Help me buy what I need for the next three years +

[Lots of boys]

It has been a stressful year for us as I had to go from working part time to full time plus homeschooling (homeschool in the morning, work afternoon and evenings). We are all exhausted from the schedule and have decided that I will quit work and just focus on homeschooling. Money will be extremely tight for us and so I would like to buy most of what I need now. I know things may change but could you help me think about what I should buy.

 

I have all the stuff I need for k-5. I just need to get what I need for 6-8.

 

What math should we get after CLE 6?

What language arts? My oldest is using SWI-a - would the continuation course be enough after that until high School?

I think I am ok for science and geography but would love some recs for history, and anything else I am missing.

 

Any extras that would be nice to have in advance?

 

Thanks

[regentrude]

I would not do that. Three years is a long time, and kids develop, change pace, change preferences.

Put the money into a separate account and purchase what you need when you need it. It will save you money in the long run, because the curriculum that might look good now may not be what your student needs in three years.

I could not have anticipated 3 years in advance what kind of materials my children needed.

[Haiku]

I agree with regentrude. I have wasted more money than I would care to think about buying materials ahead of time, only to find that when we get there, the materials are a poor fit for my kids. Set the money aside in a dedicated account and use it to buy materials at the time you need them, when you have a better idea of what will work for your kids.

[Lots of boys]

Thanks. I appreciate your feedback and I should probably know better becaue i have cirriculum sitting on my shelf gather dust that I have never used. It is so hard to wait because I am worried about the future and just want to have everything in place. I am also worried the money will just get used for other things!

 

 

[EndOfOrdinary]

I have done the pre-purchase thing to a degree, but only with curriculum we have established is a good fit. AoPS works for my son. He likes it, I like it, and he dislikes change rather strongly. For that reason, I know it is what we are going to use straight through with only mild supplements here and there. I stalk Amazon and Ebay for deals and snatch things up when I can. Living on one teacher's salary, with a small income here and there from me, keeps the budget tight around here.

 

We did this with Charter School funds and science kits as well. In three years I purchased four or five expensive kits that I knew we would use during later physics and chemistry courses. If you have the space, these sorts of purchases work well since most every student will take Chemistry and need some sort of lab kit. The kits can cost $300 if you buy a nice on, or be simple kitchen chemistry if you are going light. When we had the funds, I bought a nice one and stored it.

 

Art supplies are nice to stock up on. Dick Blick frequently has deals. Sets of nice colored pencils, acrylic paint, drawing pads, they all get used around here and having a stash waiting in the wings means that we are not buying what would normally be a luxury. They keep school fun without needing funds.

 

Some reference books like DK History Encyclopedia or DK Science encyclopedia are really nice during middle school and rarely are left unused. You could check them out of the library repeatedly, but they are great reference to have around as kids begin writing reports or doing more independent work in middle school.

 

Standard supplies like pencils, spiral notebooks, big pink erasers, and binder clips we always buy in giant quantities during back to school, but you could get a bunch now as well. At twenty-five cents a piece, we buy twenty bucks worth of variously colored sprial notebooks and they last through multiple years. A Costco box of .07 mm lead for mechanical pencils every six months is also quite handy. I know we are going to use them! If I can stock up when we have the extra money, it really helps.

 

Right before you quit get an art museum, science museum, parks pass or zoo membership. It will allow for a full year of free use for a fairly reasonable price. My son frequently includes these on Christmas or birthday lists. They make for super cheap and fun field trip days.

 

Fall in love with your library and find out about their InterLibrary Loan policy. We can get all sorts of curriculum this way from Great Courses to Hewitt's Conceptual Physics. The teacher's card at our library allows me to check an item out for six weeks at a time and then renew for another six weeks. It has saved us lots of money.

[Lori D.]

Totally agree with previous posters! Lock those funds up tight and exercise self-control to NOT spend it on something else. ;)

 

Also, once you stop working, you can spend some of your time on finding ways to keep homeschooling costs down:

- reuse curriculum with students, having them write answers in spiral notebooks or on paper rather than in consumable workbooks; after the last student -- resell!

- use your local library as much as possible

- ask for extracurriculars (lessons for art, music, drama, karate,) as gifts from grandma or relatives

- work out barters with studios/lesson providers in exchange for extracurriculars

- shop around for used curriculum (local homeschool sales, Craig's List; and online sale/swap boards, ebay, etc.)

- swap curriculum with local homeschoolers (find a friend who uses the same things you do, but has students in different years as your students, and trade the curriculum back and forth each year as one of you has a student ready for it)

- use free online resources (examples: Khan Academy, CPO Science, Easy Peasy…)

 

And of course, you can have lots of fun finding creative ways of cutting living expenses, too. :) BEST of luck in your transition out of working full time! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[kiwik]

If you put the money aside will that be a problem with any government agencies? Will it be there when you need it or will it go the first time you have an unexpected bill?

