The Quick-Start Guide to Clearing Out Unwanted Curriculum

Written by Jessica.

The end of this school year is in sight, but I’m already starting to think about what materials I’ll need for next school year. This is an ideal time to go through books, curricula, and other learning materials to clear out what is no longer needed. If you are willing to do some work, this time of year presents an opportunity to sell or donate any items that you don’t plan to use again.

Pricey Field Trips for FREE or Cheap

When you are homeschooling at the speed of life, learning...most REAL learning...happens away from a worksheet or textbook. 

Some of the most memorable and meaningful life-schooling is done when you take the show on the road...when you venture out to meet real people and see real stuff...when you experience real life the way it WAS lived or IS lived...when you take a field trip.

But, let's face it.

A large homeschool family is a herd that moves rather slowly and comes with a pretty hefty entrance fee.

Field trips aren't cheap!

Or are they?

Top Gift Ideas for Sneaky Learning

As a self-proclaimed, passion-directed homeschooler, I have definitely embraced the idea of strewing...sowing and scattering seeds of imagination, interest, ideas, and information...throughout our school day in hopes that these will grow into passions...hobbies...and life-long loves.

With purpose, I strew.

At Christmas time, my gift-giving takes on intentionality. I often purchase family gifts of Frankincense that will not only delight but also strew. ON PURPOSE.

The Big Book of Homeschool Ideas: 54 Mommas (and Me) Share Their Homeschooling Expertise

Alright, y'all, I'm not gonna lie. I've read a lot of homeschooling books.  A.LOT.  And while they were all very well-written and while I gleaned much from most of them, they each were penned by ONE author with ONE perspective and ONE homeschooling approach making it difficult to see the large spectrum of homeschooling possibilities.

Fantastic Giveaway of 20 LIFETIME Memberships to Notebooking Pages.com

I interrupt this scheduled programming (Insert the sound of a screeching record player...Wow! That really shows my age!) to tell you about a giveaway happening that you DON'T want to miss!! (This post contains affiliate links.)

Starting today, April 29th at 11 am EST and going until 10 pm EST, Notebooking Pages.com will be giving away 20 free LIFETIME memberships to their fantastic on-line notebooking products.  

In addition, after the sale ends April 29th at 10 pm EST, they will be drastically reducing their lifetime membership fee to only $50 until May 5th.  

If you are not familiar with Notebooking Pages and want to know more, be sure to read how I use notebooking pages for all ages.  

Happy notebooking!

5 Tips for Finding FREE {or almost free} Books for Homeschool

The posting of my monthly What We're Reading lists coupled with the fact that we use TruthQuest History, a living literature-style history program which requires us to read dozens and dozens of fantastic, albeit somewhat hard to find, books has compelled many to ask...

How can you afford all of those books?

The truth is, while we do own some books, our one-income-debt-free lifestyle and our itty-bitty house make it impossible to hoard more than a couple of bookshelves' worth. While I would love to pack our home with all manner of literary perfection (I'd live in a house MADE of books, if I could!), I have to be rather snobbish in my selections.

Birthday Gift Buying on a Budget for Debt-free Living

Humor me for a minute and see if you can tackle this simple, homeschool math story problem.

If I have five kids and they each get invited to many birthday parties every year, how much money will I have to spend annually in order to purchase fun birthday gifts for all of their friends while still maintaining my debt-free, livin'-on-one-income-in-a-two-income-world lifestyle?

Not a fan of story problems?  Nah...me neither.  Especially ones that seem to have impossible solutions.

Top 5 Websites for Inexpensive Homeschool Curriculum

While eBay and Amazon may have the "buy for cheap" market cornered, they are not always my GO TO sites to find inexpensive HOMESCHOOLING curriculum. Many times bidding wars get out of hand or the shipping prices make an otherwise "cheap" book more expensive than I had hoped.

Before you push "add to cart" on that MUST HAVE item, be sure to check out these other lesser-known curriculum sellers for used or gently used/new curriculum.