Curricula I SHOULD use, but I don't.

[LittleIzumi]

I need to either somehow USE it or get rid of it. I don't want to get rid of it, though, because it's stuff that I SHOULD be using. It's wonderful & fabulous & would work very well for the girls, but I do not ever pull it out. I have a bunch of these--Family Math, Mudpies & Magnets, our art program, our music program, etc, etc. I don't know what to actually do with it.

[Spryte]

I have a lot of this as well, and have been pondering what to do with it all. Some of it is great stuff.

 

My tentative plan is to give it one more shot, this year. I am using scholaric.com for planning and I am scheduling it all in. If, at the end of this school year, I have not cracked these books, then I am going to pass them along. I have sections titled Math Extras, Science Extras, and more. If nothing else, I'm trying to schedule unused items at least weekly.

 

Great curriculum is only great if we use it. If I consistently find excuses not to use it, then it's either redundant, too teacher intensive, too much scheduling, or just not something I'm going to implement. So I will pass it along to someone who will use it. :)

 

(I say this now, but may change my tune next May! Please don't hold me to it!)

[abbeyej]

Put it in a Rubbermaid in the attic. Cull through it next year. You'll feel guilty again, but it won't last long as you shove it back into the attic. Cull through it the next year. Somewhere along the line, you'll go through it and think, "Well, this was lovely, but my kids are too old now."

 

Then you can give it away to someone else who won't believe their luck. ;)

 

Um... Not that I'd know anything about that. I've never shoved a perfectly lovely book/kit/program aside over and over until it was past any use for us. AHEM. ;)

[HayleyKC]

Use it! :-) What if one week a month you dropped all your other stuff and just did those things? I dunno. Just a thought. If you school year round you could definitely do this I would think. Or what if you did that stuff over the summer? Hmm.

[Tammy (TX)]

I've been organizing my books and I have a few that I've never really used for my boys. It's tough because I've got a kindy-aged DD, so I feel like I should save it in case it would be good for her.

 

Space is my issue, so I usually put it in a box that I go through each year. Sometimes a year makes a difference and it's easier to give away. If the books start to take up too much space, I have to make some harder decisions.

 

Good luck!

[Satori]

I have books like that too that we never used and then outgrew (Family Math, Mudpies to Magnets, etc...). I'll keep them around a few more years and then probably give them free to a local homeschooler.

[Hunter]

Often if we think we should be using something, but are not, it is because we don't quite know HOW to use it. There is some LITTLE lack of knowledge keeping us from being able to squueze it into a packed and overwhelming schedule. It's amazing how ANOTHER curriculum will fill in that hole of knowledge and then you will want to pull those resources out and look at them again.

 

Over the years I have repurchased some things TWICE. Do NOT get rid of ANYTHING unless you are dead broke or have no space. Hold onto everything that you can to the bitter end.

[woolybear]

I find I have things like that and they fall into two categories. Either I have something similar which I like better or just works better for us OR it just will never work for us.

 

Move 'em out, if you can. It's so freeing.:)

[sagira]

I say hold on to them because you never know if one of your other children will benefit from it.

 

I also have Family Math and Family Math for Young Children, but somehow find it odd and rusty to use when I crack open the book. Will try again.

[Cassy]

Yes, we have books like that. I had planned to try to do some over the summer holiday, as they're different, and I'd try to make them fun. So far, however, it doesn't look like it's going to happen :glare:. On the other hand, I have totally tidied, reorganised and cleaned my kitchen :001_smile:. Maybe next holiday :tongue_smilie:.

 

Cassy

[lorrainejmc]

Often if we think we should be using something, but are not, it is because we don't quite know HOW to use it. There is some LITTLE lack of knowledge keeping us from being able to squueze it into a packed and overwhelming schedule. It's amazing how ANOTHER curriculum will fill in that hole of knowledge and then you will want to pull those resources out and look at them again.

 

Over the years I have repurchased some things TWICE. Do NOT get rid of ANYTHING unless you are dead broke or have no space. Hold onto everything that you can to the bitter end.

 

This is how I feel about Galloping the Globe and Five in a Row. I love the idea of them but I just haven't been able to schedule either successfully. I'm still hanging on to them though.:tongue_smilie:

[GoVanGogh]

I went through all of our curriculum this spring and organized it by year that I intend on using it.

If I had too much of a particular subject for a certain grade/age/developmental level, I closely looked over it and decided which books/programs I would be most likely to use.

There were a few items that I really wanted to use and like. With those, I did what a PP suggested -- I cleared off some time this summer and devoted ourselves to those programs. I am so glad I did. The art program that DS hated in K was a winner in 4th. :D

After I organized our curriculum by year, I went through and reviewed the 'road map' where I have loosely scheduled through junior high. I already knew a few things that I wanted/needed for next year. I sold all the books that I didn't see us ever getting around to using and put that money back into books for next year. It really does feel freeing to be rid of that clutter. It was like guilt hanging over my head.