[Arcadia]

For foreign languages, check out libraries used book sales. I managed to get some nice textbooks and story books for German for 50 cents each, sometimes free. One of the libraries I go to have a free pile of foreign language material at book sales most of the time.

[MamaSprout]

Make sure you have a decent, working printer that uses reasonably priced ink.

[kiana]

I would go ahead and buy classic literature (including any foreign languages) for your library now -- that's the sort of stuff it's good to have even if you *don't* study it. Same with fun historical fiction that's probably going to be fun reading even if you don't use it in a curricular sense. Same with science reference encyclopedias. In other words, build your library.

 

For curriculum, y'know, if you know something IS working for you I don't see an issue with buying the rest of the series. For example, CLE sunrise math goes through algebra 1 now -- you could just buy it all up. Same with SOTW -- if you're liking it now I'd go ahead and get the rest of the series.

 

But under no circumstances would I buy multiple years of an untested series.

[happypamama]

If having the actual cash would be a problem, could you either buy an amazon gift card (or even rainbow resource or something, somewhere with a wide variety) or a prepaid Visa card, and then just use the funds on that as needed?

 

I wouldn't buy more than a year or two ahead, with certain exceptions. My son loves Singapore math, so I'd buy it ahead, especially since there are three boys behind him.

[Desert Strawberry]

 I agree as well. I bought ahead once when funds were super tight. I just donated all of yesterday, some unused. It was a huge expense for us at the time.

I like the idea of a gift card. I was thinking of a PayPal account.That would allow you to buy new or used.

[Garga]

Have willpower! Set the money aside and forget about it. It is dead to you. It doesn't exist. ... Until it's time to buy school supplies, and then it can wink back into existence.

[Farrar]

If you knew what path you were on and were already using and happy with the resources, then I think it might make some sense, but as it is, there's no way to know for sure what math will work for you guys next or what writing resources you'll need, etc. Instead of buying ahead, I'd spend the money on extra toner and paper now since that's the number way you'll be able to access free resources.

[foxbridgeacademy]

Thanks. I appreciate your feedback and I should probably know better becaue i have cirriculum sitting on my shelf gather dust that I have never used. It is so hard to wait because I am worried about the future and just want to have everything in place. I am also worried the money will just get used for other things!

BTDT and yes it has, for me, always got used for other things.

 

If you like CLE doesn't it go through Algebra 1? When trying to save $$ stick with what you know works.  If you like SWI-A you will probably like other IEW products.  I would think though that your DC should move up levels as they age up.  If you feel confident that they  understand the IEW method you could go with IEW theme units for a better priced alternative.

 

The problem with buying ahead (other then that it might not work) is that you could miss out on good priced used or special new sales.  If you do purchase now stick to curriculum that has good resale value.  Try to keep it in good condition so that if it bombs for you you can sell and use the $$ for something else that might work better. Or if it works (non-consumables) you can resell so that you can afford the next level. 

[Lots of boys]

If having the actual cash would be a problem, could you either buy an amazon gift card (or even rainbow resource or something, somewhere with a wide variety) or a prepaid Visa card, and then just use the funds on that as needed?

 

I wouldn't buy more than a year or two ahead, with certain exceptions. My son loves Singapore math, so I'd buy it ahead, especially since there are three boys behind him.

I love the gift card idea and had not thought of that at all! Thanks.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I love the gift card idea and had not thought of that at all! Thanks.

I would stay away from prepaid Visa because they often have monthly fees.

[Lori D.]

I love the gift card idea and had not thought of that at all! Thanks.

 

 

Be careful of expiration dates. Many gift cards and certificates are only good for the 12 months after purchase. :)

[G5052]

Yes, I agree.  I found the middle grades to be a period of rapid change.  We went from CLE to Saxon then and did fine, but some don't like Saxon.  And mine got tired of IEW and wanted something more about then, so we did Lost Tools of Writing.

 

Now with them in high school, we're pretty stable.  For that I did buy ahead, but I left a few things open.

[TKDmom]

One thing that helps me, when I feel anxiety about the future, and I feel like I need *something* is to stock up on free e-books. I comb through Ambleside Online's booklists every so often and get the free books for a couple years ahead. I may never use them, but it's free, and it makes me feel like I'm planing ahead and accomplishing something. 

[kiwik]

I second the good printer that takes cheap ink though.

[Desert Strawberry]

One thing that helps me, when I feel anxiety about the future, and I feel like I need *something* is to stock up on free e-books. I comb through Ambleside Online's booklists every so often and get the free books for a couple years ahead. I may never use them, but it's free, and it makes me feel like I'm planing ahead and accomplishing something. 

I like this idea. We use a lot of free materials. I have a huge stockpile of websites and e-books. We could easily school for free. As it is, we don't spend a lot. Perhaps having a free or low cost backup plan would help set your mind at ease?