How long do you keep curriculum that didn't work?

[Mandylubug]

I have several different types of curriculum, for example Apologia Exploring Creation Astronomy. We didn't like the book. It was boring to us. We hated the journals and I think we will throw those away. We didn't finish it.

 

I am afraid that I may want to use it again with my girls only being 8. Would you hold on to it? Or sell it and move on?

 

Also, I have SOTW1. We enjoyed it, I think I will hold on to it, allow my gals to reread it in Middle school level and use the Kingfisher with it.

[kiwik]

It probably depends entirely on your personality. Are you by nature a hoarder or a discarded?

[Arcadia]

I throw or give away since my two kids are close in age. If my younger don't like it, there is no one to keep for. I've given away Hook on Phonics. Both kids didn't like it.

 

If my kids were neutral about it like Holt textbooks, I'll keep as long as I have shelf space.

[regentrude]

My kids are only two years/3 grades apart. I keep curriculum that did not work for the older one until I see if it works with the younger one.

I immediately get rid of curriculum that did not work for the younger one.

[zarabellesmom]

It depends on whether I'd be willing to use it again. I have two, 3 years apart in age. I'm selling AAS, not because I don't think my youngest could learn from it (even though it was a bad fit for my oldest) but because I can't stand the idea of shuffling all those tiles and cards again. Just ugh. I'm not a keeper though.

[Hannah]

I've kept things for my younger dd, but whatever she's outgrown or we're not using is going. 

[silver]

It depends on what you value more. Would you rather save money by avoiding selling/rebuying? Or is the possible lost money outweighed by the extra space/less clutter you gain by selling now?

[mamamindy]

I keep everything (although I do have a box of "sell/giveaway" stuff I absolutely do not want to try again) but that's because I'm homeschooling the first 2 (mostly together) out of 5 children.  If I were on my youngest child, I'd definitely give to a fellow homeschooler, or maybe loan it out if it's something you might want back, like Story of the World.

[Alte Veste Academy]

If I hate it or find it unusable as a teacher, I ditch it ASAP. If it is not a fit for the kid I used it with, I hold on to it until my youngest is at the level to use it, at which point he does or I sell it.

[Mandylubug]

I guess I will hold on to the Apologia book. It is one of those books that I don't think is recommended for Middle school aged children and I don't plan on using it anytime soon, either. Ugh. Idk what I'll do.

[shanvan]

I had that experience with one of the Apologia elementary books and I was glad to get it out of here.  Every time I looked at it I felt like there must be something wrong we me b/c I couldn't stand it!  The conversational style drove me nuts, and normally I like that sort of thing.  IT had to go so I could stop beating myself up.  I've made my peace with it now, Apologia Elementary is just no our cup of tea.

[Upward Journey]

It depends on why it didn't work.  

 

Did it not work for me?  Get rid of it.  If I couldn't bring myself to use it faithfully the first time, it's not going to be any different the next time around. ymmv.

 

Did it not work for that particular child?  Keep.  I learned this lesson the hard way ( more than once  :tongue_smilie:).  Chances are it may be a perfect fit for a younger sibling.

[Coco_Clark]

If I think it will be enjoyed by a younger child or enjoyed by the current child when he's a bit older, then I keep.

 

If it didn't work because it doesn't reflect my goals, didn't mesh my teaching style, it was difficult or confusing to implement, or just plain took too much time I get rid of it.  There's always the chance that those things will change but I'm not the type to save 20 bucks by dusting something weekly, ya know?

 

But then again I have a small house.  So how much space something takes up (even a book) is always considered.

[umsami]

I pretty much keep everything…but then again, my youngest is almost four, so I can still hang on to hopes that I will still use it.  Once he enters 1st grade, though, I guess I'll get rid of the FIAR stuff I have and never used. ;)

[Mandylubug]

Well Apologia itself doesn't work because it is way too much reading for them now. I could potentially purchase the audio version, I assume. They are dyslexic and I can't put them through that. When I read it to them we all nearly fall asleep.

 

We love SOTW style...but this book is a snooze fest. Journals felt like busywork that just made them cry because it doesn't meet their needs. The best thing I've found so far for them in science is A.C.E. because they read a little and fill in blanks, not being asked to write huge amounts at a time or read huge amounts at a time.

 

I suppose I have an issue getting rid of a book that I feel eventually they NEED to be able to use if required and since they aren't at that level yet, it is discouraging.

 

Eta: I suppose I want a richer science program like apologia and it just isn't what we can handle currently. We do A.C.E. and watch many documentaries. It just doesn't feel like enough even though it is all we can accomplish at this time.

[Coco_Clark]

It sounds to me like it just doesnt fit your family.  Too much busywork, too boring, too heavy.  They don't NEED to be able to use Apologia.  There are lots of other science options. I say, let it go.

 

 

[MotherOfBoys]

For Apologia specifically, I keep it as a reference book because of the pictures and conversational aspect. A lot of my friends use apologia with their middle schoolers. I do see the importance of learning to use a textbook. Science will be the only textbook my kids will probably use though and just for a short while in the middle years. I like real books and encyclopedias right now.

 

Other stuff, like my Saxon Math k-3 and Saxon Phonics k-1, I gave away right away. I couldn't stand the thought of going through it again with a different child. I could sum up a week in one class time. I hated all the cards and the heavy teachers manual. Storing all of it was bugging me too. As soon as I found a young mom that wanted it, I made her take it at that very playdate. The relieve of consolidating was so nice. Yes, Saxon could have worked for my next son but it was stressing me out.

[Dmmetler]

I only have one child, so I pass on pretty fast. What I'm discovering is that the problem lies on the other end-there are some curricula that DD wants to keep forever. So far, Life of Fred, SOTW, a good number of books we've read for literature (and science, and history, and math), MCT LA, and AOPS all fall in the "I don't want it to go" category, and they're starting to take up a rather large quantity of space.

 

 

[abdesigns]

I keep everything until my youngest ages out of it.  There have been things that were a bomb with my oldest, but then it works wonderfully for my middle son. At those times, I'm very thankful I didn't throw stuff away.  Unless I couldn't stand it, if I couldn't stand it, I just gave it away.

[jnaj]

I think it depends on what it is. In your situation, I would go ahead and sell it to be honest. But that's me. Unless I know we are going to use something in the future, than I just don't hold onto it. It sounds like you don't really care for this book in general, so why hold onto something like that? Life is just so much simpler without the extra clutter. If you have space for an extra shelf or storage for only curricula that you may or may not use, then I guess that would work- but I would only save that extra space for curricula that you love and even if it didn't work for one child, might work for the next- Not for something that you didn't like at all. I'd let go of that.  If you decide you really want to give it a go again in the future then you could always find it used, but maybe it would just be better to find a science program that was more enjoyable. 

 

 

[FO4UR]

I keep things if I want to reference them for some reason.  (WRTR doesn't get used, but it does get referenced.  It's worth keeping the manual on hand.)

 

I keep things if there is a 80% chance of using it with a younger child.  (Happy Phonics is packed away, awaiting Baby Girl.)

 

I keep things if I think the kids might want to peruse later in their leisure time.  (SOTW 4 volume set will remain on the shelf.)