Since this will be our first year homeschooling, I am starting from scratch when it comes to choosing curriculum. Every time I think I know what I want to use, I discover something I hadn't heard of. LOL How early do you order your curriculum for the next school year? Are most companies pretty quick to get orders out? Do popular curriculums get back ordered often? I guess I am wondering how much time I have to vacillate before I just need to make up my mind and place my orders.
I start looking and deciding what I am going to use starting in January. I try to have my mind made up by the time our tax return comes in, whenever that is, and order as soon as we get it. I have never had trouble getting anything I order. I usually order from homeschool classifieds, then CBD, and then Rainbow Resources. I try to post early my want list on HSC and find a lot of stuff there. HTH.
I usually start planning for the next year in about January. I buy the History first, but usually wait until late April/May to order. I just got it. Then I plan everything else around the history and spend time buying it thru the summer. We start the 3rd week in August, usually. Anyway....I usually do most of my purchasing at our local convention. Which also has an amazingly huge used book sale, yay!!! It's in two weeks....I can't wait!!!
I have bought most of my stuff already. I am like Krista, I start planning in January. I buy a little each month until I have what I need. I have just about everything for both of my girls, I just need Lit for my oldest but Iwill get that in July(hopefully) I wanted to start in Aug, but I am not so sure now.
We save our money over the whole year, the convention comes every May to our city and April at a city about an hour and half from here. I know that I seem to spend $500.00 every year and that is for the full years curriculum and extras, one being HSLDA!!! I buy at the convention and save on shipping if I don't walk away with it that day. I have used what God has told me. I remember my first convention. Thinking there would be 3 or 4 to choose from and was SHOCKED. I didn't buy my first year. By the second I listened to His Voice. I hear lots of great things but as much as I love them they are not me and I use what we need. We had our convention May 26 and our order arrived the end of last week. Everything prep and ready to go. DD was so excited about the new curriculum,(we used R&S and just switched to CLE) that she did 2 subjects today to just see what it was like!! Good looking and just pray.
Usually I've all my ducks in a line for next year by mid-May at the latest. This year, I'm totally in outer space!!! (It's been an extremely stressful year on many fronts, including school!) Most companies do a very good job, but the later in the summer you wait, the better chance that it will take longer. Rainbow Resources is a real pain that way. I don't remember exactly, but I know I was frustrated by when they said things would get to me.
For kids I have that I know will be returning next year, I'm usually settled on what I'll need to get by the end of May. HOWEVER, kids tend to come and go at odd times around here. Several of the publishers have a spring sale in April/May with lower prices or free shipping or something. And then people are finishing up their school years at that time so there's usually tons of used stuff available, at least the nonconsumable parts.
I start planning for the next year in January too. By then I know what's worked well for us this year and what hasn't and am able to figure out what I want. I shop online and try to buy used when I can. Right now I need basic school supplies - crayons, colored pencils, etc. and MUS blocks for my son but I've purchased everything else already. The nice thing for me is that I really only need to shop for my oldest - though I did buy a k-4 program for my 2nd son this year - because I just pass down what we already have from DS1 to DS2. For next year I won't have much to buy at all because I bought ahead in spelling to save on shipping costs. :lol: I mostly start buying in March/April with our tax return. Anyway I think that depending on when you want to start school you still have a little time. I'm planning to order our MUS blocks at the middle of July and we start school the third week of August too.
April/May I think is when I start ordering. My kids are usually done in May so it gives them some time off before we start back up. That's for the MAIN stuff - then I add here and there depending on each child's interest and what I can find for them. I find if I get the stuff early, I can let the "new excitement" sink in and then I can get down to work with planning.
I'm like the majority here, I start mapping it out in January, get our tax refund in Feb, start budgeting, and buy in May at the convention. Oh, and I'm constantly finding new things, I started a list of things I would like to try. I just save the idea for next year. If I didn't, I could easily bankrupt us just buying all the cool things I see. Mistakes are expensive. Read lots of reviews LOL!
I have all our curriculum purchased for the next school year, except for literature books. Still working on a list for reading! I have never had a problem with ordering. I mostly use CBD and they are prompt. I will tell you that it took me a couple of years of hit-and-miss and trial-and-error to settle on what works for us. There is so much out there to choose from! Enjoy the search. I found it fun.
January is when I start looking for curriculum for the next year. I like to have everything bought by April or May. That gives me plenty of time to find good deals and also decide on what I want.
This is the first year we're not unschooling but we're still not using textbooks but living books instead. But I started planning when we finished our 180 days in April. I hit the used bookstore every Friday with my list of books. Then I've been ordering one book each week that I can't find free online (lots of public domain books in our plans) or at the used book store. I'm well aware I'm weird and not normal even among all the weird, unsocialized homeschoolers. But that's how I roll! :lol:
I start seriously thinking around March/April (once I start getting the new catalogs). I start buying at the used curriculum sales in our area in May. Our state convention is the end of May/begining of June and I purchase or order most of the rest of the stuff there. I do my Sonlight order right after convention (so I get the $15 coupon). Right now I just have to order my Latin For Children and I will be done and just need to plan out next year.
I always have in the back of my mind thought for the what to use next year. it varies from year to year when I buy. We are using several online and computer based curriculum now which I purchase through homeschoolbuyersco-op.org. A lot of my purchases are based on when they run their group buys. I've found most suppliers to be timely. Haven't had to wait more than a week or 2 for anything I have ordered.
I tend to order anywhere from February through April. I will order throughout the year if necessary but the majority of our curriculum is purchased before our school year begins.
