ProudGrandma Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 Do you guys buy used curriculum years in advance because you see it at a good price...or do you just wait until you need it?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dobela Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 I used to buy it all ahead of time because we had this great plan. For us it was a mistake and I now only buy as I need it. My son had unexpected learning disabilities and the curriculums didn't match his needs or learning style. I spent several hundred dollars, a few at a time, buying in advance for different curriculums that we never used and will never use. Now I am selling the extras and am not making anywhere near what I paid, or, my editions are now the old editions and that no one wants and I may just have to donate them. I think we have found what will work for at least the next few years, but I am still not ging to buy anything until I need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southcarolinamom Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 I've been known to buy 2 years ahead of time .... as it turns out, I've been able to re-sell used curriculum items (i.e. Sonlight Cores, Apologia Science, etc.) for basically what I paid for them... as long as they were "gently used" to start with. If I bought them new, I would only recoup about 60% of my money. Follow the Duggar's guidelines - "buy used and save the difference." :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 I'm grateful I bought all the CWPs as they were going out of print :D I'm trying to wait to get more curriculum until we need it. I did get all the Italic Handwriting books when ds was in first grade just in case they went out of print. Right now I'm holding myself back from getting Art of Problem Solving books to check them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Tara~ Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 I only ever have the money to buy what we need 'right now'. There's no buying ahead here. And as previously stated, I just know I'd be getting myself into trouble that way. SOMEthing would happen and kill that plan. :~p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuvToRead Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 I do. I like to use a lot of living books, so I prefer to buy my curriculum in advance. I make a list of books I want to use. I take the list when I go to book stores, thrift stores and yard sales. I have also bought stuff on ebay that no one had bid on, and I got for a great bargain. If I don't use it, I will either resell it or give it away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 I bought ahead with Sonlight and Saxon for two reasons: It fit us really well, and I knew our financial situation was about to change. I was able to spend about a year looking for good deals on used items, and I now have a good portion of the Sonlight materials for the rest of our school years. Same with Saxon..but now I'm running into my oldest needing something different...so I'll probably buy something else for her soon. I'm glad I did it with Sonlight, because I know we'll be using it in some form or another throughout our schooling. I'm not so pleased that I did with Saxon though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillfarm Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 Early every spring I buy our curriculum for the coming year. Then after I have all of it bought, I will keep an eye out for any of the things I know we will use the following year, if they are at a great price. But we are pretty set on our curriculum now, so I know what I will want: Math U See, some history and science reference books, etc. We are at the point now where I am not buying much, but it is a lot more expensive (7th grade), mostly reference books and expensive science lab sets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elfgivas Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 Do you guys buy used curriculum years in advance because you see it at a good price...or do you just wait until you need it?? i buy some things two years in advance. our youngest two are 2 years apart scholastically, and use some of the same things for math and language arts, so when i buy singapore math, i buy two workbooks for each year rather than one. it saves on shipping and is just one less thing to think about. when we were using FIAR, i bought in advance as i found books at great prices, too. that worked well for us. but i don't buy too far ahead; life changes. fwiw, ann Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 I've got kids in high school and middle school now. I wouldn't recommend buying very far ahead of time. It's typical that either you will change your own educational philosophy on certain things, or that you'll learn more about your kiddos that would lead you to make a different choice, or that something new comes out that's even a better choice. For instance, I never changed my mind about the value of Singapore Math, but they had an American edition come out. I did decide to do something different than Rod and Staff for grammar. We just got tired of it. I discovered LD's in one son which drove which writing curriculum I chose for him. I think you save more in the long run by not buying stuff you don't end up using and I think by buying before you need it, there is a good chance that that is what will happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fhjmom Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 I have bought a couple of things ahead for Littlest, mostly K & 1st grade consumables for the programs older DD is using now. I only did this with curricula that has a fairly expensive non-consumable component, like teachers manuals, etc. The way I look at is if we decide not to use that curriculum when Littlest gets to that point, I will have an easier time reselling it if it is complete with the student consumables. I won't have to worry about them going out of print. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted September 10, 2010 Author Share Posted September 10, 2010 thanks...I can't decide whether to do this or not... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimm Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 What I'm wondering is when you stop buying curriculum. We started a few weeks ago and I just bought a spelling curriculum, a time line book and I'm considering a Geography curriculum that seems really cool. At some point I have to stop... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 I do not buy too far in advance. Maybe one level up of something we're using, if it's a good deal. I learned early on that things might not fit your dc, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 I buy books at library sales for future use, but that's the extent of it. For 10 cents to a buck, I can't go all that wrong! I don't buy any full-curricula in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 I'm usually very wary about doing this because there are many programs I thought I loved that I found out weren't so great for us after using them for awhile. This is our 7th year homeschooling though, and there are a few that I am buying ahead on while I have the money in my paypal account because I know we will use them all the way through -- R&S Math, CLE Math and I'm even buying a little ahead with SL because I know we will use it at least through Core 7. These are programs I've used long enough that I feel confident we will continue with them. I started my son in Saxon Grammar a couple of weeks ago and am so happy with it, I have been entertaining thoughts of buying ahead, but I'm going to hold off because I know that could very easily change once we've used it for awhile. If I am as happy with it at the end of this year as I am now, then I might consider it. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisabelle Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 I don't see myself ever buying curricula in advance. I'd always want to see if there's anything new and fantastic when I'm planning for an upcoming year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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