A.Balaban Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 I am a "hawk" always looking for free things that could be useful for homeschooling. (Actually, I think I have an obsession with free books, but that seems to be neither here nor there.) A couple months ago, on our local freecycle, I "scored" a huge box of free preschool materials from a daycare. A lot of it wouldn't work for us, so I donated it so that someone else could use it. From what I kept, I divided it into storage, and stuff we are going to keep in the house. (We don't have a lot of storage in the house at the moment.) So, today, on CL, a lady posted free catholic homeschooling materials in my town. I have been following CL, and I haven't... well, EVER, seen someone post materials on CL in my town before. Especially that are free. So, DH went and picked them up. It is basically the entire 4th grade curriculum from Seton Home Study School, and a lot of the reading books they recommend for that grade... and a lot more! However, the material is 4th grade level- my ds is not even in pre-k. So, we have about seven years (give or take) before the material would be 'useful' - directly as a curriculum. Most of these books are in like-new condition with very little pencil marks. I am trying to figure out if I should keep some of the books (in storage) or if it would be more beneficial for me to pass them on to someone who could use them sooner. There is also a set of Saxon books, Algebra 1 and Saxon 76 I think. These could be useful to hang on as references (maybe?) or again, should I pass them on to someone who could actually use them? I do have another mathematics book (intro algebra) from a college course that I am planning on keeping. (I use it to help my brother with his math- so maybe the book would be redundant or unnecessary)... Or maybe I should pass it along to my brother and see if he could use it? So, yes, what would you do? I am completely overwhelmed with her charity, and I am trying to see what is best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frugalmama Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 If I was tight on funds, I'd keep it and store it somewhere. Otherwise I'd pass it on - maybe sell it to pay for materials you can use now. I always keep anything I think we'll use - getting materials free is spotty at best and I don't have funds to just go out and purchase them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 3 or 4 years ago, another homeschooling mom in my area sold a TON of homeschooling stuff as her kids were moving on to public school. I got 10 paper grocery bags of books for $25. Some of the stuff I donated because I couldn't use it, but I still have an entire cardboard box of things to use later on. Money is tight usually, and so I can't just get rid of the stuff in case I do need it! I'd hold on to it if you have the room! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riverland Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Maybe you could lend it to someone in your hometown who needs it sooner. I've lent material to a person I didn't know (she posted a need for a book on a local yahoo homeschool board) and it was returned promptly and in excellent condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybear Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 If it looks like the kind of materials you will eventually want to use, I'd hang onto them. Of course, sharing in the meantime would be nice too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuirkyKapers Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Maybe you could lend it to someone in your hometown who needs it sooner. :iagree: I would see if someone could use them now. If no one was interested, just hold on to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 I think it would be better to bless someone that can use them now, than to hoard them for almost a decade. Many things might change in that time and there is at LEAST an even chance you would never use them and they would be wasted. My belief is that if you bless someone now with them than when you need something it will find its way to you. I'd donate them to Book Samaritan or to someone you know that is in need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetMissMagnolia Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 If I couldn't use within the next year or so I would probably pass it on to someone else......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In the Rain Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 If there was a really strong likelihood I would use it, and space wasn't an issue, I'd probably keep it. I'd also be open to loaning it to someone who needed it in the meantime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
threedogfarm Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 I personally would pass it on because that it is a long time to hold on to it and then you might not need it/want it when it is time to use it. I need very few things for homeschooling. We have a very good library and it is so handy to use their resources--they keep it organized, cataloged so it is accessible when I need it. Also, I am not storing it! Does your library have these resources/books? If they do then I definitely wouldn't keep those things. My mother recently gave me all of her teacher supplies. I was absolutely overwhelmed--what do I keep? Will I need this in the future? It was BOXES and BOXES of stuff. I didn't know what to do. We had the room to store it but I didn't want to store it and then deal with it in the future. But while planning my curriculum for this year I decided to listen to SWB's lectures. Her ideas and thoughts were so great that I ended up getting rid of 90% of my mother's things. There were some gems like what SWB suggested for grammar stage science and a couple of math things. The rest--not necessary! Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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