Tips for Purging Your Homeschool Curriculum at the End of the Year

As the end of the traditional school year winds down, it’s time to start thinking about clearing out curriculum that you no longer need. It feels good to purge out old material and look forward to fresh new topics for the upcoming school year. But how do you purge out the old? Is there a method to your madness? I’m sure that there are many methods, but today I’m sharing with you how I purge out my old curriculum here and hope you find it useful in your own homeschool.

Purging Your Homeschool Curriculum

Go through it all

I take everything off shelves, out of bins, and in the closet. Then I begin to put it back one at a time, keeping only things that are still in good condition, can be reused the next year, and that we love. Everything else goes in the toss, sell, donate piles. Books, manipulatives, games, posters, everything gets a once over and finds itself either packed up to go or back on our shelves.

Here are some questions you might ask yourself while going through your curriculum to help you decide what to keep or toss:

• Do you need to keep until your evaluation is over?
• Can a younger sibling use it?
• Does your child still need review in that area?
• Is it in usable condition?
• Have we used this item at all this year?
• If I need it short term can I just get it from the library?

Decide how long to keep things

Are you holding on to them for a younger sibling? How long are you willing to hold on to them? My personal rule of thumb for 90% of curriculum and supplies is that if the next child will not use it within the next two years it goes. That may change as the children get older and this may vary for your situation. Things like math and grammar do not change so they have a longer shelf life than other items. If you want to keep items for future use but will not use them in the upcoming school year go ahead and pack them away in a tote to keep your shelves clear.

Choose where to sell items

There are many ways to rid yourself of curriculum and other items that you no longer need or want — online curriculum sale groups, Ebay, your Co-op, local curriculum sales, yard sales. Price reasonably and list in more than one location. Try not to bring anything back into the school area once you’ve made a decision to get rid of it. If you have have items that do not sell but you are willing to donate, take them to Goodwill or try something like online homeschool support groups.

I hope I have inspired you to give your shelves and other homeschool hotspots a good purging!

Do you get rid of curriculum at the end of the year? Are you getting ready to purchase next year’s books? Let me know in the comments!

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Sara

Sara Jordan is a mom of three creative girls. With a degree in Social Work specializing in early childhood development, Sara has always enjoyed working with children. She believes that learning should be a lifelong adventure that also builds character. She has been blogging since 2008.

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