When... (Full Version)

All Forums >> [Life] >> HomeSchool Support



Message

VisitorinWaiting -> When... (6/14/2008 8:16:11 PM)

do you purchase your curriculum for next year? I am getting very anxious. First, we were going to use our stimulus money to purchase curriculum, and then that didn't work out for a number of reasons, including the fact that we got $600 less than planned...and now, we are anxiously awaiting hubby's bonus in July to buy it then. I don't really know how long Abeka takes to ship, but I know I could find out easily...but I am feeling rushed already...he gets his bonus mid-July... I really want to have it for long enough to sit down and look through it well, seeing this will be my first year with a standard "curriculum" and with Abeka. I have seen the few samples they have on their site, but that is the only thing I have seen of their material. We also have to join a group, according to the rules of our state, and I was wanting to join HSLDA because many neighbors and family members do not seem homeschooling friendly...



wylyne -> RE: When... (6/14/2008 9:23:33 PM)

I understand completely about the stimulus money. Our money and that of most of our friends started out as money for things we had been putting off and ended up money to keep us afloat.

We piece our curriculum together because we have not found 1 curriculum that works for our daughter in all subjects. I usually start mid way through the current school year to collect books and such for the following year. I look for online deals as well as local used textbook sales. I know the HSLDA has a used materials market place section on their website. There was another used material site that I heard of recently(might have heard of it here) http://edaccents.com/

Personally for our tight budget, I find it easier to buy it in pieces. Even when we did try a boxed curriculum. I found it easier to buy a subject at a time then spend the whole amount at once.

I think you have time yet to buy for next year. I do not know what grade/age you are teaching but IMO if you needed too, you could buy what you could for some subjects and then use your local library and the internet as a resource for others until you could get the rest of what you wanted. A friend of mine taught her high schoolers a language by borrowing their library's copy of Rosetta stone software.



cynthia -> RE: When... (6/14/2008 9:46:21 PM)

Do not panic. You have been praying, right? You have been seeking the Lord on this, right? Then what are you worried about? He has got it under control. You are going to be fine. Order it when you can. You do not need to look over the entire curriculum to be ready. You will need a day or so to sit and read the introductions and look through the material, then you can do your planning say a week in advance and then continue to look through and plan until you are done. It doesn't all have to be done before you start school. It's going to be okay.



Karaboo2 -> RE: When... (6/14/2008 10:27:44 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: VisitorinWaiting
I don't really know how long Abeka takes to ship, but I know I could find out easily...but I am feeling rushed already...he gets his bonus mid-July... I really want to have it for long enough to sit down and look through it well, seeing this will be my first year with a standard "curriculum" and with Abeka.


I've used A Beka for two years ... and it is usually a pretty quick ship (even to us in Canada) ... HOWEVER, they do say to allow 4-6 weeks IF you order it in the summer, as that is their peak time for shipping back to school stuff (large private school orders take precedence over small homeschool orders)

Not to question your choice of curriculum, but how old are your children and what are their temperaments like? I ask, because A Beka is better suited for an academically minded child, not an 'explorer' ... my dd loves to sit and do worksheets, so it worked wonderfully for her. My ds is a kinesthetic learner, and NEEDS to be moving in order to learn anything. A Beka is pretty much all worksheets, so it doesn't work for him. We're actually going to switch to Konos this year, because it will cater to both children's strengths.



PrincessDonna -> RE: When... (6/15/2008 1:28:16 AM)

I'm not sure where you are, but are you sure you have to "report" (in whatever way that means for your state) for your oldest next year? He's only 5, right? I think most states are at least 6 for mandatory reporting. Not that you wouldn't "start" school now if he's ready, but if you don't have to report this year, then DON'T.

That said, we buy most of our curriculum in February, at tax return time. It's the only time of year we have a big enough chunk. We did buy some last year at the convention (June), but that was because I didn't want to buy those particular things without putting my hands and eyeballs all over them first. We still saved that money from our taxes. For us, that's what works best.

For you, obviously that is not an option at the moment. Get it when you can and don't worry. You can school year round if you need to, or may decide you don't need to after all. But I found with other little ones, year round was the only way for me to go...to spread the bulk of the work out more because my time was already so spread out by little ones.



amybreit -> RE: When... (6/15/2008 4:49:40 PM)

If you are going with Abeka, they usually have what they call home school materials displays in various locations around the country. If you go to their website (Abeka) on the left hand side is a box under order online that says "Find a Home School Materials display in your area". You enter your zip code & the distance you're willing to travel & it will tell you where the ones are in your area. They are usually at hotels or convention center type places. We have several coming up in our area in the next few weeks. At these displays you can look at the materials & you can place an order & shipping is FREE!! If you are ordering an entire kit they are 10% off.

To answer your question. I usually buy our materials for next year in May (around our state convention time). This year, I haven't bought anything yet (well except things I already have that we will use next year). I plan on sitting down in a week or so & getting online & ordering what we need. Then, I often end up purchasing things through the year. We have money build up in our budget for curriculum, so I can have a big lump sum in the spring/summer & buy small things as I need them throughout the year.

Hope that helps!



Homegrownkids -> RE: When... (6/15/2008 5:34:28 PM)

This is the first year that I"ve puchased my curriculum in spurts. Usually I try to get it all done during the spring. Now it is summer, and I have one order left... possibly another small one after that. Lack of money has been the reason why I haven't gotten everything yet. Our WHOLE entire stimulous will be put towards DD orthodontic work so that our loan to pay off the rest won't be so large.



his_chosen -> RE: When... (6/15/2008 9:23:40 PM)

I usually drool over the Rainbow catalog over the summer, then order stuff in July/August. Then, we buy stuff through out the year as needed. We school early August through May.

