Thursday

Thrifty Thursday: Homeschool on the Cheap


If you’ve ever researched homeschooling, you realize two things pretty quickly.
  • There are a LOT of choices for curriculum!

  • Curriculum can get expensive quickly!

I wanted to share some of my favorite used curriculum websites because I’ll be honest; I buy practically nothing at full price for our homeschool. I buy used or find it for free.
Here are my top favorites:

  1. Well-Trained Mind Classifieds: Not only are the Well-Trained Mind Forums my favorite homeschool boards, but they also have a great buy, sell, and trade board. You can post items you are looking to buy, post items you have for sale (you must have at least 50 post something for sale), and post things you have that you would be willing to trade. I’ve picked up some great deals here and made quite a bit of money selling as well.
  2. Homeschool Curriculum and Book Swap Facebook Group: This is my new favorite place to buy and sell homeschool curriculum. Lots of great deals and lots of people ready and willing to buy. Not stipulations to post, but you must be approved by the administrator and follow the group rules when posting items for sale.
  3. Amazon: I do a LOT of business with Amazon and so do most homeschoolers! While their new book deals (and free shipping!) are great, their used books are even better. I’ve found lots of used math and science textbooks for a fraction of the price and some great literature for pennies.
  4. Ebay: I once used ebay quite a bit to buy homeschool curriculum, but in the past couple of years ebay has become less useful to me. While I don’t mind shopping there, the really good deals are starting to be found elsewhere, but it’s still worth a look if you are stumped.
  5. Curriculum Specific Buy and Sell Groups: If you have a favorite curriculum that you love to use, then it is worth it to hunt down a group that only buys and sells materials and curriculum used by that company. For example, I know of Sonlight, My Father’s World, and Heart of Dakota groups on Yahoo Groups and/or Facebook devoted to buying and selling used curriculum. You can pick up things on these curriculum specific groups for a song!
  6. Goodwill or Other Thrift Stores: Imagine my surprise not too long ago when I stumbled across a copy of D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths at a local Goodwill while buying shoes for Monkey. The price? Only $3. Always check out the book section of your local thrift store. You never know what will show up!
  7. Homeschool Book Stores: If you are privileged enough to have a book store solely devoted to the needs of homeschoolers close to you, take advantage. Most of these stores have used curriculum sections that are full of goodies just waiting for you to find!
  8. Library Book Sales: Not only is your local library a great place for finding books to use while you homeschool, but most, if not all libraries also sell used books. Some libraries might have a sale once a year or some might have an entire used book section stocked year round. Either way, some of the best homeschool books I’ve found, especially reference books, have been at the library used book section.

Now it’s your turn to help me!

Tell me some awesome places that you’ve found great prices and deals for used homeschool curriculum either online or in your neighborhood.

Homeschooling as cheaply as possible in the tree house,

Chelli

2 comments:

  1. Don't forget about Rainbow Resource! I use them when I have a big purchase planned because I can purchase various subjects through them and then save on the shipping.
    You can see my guide for purchasing curricula and resources here. http://www.teachingstars.com/curriculum/guide-to-purchasing-curriculum/

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    1. Love me some Rainbow Resource! Thanks for sharing.

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