Let’s go thrift shopping! You might be surprised what you can find for your homeschool at thrift stores. I love finding super cheap used books and supplies. I’m also always nervous checking out library books, because I know my two-year-old might destroy them. So buying cheap chapter books we can keep, or even trade with friends, is a huge win for me. Here’s what I found at Goodwill and at a family-owned book thrift store near us.
What you’ll get from this post
- The kinds of homeschool books worth looking for at Goodwill
- What to check before you buy a used workbook
- When thrift store supplies are (and aren’t) a deal
- The chapter books and curriculum I found at a homeschool-friendly book thrift store
- Why homeschooling doesn’t have to be expensive
Books I found at Goodwill
This trip was part of a collaboration hosted by Jackie over at These Days. Here’s what I found on the bookshelves:
- Disney Princess phonics books. A huge stack, organized by the letter and sound you’re working on. Really helpful for kids learning to read. You could use this set with a kindergartner.
- A Planet Earth book, perfect as an extra science resource.
- A craft book with lots of ideas you could use for art class.
- A science experiments book.
- A book for preschoolers and kindergartners that teaches letters and numbers through music.
- Matching sets, like a reader with its work-text, and a life science teacher’s edition with the student workbook.
- Chapter books, including Magic Tree House, Junie B. Jones and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, a classic that often gets assigned.
Check for writing before you buy
Some books at Goodwill have writing in them, so flip through the pages. I found a great kindergarten-to-first-grade book that had some writing in it. If it’s just a little, it’s still worth buying, since you can use so many of the other pages.
Supplies: check the price
Next I headed to the random stuff section to look for school supplies and organizing items. They had a good amount. But some of it wasn’t any cheaper than Walmart, so you do have to check prices. Other times you can get a whole stack of stuff for less than the store. Here’s what caught my eye:
- A paper organizer in such a cute color, a great deal at $3.99 when I went.
- A bucket of rocks and gems for $4.99. Random, but perfect for craft time, when the kids pull whatever’s in our drawers and create.
- iPad cases and covers, a lot cheaper than new.
- Office supplies like hole punchers, file folder holders and organizers.
- A super cute binder. My daughter is going to go crazy for it.
Every Goodwill has different stuff, so you could keep checking other locations and find even more.
A family-owned book thrift store
Next I went to a family-owned book thrift store near us. It’s a really special place, with books galore and a whole section just for homeschool materials. It’s owned by a homeschool mom, so she’s full of tips and “here’s what my kids liked to read at this age” advice.
I found lots of chapter books for my second and fourth grader: Magic Tree House, Junie B. Jones, Ranger in Time, Dog Man and more. They also have a “blind date with a book” section, where chapter books are gift-wrapped with the age and a short description written on them. It’s still a surprise. I loved that idea.
The homeschool section covers so many subjects and grades. A few finds:
- A Handwriting Without Tears book. I’d been looking into that program for a while, so I was super excited. Exactly what I needed.
- Abeka books.
- Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.
- Arts and crafts books, an easy way to bring more art into your homeschool.
For the kids, I picked up Uni the Unicorn and Unicorn Rescue Society for my second grader, and the Merlin series from Magic Tree House, Galactic Hot Dogs and Swindle for my fourth grader.
Homeschooling doesn’t have to be expensive
You don’t need an all-in-one kit. You can pull different resources together and even make your own curriculum from those books. If you’re on a tight budget, want something other than a boxed curriculum, or just need extra books and supplies, check your thrift stores. They might surprise you.
Key takeaways
- Thrift stores can have phonics sets, science books, teacher’s editions and workbooks.
- Flip through used workbooks for writing. A little is usually fine.
- Compare supply prices. Some thrift items cost the same as new.
- Look for a local book thrift store, especially one with a homeschool section.
- Cheap chapter books you own mean no stress about library fines.
What viewers say
We LOVE the Bookstore on the Hill in Richmond Hill, GA, and recognized it here!
@carolchanner on YouTube
I really liked your style for the thrift video, like shopping with a friend. Wow I really want to go to that book store!
@FamilyStyleAdventures on YouTube
Things we mentioned
- These Days on YouTube: Jackie hosted this thrifting collaboration
- The Thrifting for Homeschool playlist: hauls from the other moms
Love a good thrift find? Come hang out with our crew on YouTube. Subscribe to The Johnson Crew on YouTube.
FAQ
Can you find homeschool curriculum at thrift stores?
Yes. I found phonics books, science books, a teacher’s edition with a student workbook, Abeka books, a Handwriting Without Tears book and Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.
Are thrift store school supplies always cheaper?
No. Some items cost the same as Walmart, so check the price. Others, like a stack of supplies or an organizer, can be a great deal.
What should I check before buying used homeschool books?
Flip through for writing. If only a few pages are written in, it’s usually still worth it.
