S/O buying consumables for younger kids in the family

[Aoife]

Ok so this is a S/O of the how far in advance do you buy curriculum thread LOL

 

My question is when you have several kids in ranging ages and you plan on passing down curriculum will you buy consumables like workbooks in advance for your other kiddos just in case or no?

 

I wouldn't buy multiples when buying for my 12yo but for my 9yo just out of 2nd grader I am considering it since DS1 is in K now so not far off from 2nd grade and I'd hate to have to buy all new TM and texts if there is any edition changes and would rather just pass everything down. KWIM? I've gone back and forth on this though since I have two more after DS1 in line so that would be 4 times the consumables ordered LOL but on the same note 4 times the use on the non consumables.

[ProudGrandma]

by the time I spent the money to make photo copies and the time to do it...I feel like I have paid for a new book. So, I buy my kids new workbooks. Not to mention there is something special about having your own book...we hand down lots of things in our home...workbooks are not one of them.

[fhjmom]

I asked the same question on the other thread. I am finishing our first year of HS-ing and I am struggling with the same thing.

 

DD1 just finished Wordly Wise 3000 level K and she loved it; we will be doing level 1 in the fall! The teacher's kit for K and 1 is around $70 so I will be buying another workbook for DD2 who will be K-age in 2013, but we may start some of her work earlier (she has a September b-day and I think she will be ready for some K work in less than 3 years). Both of my girls are hard-of-hearing and there are several things about WW3000 that fit kids with hearing loss very well.

 

DS is going to use BJU Press English 4 in the fall. The teacher's manual is over $50 so I am definitely going to consider buying ahead for at least DD1. I want to use it a bit first to see if we are really going to like it though.

 

One thing to think about, if you do buy ahead and then decide not to use that program, you can sell it as a complete set. You will probably have an easier time selling an edition that may be a little older if you have the consumables already available instead of the person buying it having to take the chance of finding the correct student editions. At least that's my story ;).

[Zoo Keeper]

I know a homeschooling family that does buy ahead for the consumables (worksheets, etc.). They have 3 children; whenever they bought for child #1, they bought the whole set (books, TM's, workbooks,...) and they bought 2 extra copies of the consumables all at the same time. They saved on shipping and planning that way, and they knew that it would all match. They just didn't worry about getting the new and improved editions; if it was good enough for child #1, they figured it would be okay for #2 and #3.

 

It seems to have worked well for them.

[Country Mouse]

I know a homeschooling family that does buy ahead for the consumables (worksheets, etc.). They have 3 children; whenever they bought for child #1, they bought the whole set (books, TM's, workbooks,...) and they bought 2 extra copies of the consumables all at the same time. They saved on shipping and planning that way, and they knew that it would all match. They just didn't worry about getting the new and improved editions; if it was good enough for child #1, they figured it would be okay for #2 and #3.

 

It seems to have worked well for them.

 

But how does this take into account the fact that different children need different materials, have different learning styles, etc.?

[FairProspects]

But how does this take into account the fact that different children need different materials, have different learning styles, etc.?

 

This is exactly why I don't buy ahead. I can already tell that what worked for DS 1 will be different for DS 2. They are just too different!

[teachermom2834]

I don't usually do this but I am thinking of doing it for the All American History curriculum I bought this year for my 5th and 7th graders. I have a 2nd grader and a 2 yo I am thinking of buying workbooks for. I have invested quite a bit in this program with the student reader/ teacher manual and all the extra literature I am buying to read along with it. If it was a well known program with lots of chatter I wouldn't worry about it but I'm not sure how well known and used it is. I would hate to not have student activity books available down the road. We're just starting but if we still like the program six months from now I will probably buy the extra student books.

 

I wouldn't do it for everything because I don't necessarily know I'll use the same things down the road. Sometimes something doesn't click with a particular kid and ,honestly, sometimes I just get bored and don't want to teach the same program again. But when the initial investment for set up is high I think buying the extra workbooks might be a good investment.

[Shelly in the Country]

I only buy ahead if I hear something is going out of print. I have 6 years worth of CWP for all my kids. I have thought about buying consumables for everybody, but it is just not in the budget.

[MorganClassicalPrep]

I only have one child, she's 4.5, and I'm currently single and in school. No more kids for me for many years! lol. I completely plan on using all new curriculum for any future children.

 

But, FWIW, I wouldn't "buy ahead" for different children, unless I already knew how they learned best. For example, if we were using Singapore, had been using Singapore for years and it was working wonderful, I might go ahead and buy extra. (Does that make any sense? It's been a long day!)

 

I know even with one child, there are so many curriculums out there that I love the look of, but I also know how my DD learns best so it is those curriculums we use, even if they aren't my favorite!

[Aoife]

The way we personally attack the different learners thing is that we supplement like crazy. All of our kiddos have been pretty mathy kids and we like to approach it from several angles so we use 3 programs at once. Now if one child flows better with one of the 3 that is their spine and the other two are the supplements. Basically we pick what we think is the best and most educational and provides the best examples for several approaches and get them. Right now for us that is RS, SM and Saxon. We are in LOVE with SM and RS and don't see ever taking those out so that is the main thing we are looking on whether to buy consumables ahead with.

[coffeegal]

My question is when you have several kids in ranging ages and you plan on passing down curriculum will you buy consumables like workbooks in advance for your other kiddos just in case or no?

 

 

How's sometimes for an answer? ;) If I know it's about to change editions, go out of print, or if it's a great deal then I will purchase extras. Otherwise, I prefer to wait.

[dragons in the flower bed]

If the consumables match a textbook, then yes, I'll buy extras ahead. Otherwise I may find myself trying to get the edition of a workbook that matches the textbook I have. I've also bought all the Latin Prep stuff I'll need for all of the children, because having that stuff shipped here is a pain.

[coffeegal]

But how does this take into account the fact that different children need different materials, have different learning styles, etc.?

 

Children need an adaptable teacher more than they need different materials. If the curriculum works well with me, I can teach any of my children from it. Therefore I only purchase curriculum I can easily teach from, not one that works for a specific child. :001_smile:

[ZooRho]

I will say it depends too.

 

I almost bought ahead last year but talked to the co and they said they wouldn't be updateing that grade level this year so I knew I could wait.

[Mom-ninja.]

I actually never thought about it. Now, I'm wondering.

[Aoife]

well Dh and I sat and talked about it before bed tonight and decided to buy ahead in workbooks when we do our yearly ordering for SM. For Saxon we'll just have the kids do the work on another sheet of paper. We'll also buy the consumables for things like mcruffy for the younger ones but any consumables over a certain price will get shared and written on a separate piece of paper. So I just did my SM order for 3 workbooks each of 1A and 1B :p

[Starr]

My dc are two years apart and I have with elementary subjects.