural geography books for kids and a good selection of science books of various topics. I could check similar books out when we reach the subjects/topics, but I tend to run up library fines. The book sale saves me a significant amount in library fines!
A member of our homeschool group was selling the second year of our history curriculum a year before I would need it. I knew what I needed and how much it would cost new, so I bought it a year in advance.
I was only able to purchase these great deals because I had planned for the full grammar stage from the beginning. I found good deals at off purchase times - this saved me money and spread out my purchases. Rather than spending all of my curriculum money at one time, I spent a little here and a little there. It has made curriculum purchases much less painful.
I have already begun planning for logic and rhetoric stage. I have a general idea of what I want to use and am collecting items as I find them for free or cheap. My bookshelves are busting at the seams, but I am okay with that.
What if we don't like a curriculum choice and I have bought several years worth of books in advance? That is okay! I have not spent enough on most of these things to be worried about it. Plus, I can always resell them. I did this with the first grammar program I purchased. I bought one year, used. We tried it for a week and we were miserable! I sold it online and made back the money I spent on it. There will always be a homeschool family who loves the program you hate. You just have to find them!
Plan ahead and shop smart and you can have the curriculum you really want without spending a fortune! As my cousin Jama always says, "Prior planning prevents poor performance." Or in this case - significant savings!
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