When Should I Buy Homeschool Curriculum?

Most families buy homeschool curriculum in the spring and summer, and the busiest weeks are late July through mid-August. But homeschooling lets you set your own calendar, so the right time to buy is the time that fits your child, not the calendar.

When do most families shop for curriculum?

Searches on Google follow the school calendar. Averaged over the last five years, interest in “homeschool curriculum” builds from February through May, dips a little in June, and climbs to its highest point from late July through mid-August. It falls off in September and is at its lowest in November and December.

Month	Google interest
January	37
February	39
March	42
April	41
May	44
June	38
July	56
August	66
September	42
October	30
November	27
December	23

Google scores interest from 0 to 100, where 100 is the busiest week in the five years. These are the averages for each month in the United States.

If you shop in the spring, you have time to try things before the summer rush. If you shop in late July, you’re shopping with everyone else, so start your trials a few weeks earlier.

When do I buy for my girls?

I usually start looking in June and have our choices made by the end of July. I include my girls in the process, and I consider their skill sets and their interests. If there’s a way to try something first, like a trial class or a couple of sample lessons, we try it.

Once we’ve purchased a curriculum, we commit to it. But if it’s really not working, or it’s dreadful, we switch.

Do you have to follow the school calendar?

No. One of the gifts of homeschooling is that you decide for yourself when your school year begins and ends, and how long each curriculum lasts. Point it to your child, not to the calendar or to any particular curriculum.

Check your state’s rules before you plan your year. Every state sets its own homeschool law, and HSLDA suggests keeping attendance records in the states that require them. Find your state on HSLDA’s legal map, and see What do I need to homeschool? for the rest of the paperwork.

How do you try a curriculum before you buy it?

Look for a trial class or a couple of sample lessons, and teach them with your child the way you would on a normal week. That tells you more than a catalog or a review. Our 10-question checklist for evaluating a Christian homeschool curriculum can help you judge what you try.

If you’re looking at Eden’s Table, Week 1 is free: five lessons on one plant with the Teacher’s Guide, the Student Notebook and a read-aloud. Get Week 1 free. If it’s a fit, the nine-week Starter Unit is a $39 download, and the whole 36-week year in print is $249 plus $12 shipping.

What if it isn’t working?

Give it a fair try once you’ve bought it. But if it’s really not working, or it’s dreadful, switch. You can change in the middle of a year, and the break around Christmas is a natural place to do it. Switching homeschool science mid-year walks through how.

Sources

• Google Trends, “homeschool curriculum,” United States, past 5 years, read November 3, 2026
• HSLDA, Homeschool laws by state (legal map)
• HSLDA, Types of Homeschool Records, 2019