7 Ways to Afford a Boxed Homeschool Curriculum

Do you want to use a boxed curriculum but worry that you can’t afford it? If you feel that a boxed curriculum like BookShark is best for your children, don’t give up on purchasing it because you’re intimidated by the price tag. You may find that with strategic planning, you can afford a boxed curriculum.

Before looking for additional money in your budget, first put the price into perspective. For example, consider the price per child if multiple children will be using it.

Let’s say you have a fifth grader, a first grader, and a preschooler. If you purchase the fifth grade BookShark complete package for approximately $998, you receive materials for all the subjects your child needs—readers, read alouds, history, language arts, math, science, and spelling.

If you keep the curriculum, you’ll be able to use it when your second child reaches fifth grade and again when your third child reaches that age. Of course, you’ll need to replace the consumables which cost approximately $350 per child. So, in this scenario, you’re able to teach three children the 5th grade complete curriculum for a grand total of $1,348, or approximately $450 per child. Suddenly, the curriculum has become much more affordable.

Calculate how much you currently spend in one year to homeschool your children and compare that to the price on a complete curriculum. You may think that you’re not spending as much as a complete package, but that’s may be because you buy curriculum little by little throughout the year instead of all at once as you would with a boxed curriculum.

Use Your Tax Refund

Some families who live on a very tight budget earmark their tax refund or a portion of it to buy curriculum each year. A refunt typically comes in the late winter or early spring, just the time you are starting to consider your curriculum choices for the upcoming fall.

Save Each Month

Another option is to set aside a certain amount every month to pay for the curriculum you anticipate buying. If you’re buying the full package for third grade and Kindergarten, for example, you’ll be paying approximately $2,418 for the year, so you’ll need to set aside $202 a month to pay for the curriculum.

When your children get older, your monthly saving plan will be less expensive because you can save a program for the next child. When the children in the above example are in sixth and third grades, you will need to spend only $1570 ($1200 for the full sixth grade curriculum and $370 for the consumables for the 3rd grade curriculum). In this example, you’ll need to set aside only $130 a month.

Teach Your Children Together

If your children are within two to three grades of one another, you can combine them for their studies in history, literature, and science. So, if you have a fourth grader and a second grader, you could choose to teach them at a level in the middle, perhaps 3rd grade, which is suitable for children ages 8 to 11. Keep in mind that you will still need to teach your children at grade level for math, language arts, handwriting, and spelling. By combining some parts of your curriculum, you can see substantial savings.

Sell Your Used Curriculum

Once you’re done with your curriculum and no longer have a younger child to use it, sell it. BookShark curriculum maintains its value. You can sell it via eBay or a BookShark used curriculum Facebook group. You can likely regain at least 50% of your purchase price especially if it’s relatively new and in good condition. You can also try to sell the curriculum at your local homeschool group, but you’ll likely make more money online.

Buy a Used Set of Boxed Curriculum

Since there is a booming market for used boxed curriculum, consider buying it used. You’ll likely pay only half the price of retail. When you’re done using the curriculum, you can sell it again and recoup a good portion of your investment.

While you may initially think that a boxed curriculum is too expensive for your family, when you use these strategies, you may find that it’s comparable to other alternatives.