I have a lot of hand-me-down Abeka stuff. My aunt used it with my cousin. It must have worked well for them. However, it never worked well for our guys.



2jsmom -> RE: When... (6/15/2008 11:29:07 PM)

I buy some of my curriculum at our convention to save shipping. The rest I buy throughout the year from used curriculum sites. I have an idea of what I'm going to want for the next year or so, look up the retail prices and then see if I can find it used. If you aren't opposed to used books, you can save a lot of money that way.



VisitorinWaiting -> RE: When... (6/16/2008 10:21:43 AM)

Okay...let's see where to begin...

I talked to hubby about buying used or using things from the library, but he said that since this is our first child of three that we are going to homeschool, that we might as well buy it new and then we'll be able to keep it nice to use for the other two.

DS1 is 5 years old, so we will be doing Kindergarten. Yes, I have to report for Kindergarten...either by going to the board of education and filling out a form saying that we opt out of Kindergarten or by reporting to the homeschooling group. Now, we could opt out...no problem...BUT I have talked to other homeschoolers in the area, and they say that reporting homeschooling for Kindergarten is much easier than going to the board and dealing with all the comments they give there... So, I'd rather just report homeschooling, since we will be doing it regardless, than to deal with the people there and the comments that I've heard from homeschoolers about what they have had to deal with when going in to opt out...

Yes, I have been praying...yes, I have been seeking the Lord...I know that he will provide... I am wanting to make sure that I get my order place in enough time to allow for shipping time, so I can get started and finish before I have to send in report...

Curriculum choice has been an issue of debate. My husband thinks it's the one and only, even though I wanted to look into others and see what would be better suited. I gave up the argument, saying that Abeka will work where it needs to, and where it doesn't, I will supplement. My sons though, beg to do worksheets. My oldest that we will be purchasing for this year, he LOVES worksheets and learns best by sitting and doing work along those lines. He is very smart...and very in tune with worksheet type stuff...

I have checked out materials displays for Abeka. They were here in April and May, but we didn't have the money then either...there are no more near enough to us anytime soon that it would be worth the gas price to get there. It would probably equal or exceed what we would pay for shipping... [:'(]



Karaboo2 -> RE: When... (6/16/2008 8:09:35 PM)

Hillary, remind me ... are you in the US or Canada? The reason I ask is that shipping costs are a whole lot different. If you order from the website and live in the US, then shipping is 10% of your total. If you are in Canada, then it is 25% shipping ... [>:] Our first year using A Beka, we planned our order and figured on $350 worth of stuff (we got a lot of the letter sized phonics visuals, etc). I couldn't justify $87.50 in additional costs (shipping), so we delayed the start of our year by a month, and went to the next available A Beka display (did other things instead of 'school', like check out the migrating butterflies in the area)



cynthia -> RE: When... (6/16/2008 9:30:25 PM)

There have been times when I had no idea how the Lord was going to provide what we needed, but He has come through for us every single time. In fact, earlier this year I was wondering where the money was going to come from for school next year and then suddenly they passed the stimulus package and we had our curriculum funds. I'm not saying that the Lord made the government pass that bill. (I think it is a stupid idea, but He knows what is coming our way and works all things out for His glory and our good.) I have just finished purchasing almost everything I will need for school next year. I spent two days at our state homeschool confernce. It was wonderful. There have been many years when we have been living on prayer, but the Lord has provided everything we have needed. It is amazing how the Lord provides for those who trust Him. I am a living example of this principle. Put Him first in all things and He will care for all your needs from his riches in glory.



bzirk -> RE: When... (6/20/2008 1:10:32 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: cynthia

Put Him first in all things and He will care for all your needs from his riches in glory.


Amen.



sen10tious -> RE: When... (6/20/2008 8:31:08 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: VisitorinWaiting
I talked to hubby about buying used or using things from the library, but he said that since this is our first child of three that we are going to homeschool, that we might as well buy it new and then we'll be able to keep it nice to use for the other two.

Aw, bless his heart, he is really trying to be practical and logical about this, isn’t he? Great qualities, but a bit inexperienced (as would be expected with a first.)
Relax. Don’t over-buy. Get just the basics for the first term and organize your finances so that you can take advantage of things the Lord leads you to in time.

Things are probably in much better shape than you suspect; and the reason I think that is because you also said, "I gave up the argument, saying that Abeka will work where it needs to, and where it doesn't, I will supplement. My sons though, beg to do worksheets." If they like worksheets, enjoy the serendipity that ABeka likes worksheets too!

Train yourself to be open to the Lord’s leading and once your husband can breathe, God will show him some new things too.



cindybode -> RE: When... (6/20/2008 5:49:25 PM)

There is nothing wrong with buying, say, math and language arts and hitting them hard the first half of the year so that you are mostly done with them by the time you can buy other subjects. You can do a brief review each day so your little guy doesn't forget how to add, but otherwise you lay off the first two subjects and hit the other ones hard. That's what we all did in college, and although I know that there's (hopefully!) a bit of a difference between a college student's brain development vs. your 5 year old, this definitely can work. I don't use boxed curriculum, but there have certainly been times when my kids have spent months on one area because they were interested in it and the math pretty much went out the window. They've never had a problem picking it back up after a little review.



Page: [1]



Forum Software © ASPPlayground.NET Advanced Edition 2.5 ANSI