How do you buy anything long term at the younger ages?

[LittleIzumi]

I swear, the Sponge needs something totally different every month. By the time I've narrowed down the choices for her current level, she's jumped a level or two already and doesn't need it anymore. I'm tempted to just buy stuff a year or two ahead and doing living curricula until she's ready--in like, 2 or 3 months . Esp with lit, phonics, and science. She doesn't like math so she's progressing more normally there. Today's Sponge-requested reading material was the tiny-print Smithsonian field guide to dinosaurs and pre-historic life (no stories--a BONE book, mama), Uncover the Human Body, etc. I decided to try fun chapter books and so we went through the entire 1st Magic Tree House in an hour yesterday. Plus our chem experiment, French, copywork, her new obsession with writing letters all over the house, ASL, math, art, nature time, and more and more and more, just today before I went to work (2nd shift). And a month ago she couldn't write a lot of her letters, hated copywork and chapter books, didn't know French, etc. I have no idea what she'll be doing in another month. I'm assuming they slow down a little at some point??

[AnneC]

I bought five years of Singapore Math at the start of last year figuring we'd be good for a few years, we will probably be done sometime next year We have slowed down this year, but that is my fault because I didn't want to do anything when I was pregnant. Everything else I buy on an as needed basis but I can't make any curriculum last for as long as it is "supposed" to, even when we supplement.

[MissKNG]

LOL! I made the mistake of buying ahead. Since we were starting preschool this fall, I went ahead and bought Horizons PreK curriculum in MARCH! By May, she was pretty much past the material in Horizons PreK. Right now, I'm buying more and more K/1 stuff (we are into Evan Moor books right now) when in September I was still pretty much looking at just K stuff.

I've been trying to go more in depth. For example, in Moving Beyond the Page - we are looking at 7 habitats. MBTP has the lesson scheduled for two days...well, I'm expanding on what they have. I made a poster board with all the habitats on it and this week, we are going to make (as a craft) one animal for each habitat. Since we do school only 3 days a week now (I temporarily cut down from 5 - to keep my sanity!), this should project/lesson should last at least two more weeks.

I have a little whirl wind too so I understand! Good luck and just keep plugging away!

[KAR120C]

When DS was four, I could have bought all kinds of things that would never have been used.... and probably did, but have blotted that from my memory :b

What I did buy and did use, were topical things... especially when they were 50 cents at a curriculum swap.... Things like kids' magazines, books about specific science topics that we'd get to eventually, puzzle books, etc. And for the most part I didn't put them away, so they got pulled out whenever he discovered them. None of it was tied to a particular tightly-defined stage, and I think that was the key. Anything that was going to be aimed at a particular stage I bought only as needed.

It was only after we started 1st grade math with Singapore that I started buying ahead with impunity. We used that all the way through Primary and into NEM without a hiccup. Not on the prescribed schedule of course, but in order.

As for when they slow down? Well.... they might.... or at the worst you'll get used to the pace! By about 8 years old, DS was predictable. Still not slowed down or anything, but at a point where I could say I knew pretty well how long something would last.

[LittleIzumi]

What's really scaring me is the Dramatist is even faster. Eeeek.
I've been trying to get concrete things that will last for multiple stages, like microscope, tangrams, abacus, dominoes, huge set of letters with punctuation marks, etc. But things like science and kits and books... aaaaaah

So much for my original plan a few months ago of using HOD LHFHG (and thinking I was being rebellious getting it a year early ).

[Crimson Wife]

I personally try to buy "up" in an attempt to slow my oldest down. Doesn't always work though.

[LittleIzumi]

Oh, yesterday I found a G&T K workbook at B&N that has a lot of unique stuff and moves super fast. Dd hates workbooks but I thought this would be a bit more fun than tracing letters.... When I brought it home she hit page 22 before I made her stop because we had company . So, it's great for *right now* and it's available locally--but man, I hope they make more of them . Maybe she'll be ready for the 1st grade one? Hmmmm.

ETA: It doesn't solve my curriculum problem, but it's nice to find anything AT her level right now, not way behind or too repetitive/boring or wanting tons of writing. Now she can do this while I try to plan next year's stuff. For a week, maybe, LOL.

[matrips]

just an idea for her -two of my 4 yos love encyclopedias, dictionaries, and atlases! we have many different ones and they just enjoy reading them on their own. if you don't have a bunch of those kind of books, your daughter may enjoy them, and it may keep her busy for awhile and they're not like workbooks or some reading books that you finish with. they'll read them over and over and I expect to keep these books around for quite a few years.

[MissKNG]

Originally Posted by LittleIzumi

Oh, yesterday I found a G&T K workbook at B&N that has a lot of unique stuff and moves super fast.

What book? I'm interested...

[Dinsfamily]

Originally Posted by matrips

just an idea for her -two of my 4 yos love encyclopedias, dictionaries, and atlases! we have many different ones and they just enjoy reading them on their own. if you don't have a bunch of those kind of books, your daughter may enjoy them, and it may keep her busy for awhile and they're not like workbooks or some reading books that you finish with. they'll read them over and over and I expect to keep these books around for quite a few years.

This works for my two oldest boys as well. We have dinosaur, bug, animal, and space encyclopedias that they read/look at all the time. We also have plenty of "how does it work" and "where does it come from" books. They don't get tired of them and they learn so much just from perusing the pages.