Our Reusable Favorites

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For several years I have been saying that one of my favorite words when it comes to homeschool resources and curriculum is "Non-Consumable". I've realized that it is also the case that some of the resources that have become favorites just happen to be non-consumable. No matter what the main consideration was, I have collected a list of some of our favorite reusable homeschool resources.

 Why non-consumable? In many cases, non-consumable resources save money. For those of us homeschooling several children, it makes sense to be able to reuse curriculum wherever possible. There are some things that I bought for my oldest child that we were/are able to use for the next kids down the line. Also, non-consumables can sometimes be sold on the "used" market which brings in a little income when we're done with something. (Always check the copyright and End User License to be sure it's legal to resell!)

There's no particular order to this list, except that I listed the things we are using this year first, followed by other things that we have used in the past that are non-consumable.

Life of Fred is a series of math books, from early elementary basics through calculus. Some sciences and economics are taught in the series as well. (See my post Math With Fred for more details.)

Amazon/Life of Fred:

 Notgrass - This year Landon is using Exploring World History, and it's the third time we've used the textbook set. Kennady will also use it in a couple of years. We also have used, and love, Exploring America. These are high school level textbooks that cover History, Literature/English, and Bible. We've also used America the Beautiful, a similar course designed for upper elementary and middle school age students. (See my posts E is for Exploring America and A is for American History for more details.)

ARTistic Pursuits - We own both middle school and both high school level books, as well as one of the Sculpture books. This year, Kennady is picking art projects from several resources, but I have encouraged her to finish the second half of Middle School Book Two: Color and Composition, and she has relied quite heavily on it. (See my posts ARTistic Pursuits Sculpture Technique and ARTistic Pursuits {Schoolhouse Crew Revew} for more details.)

Geography Through Art - This combination art and geography project book continues to be one of our all-time favorites. We have used it over and over to find art projects inspired by different cultures and folk art from around the world. (See my post My Favorite Geography Resource for more details.)

Map Trek from Knowledge Quest - You will find almost every map you could ever want for studying world history and American history. This is another time-tested favorite for us. (See my post K is for Knowledge Quest for more details.)

Around the World in 180 Days - Basically a giant unit study spine. We have used this earlier edition   pictured above several times over. In this case, it's the Teacher's Edition that is non-consumable, and the student texts that are designed for the student to write in can be purchased in a bundle with the Teacher's Edition or separately. Still, purchasing only student workbooks costs much less than a whole new curriculum!  The study covers geography, history, and world cultures over an entire school year. We've used this resource several times over. I simply purchased as many student workbooks as I had students using it. We also made it last over two or three years by going more in-depth into the study.

 

Practical Graphic Design from Insight Technical Education -  Landon is using another Insight product this year, which is consumable (Practical Drafting), but I still have this Practical Graphic Design book that my older two boys both used during high school; and Landon and Kennady might still choose to use it at some point. If they don't, it's still a practical reference! (See my post I is for Insight Technical Education for more details.)

God's Design science series from Answers in Genesis - This was my go-to science curriculum for several years, and we have used every book except the one about human anatomy.  I even adapted and used material from a couple of the books for co-op classes, one on meteorology and one on physics. This year Kennady is studying meteorology so we are getting to use Our Weather & Water
one more time! (See my post How I Finally Learned to Love Science for more information about the series.)

Signs and Seasons : Understanding the Elements of Classical Astronomy - This was another excellent science course that all three of my kids did a couple years ago.  The boys both earned high school credit for it. The book itself is non-consumable, and there's an optional field guide you can purchase, which contains chapter tests, templates and instructions for all the field activities, and places to keep records. (See my post C is for Classical Astronomy for more details.)

This post will be included in the Living Frugally Round-up at the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog. (this link will be live Wednesday, January 21st).

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