Want to know the best way to save on homeschool curriculum? In this post I’m going to share with you the absolute best way to save on homeschool curriculum.
I was preparing for a new school year when I discovered this genius tip. Really I should say that from watching a YouTube video on how to organize homeschool supplies, it hit me.
So this mom was sharing how she tears out all the pages from her child’s curriculum. Then puts it into divided sections of a three ring binder. Instead of having three separate books of curriculum, she had it all in one place. Pretty genius actually.
However, it was the notion of tearing pages out of the curriculum books that I realized the potential. With single sheets, it’s much easier to copy them and save them for later, instead of having them all in a bound book.
This way, I wouldn’t have to buy another book when it came time for the next kid. Also, if my kid needed any extra practice, I could just print off another page! GENIUS!
So there you have it! The number 1 best way to save on homeschool curriculum.
For those who like step by step instructions, here’s a guide on how to implement this hack to save on homeschool curriculum:
- Tear out every page in your curriculum book
- Photo copy each page and save online
- Store original curriculum pages in a three ring binder and work through like you normally would. Print extra practice pages as needed and discard (or save as a record)
- For the next child, print off the curriculum pages that were saved online as needed
Common concerns
Time
Now obviously this method will require quite a bit of work up front and printing in future. To me, this far outweighs the overall cost of continuously buying curriculum for each child.
As far as the work it takes up front; I plan in 4 to 6 week increments because that is how many weeks of school we do at a time. At the beginning of the year, I just tear out and photo copy about 6 weeks worth of the curriculum.
It really takes me an hour and a half at most, and once I get into a good rhythm, it goes pretty smoothly.
I photo copy the curriculum over the course of the whole school year instead of doing it all at once. I get three for the price of one since once I’ve copied the whole book, I can print it as many times as I need for each kid that comes along.
Printing
If you look at it in terms of cost to print vs. cost to purchase a new curriculum each year, depending on how many kids you have and how much the individual curriculums cost, you may not save that much or just break even.
To come out on top, you could budget for a good amount of paper. The cheaper the better! This is school work paper after all. It’s just going to be thrown away later. Doing this alone will most definitely save you in the long run.
As far as ink goes, when I started homeschooling, we invested in the HP instant ink program and let me tell you what, it is a total game changer! Ink is no longer a concern of mine.
Copyright
You should check the copyright permissions on each curriculum you plan to copy. Some allow reproduction as long as you do not copy the pages and sell them to anyone for a profit. Other curriculum companies request you write them and ask for permission before you copy. Still others do not allow any form of copying.
Be sure to look for and follow the copyright procedures and guidelines stated in the curriculum you want to copy. Do not copy without express permission. If you have qualms about the profit the company fails to gain from your repeated purchases, go ahead and keep spending money on the same curriculum every year you need it.
Conclusion
So long story short: to prevent having to buy multiple copies of the same curriculum year after year, simply photo copy each page as you make your way through the program with your child and then save it online for future use! Be sure and check copyright permissions before hand.
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