Money-saving ABeka Homeschool Curriculum Tips
by Tanya
ABeka Homeschool Savings!
I have used ABeka primarily with my daughter from Kindergarten to her current grade of 4. She loves the History, Science, and Health books from ABeka. I had to leave the ABeka curriculum for math, and choose another provider as she is a visual learner with vision difficulties. Also, we have not used all the reading materials but (only) some of them. We really enjoy the products but not the pricing. So, through the help of some veteran homeschoolers, we have found a cheaper way to order these materials. If purchasing new through ABeka, I purchase the teacher's book (for history, science, and health) along with the text answer booklet. I then do not purchase the student history book, because it is included in the teacher's manual. The teacher manual is also sturdier than the student version; making it last longer. If ordering the test booklets and answer keys for it; I order one test answer booklet and two test booklets one for the 4th grader and one for the K so when she gets there it is ready to go. Why re-buy the younger children's books because the publisher did a slight revision? Depending on how I will teach that particular year I order accordingly. For example if I will be doing a lot of oral testing opposed to written tests I will only order the teacher manual and the text answer booklet. This saves a lot of time and money. The text answer booklet allows me to review daily all the highlights without writing all the questions out and finding the answers for myself. This booklet also covers all the questions you would want to make sure your youngster knew. In tight times I do not even order that, as the same questions and answers are neatly throughout the teacher's book. The booklet allows me to turn to one page and ask all the questions, opposed to searching throughout the student or teacher's text. One year I taught orally, but found it necessary to test in written form for a little while. For this I had the child write the answers to the questions that I read from the text answer booklet onto a plain sheet of lined paper. This has saved me; the teacher, hours of work and bundles of money without sacrificing quality material for my kids. Another great submission, Tanya! You are one money-saving momma! :) Tanya's Thrifty Tips: 1. Mix and match curriculum to benefit your kids' needs. 2. Do a little creative ordering to save money. 3. Don't be afraid to deviate from your curriculum – use it as a guide. 4. Don't be afraid to eliminate unnecessary workbooks. |
