Homeschool Curriculum Shopping - My Homeschool with a View

It’s that fun time of year when it’s time to make some decisions and do some homeschool curriculum shopping. Actually, if you’re like me, you start curriculum shopping in November. Choosing the curriculum and getting the boxes of shiny books in the mail is such a motivator for me when it feels like our homeschool year is getting too long. I have discovered some tips and tricks along the way to find the best deals and the best places to purchase resources.

This post contains affiliate links, including Amazon associate links. If you purchase through my links, I may be compensated. Thank you for supporting this site! You can read my affiliate and advertising disclosure here.

1. Shop Around

As there are more and more people choosing to homeschool after experiencing quarantine schooling over the spring, this is one of the questions I see come up the most is where to buy curriculum. Most of the time, you can get the best deal by going straight to the publisher. The only problem with that is, if you don’t know of any publishers, you won’t know where to start. In that case, here is a list of places you can shop for homeschool curriculum.

Christianbook

They have a whole section for homeschool curriculum with samples included. This is a great way to find many curriculum publishers in one place.

Amazon

It helps to know exactly what you are looking for, but when you are in the middle of a week struggling through another (insert whatever subject) lesson with your kid and you NEED to switch curriculum NOW, the quick shipping brings much relief. Don’t ask me how I know.

Mardel

This is a great way to look at many different materials in person. They tend to be more expensive than shopping online though. The exception to this would be clearance items and annual sales. I have found good deals at Mardel, but it is hit or miss.

2. Buy at the Right Time

I find the best curriculum deals in November. This is a slower time of year for curriculum publishers and they tend to offer great deals to drive people to purchase during this slower time. Some publishers run deals for the entire month of November, while others participate in Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. The downside to this is your curriculum budget has to compete with your Christmas budget. If you can make it work, you will get the best deal in November. The only exception to this is Sonlight. This brings me to the second best time of year to curriculum shop.

Spring time is the second best time to find good deals on homeschool curriculum. Sonlight usually gives their best deals in the spring, and many other publishers also offer spring sales. With the exception of Sonlight, the deals usally aren’t as good as they are in November, but you can still do pretty well. This makes it easy to utilize your tax return to purchase your curriculum too.

3. Stick to Your Budget

This is a big one. You don’t need the most expensive and shiny curriculum to have a successful homeschool. The books you buy are just a tool and the time you put in with your kids will make all the difference. If you can afford the expensive shiny curriculum, that’s great. You will trade money for more convenience and less planning time which serves some families really well. If you have a small budget, that’s also great. There are free and inexpensive resources you can utilize that will serve your family really well. Keep in mind that there is often a little more planning involved when you utilize free and inexpensive resources, so make sure you budget that into your schedule.

4. Prioritize Skills Subjects

If you are homeschool shopping on a tight budget, focus on skills subjects. These are the subjects that should be prioritized. Even with prioritizing these subjects, you don’t have to spend a lot of money. You can spend $300 on math or $30 and as long as your kid learns math, it doesn’t matter what you spend.

5. Enjoy the Process

Don’t stress out and over think your choices. You won’t ruin, mess up, fail, or make your kid fall behind by choosing the wrong curriculum. Let the curriculum serve you, not the other way around. If you choose something that isn’t working for you, it’s okay to modify to make it work, or just try a different resource. Keep this in mind as you are doing your curriculum shopping. Find the curriculum that looks good to you, dive right in, and enjoy!