More from our crew
- Watch This Before Buying Homeschool Curriculum
- 5 Tips for New Homeschool Moms: Advice for New Homeschool Families
- School Room Makeover!: Homeschool Room Tour
Full transcript
Hi guys today I'm taking you on a thrift store trip we're gonna go look for some homeschooling treasures that we can use this is a collaboration hosted by jackie over at these days go check out her channel next she's an awesome mom has amazing tips and advice for you homeschooling moms I really appreciate her putting this collaboration together there's also going to be a link in the description box below to the playlist with all the other moms and their thrifting hauls so go check out that list next
And see what other treasures the other moms found all right let's jump into it I found a huge stack of these disney princess phonics books and they're categorized by the letter and sound that you're currently working on which is really helpful for kids learning to read so this is definitely a set you could use with your kindergartner this planet earth book is perfect as an extra resource to bring in for science here's a great book you could use to have art class it's got a bunch of great crafting ideas in it
Now some of the stuff that you'll find at like the goodwill might have writing in it so you do want to check the pages for that this is an awesome book for kindergarten through first grade but it does have some writing in it so sometimes you might find books that only have a very little bit and so it's still worth it to buy it because you can use so many of the other pages here's a great book to bring in for some science experiments this book would be great for preschoolers
And kindergartners and it's teaching letters and numbers through music here's a set where you've got the reader book and then you've got the notebook like the work text that goes along with it here's another set you've got the life science teachers edition book and the workbook for the students you can also find lots of chapter books for your child to read I found some of the magic tree house series there junie b jones the adventures of tom sawyer that's a classic that usually gets assigned
So if you're like me and don't love having to check things out from the library I'm always nervous that my kids are gonna rip them and I'm gonna have to pay for them anyways um then it's great to go check out some thrift stores and see if they have any of this stuff on hand already that you can get for dirt cheap and then not have to really worry about what happens to it then I headed over to the random stuff section and I was looking to see if they had any school supplies or just organizational items or other things that I could use in our home school room they did have a good amount of stuff
Now some of this stuff was not any cheaper than getting it at walmart so sometimes you do have to check the price but sometimes you can get a whole stack of stuff cheaper than what you can get at the store so that's a big win this paper organizer is definitely a great deal at only 3.99 and it's such a cute color I do really enjoy the hunt because you can find the most random stuff at thrift stores and this bucket of rocks and gems is pretty random
But also a really great price at only 4.99 this is pretty cool it's fun to look for random things that the kids can use for crafting time where they can just kind of pull whatever we have in our drawers and create whatever they want with it they also had a couple of different ipad cases and covers so that's something that you could go and check out they were a lot cheaper than buying brand new so you might just find the exact one that you want there you can also look for office supplies there they had hole punchers
And file folder holders and organizers this binder is so cute my daughter is going to go crazy for this I love it okay so I just got done at the goodwill and I just went to one and of course you know there's going to be different stuff at every goodwill that you go to so I could probably continue to scour the other goodwills around our area and find even more awesome treasures but just wanted to give you an idea of some things to maybe look for when you're going into these thrift stores you might be surprised at the things that you find
So I'm about to go into a family-owned book thrift store that's near us and it's a really special place and they do have a section that's totally dedicated to home school stuff and then just books galore the other great thing about these bookstores is being able to find books for your kids to read that obviously aren't full price and this particular thrift store is owned by a homeschool mom so she's full of awesome tips and oh here's what my kid liked to read when they were this age
And has lots of great advice so that's really helpful I was able to find a lot of awesome chapter books there for my kids to read they had like the magic tree house series they had junie b jones ranger and time the dog man series all kinds of great series that I could snag for my second and fourth grader and then they also have this really cool section they call it blind date with a book where they gift wrap chapter books and they write on there what age it's for
And like a little description for you so you kind of know what you're getting into but it's still a surprise I really loved this idea they have a whole section just for homeschool books they have so many subjects arranging lots of grades so there was a lot to look through I won't go through every single thing that they have there they actually had a handwriting book from handwriting without tears which I've been looking into this program for a while now so I was super excited to find this at the thrift store this is exactly what I need they had a becca books they had the teach your child to read
And 100 easy lessons and finding arts and crafts books at thrift stores I think is an awesome way to incorporate some arts and crafts into your homeschool I picked up uni the unicorn storybook for my second grader and the unicorn rescue society and the merlin series from the magic tree house for my fourth grader I grabbed galactic hot dogs and swindle and just wanted to throw it out there that homeschooling does not need to be expensive there's all kinds of different ways you can go about it you don't have to get an all-in-one kit you can pull different resources together
And even make your own curriculum out of those books so if you're on a tight budget or you are just looking for a different way to do things other than just an all-in-one kit or if you just need some extra books for your kids to read or some different supplies check out thrift stores they might surprise you what you're able to find there thank you so much for joining me today hopefully that was helpful to you and don't forget to check out the playlist below full of other moms homeschooling thrift hauls
And check out what other treasures that they found if you are new to my channel I like to talk about homeschooling and life as a family of six and traveling as a family so if that interests you go ahead and hit that subscribe button below and join us here every week if you enjoyed this video please give it a thumbs up hope you guys are having an amazing school year so far and praying that the rest of the school year is fruitful and productive for your family until next time happy schooling you