TEACH CT - The Education Association of Christian Homeschoolers

Used Curriculum Sale Categories

A Guide to Help You Categorize Your Items

There are several ways an item can be categorized.  Often where it is placed is determined by what else is at the sale, even if an item is labeled in a different category.  The categories are a great help to the people sorting the items and to buyers, but sometimes items are moved to a category which makes them more sellable at a particular sale based on the other items available for sale. Below are suggestions to help determine in what category an item may be grouped.

 The main way to evaluate your item is to ask,
”Is this item Curriculum or a Supplement?” 

In homeschooling many items considered supplements are used as curriculum, but that is not how the items are sorted for the sale.  FOR THE MAIN SUBJECT CATEGORIES (i.e. English, Math, Science, History, etc.), ITEMS PLACED IN THAT CATEGORY ARE USUALLY CONSIDERED CURRICULUM.  ITEMS WHICH ARE USED TO SUPPLEMENT THAT SUBJECT/CURRICULUM ARE CONSIDERED “PLEASURE READING.  For example, Apologia is curriculum labeled “Science”; however, Usborne books are labeled “Pleasure Reading - Science.”  The purpose for this is to keep the category areas more concise and to make it easier for shoppers.  People looking for curriculum want to find it quickly, while shoppers tend to browse and spend time at “pleasure reading.”

The category “English” is used for curriculum which covers all the English subjects.  A Beka, Bob Jones, and Christian Liberty Press are comprehensive curriculums.  If you bundle your items for A Beka English, Grade 9, you would label them as “English.”  You would also label them as “English” if you were labeling the items like the reader, workbook, and teacher’s edition individually.  Individual components for the “English” curriculum may end up in “Spelling,” “Writing,” “Grammar”, etc. or in the section for A Beka, Bob Jones, or Christian Liberty Press depending on how much of each item is available for sale.  In the last few years, A Beka has had its own table for “English” due to its popularity.  A Beka users usually want A Beka alone, and this is done as a service to them.

Here are some suggestions to help you:

Art:  Curriculum and supplemental books (Barry Stebbing’s books are curriculum)

Audio/Visual:  Books on tape, Homeschool conference tapes (could also go to homeschool helps), or educational DVDs.  Drive Thru History America DVDs could go in this category or in History.  We are no longer accepting DVDs of a non-educational nature (children’s DVDs)

Bible:  Curriculum and supplemental items for home education purposes including reference materials like Bible atlases and Bibles.  Please do not bring Sunday School materials, VBS materials, or studies not specific for student coursework (ex: Beth Moore’s popular Breaking Free).  Video courses like Foundations from Ligonier Ministries would go in this category.

Computer:  Educational computer programs and books teaching computer which are current.  Please do not bring items which are way out of date…they will not sell.  Please do not bring programs/games which do not have a direct educational connection.

Critical Thinking:  This includes Critical Thinking, Logic, and Worldviews.  Examples of curriculum are Building Thinking Skills, Introduction to Logic, and Understanding the Times.  Understanding the Times could also be placed in “High School” category.

Educational GamesDue to space limitations this category has been limited to games with obvious educational value.  Educational games for preschool children are placed in the preschool category. General games are not accepted.

English: Mainly for traditional publishers who are doing comprehensive curriculum.

Foreign Language:  Curriculum and supplemental items.

Geography:  Curriculum (like Geography Matters, Bob Jones, etc.) and geography tools.  Supplemental items like books, atlases, flash cards, or games may be placed in “Pleasure Reading –History/Social Studies” if space requires.

Grammar: Curriculum (Easy Grammar, Shurley Grammar, etc.) and supplemental items.  Some major publishers like A Beka and Bob Jones may have individual grammar books which may go here or with their major publisher under English depending on space.

Health/Physical Education: A Beka has a health curriculum for multiple grade levels.  There are also some supplemental health books used for home education. Course offerings for physical education go here.  Please do not bring books about a skill, (How to Play Soccer, Baseball, etc.) which are not directly related and could easily sell at a yard sale.  We cannot accept sports equipment.  However, you may post these items for sale by printing a picture on a sheet of paper (8.5” x 11” or smaller) and including a written description of the item with price and contact information.

High School:  A diverse category dependent on what is brought in.  It can include Worldviews, materials helping with transcripts and planning high school, Civics, Debate and Public Speaking, etc.

History:  This category has exploded with new entries in the last few years.  This category is for history specific curriculum such as Greenleaf Press, Bob Jones, The Mystery of History, Story of the World, etc. and the items which go with the individual curriculum.  Books about history (ex: Timelines of History) are in “Pleasure Reading - History” due to space restrictions.  Groupings of items dealing with ancient civilizations like Rome, Egypt, and Greece may be in “History” or “Pleasure Reading – History” depending on the volume of material available and space.

Home Economics:  Items dealing directly with home economics as a course for both young ladies and young men.  Home economics would deal with nutrition, sewing, and home management.  Please do not bring cook books, gardening books, craft and holiday books due to space limitations.  Most of these items can be sold at a yard sale.

Homeschool Helps: Books and audio/video which help a parent grow in skill and confidence in homeschooling their child.  Books on learning styles, organization, skills evaluation, stories by homeschooling parents, etc. are some examples.

Literature:  This area refers to books with direct application to literature usually geared to older students.  Poetry, Drama, Shakespeare, and study guides (ex: Total Language Plus, etc.).  Books which have study guides available for them but are not together as a set would be placed in “Pleasure Reading - Child”. 

Math:  Math curriculum, Math-U-See, Saxon, Bob Jones, etc.

Math Manipulatives:  This growing category has the manipulative blocks and videos for curriculum, flash cards, wrap ups, geo boards, fraction sets, clocks and time aids, and all the interesting books like Usborne which are not direct curriculum.

Miscellaneous: Some items seem to defy categories and would go here.  Items labeled “Miscellaneous” may end up in other areas if there are other similar items at the sale.

Music:  Books about music, composers, theory and instructional aids.  Student instrumental music is acceptable if it is not greatly worn!  Please do not bring musical instruments.  However, you may post the item for sale by printing a picture on a sheet of paper (8.5” x 11” or smaller), and including a written description of the item with price and contact information.

Parenting:  Books and tapes/videos giving counsel on parenting skills.  This category is often grouped together with other small categories.

Penmanship:  Curriculum and workbooks which teach penmanship skills.  Some curricula are inclusive of all Language Arts subjects (A Beka, Bob Jones, etc.) and their penmanship books are not usually sold individually, although they may be.

Pleasure Reading - Adult: Books which are of interest to adults but not in the other categories.  (ex: Christian fiction, current non-fiction, etc.)

Pleasure Reading - Child:  The largest category with something for everyone.  Pleasure reading items are items used to supplement curriculum but which aren’t curriculum.  The subdivisions in which the books will be sorted at the sale are: “Picture Books”, “Early Readers”, “Series”, “Chapter Books”, and “Older Readers”.

Pleasure Reading - History/Geography:  A growing category of biographies and non-fiction books of a historical nature, Landmark books, and books which strongly supplement history/geography.  This category enables the very large categories of “History”, “Geography”, and “Social Studies” to be curriculum only.

Pleasure Reading - Science:  Science is another category which has grown tremendously requiring a subdivision.  Science is now just curriculum.  “Pleasure Reading - Science” is for supplemental books which support science (ex: Usborne, DK books, books about science topics like animals, plants, solar system, books for experiments, etc.)

Preschool: Items to help teach preschool skills, colors, letters, shapes, sorting and categories, etc.  Please do not bring large items which take a lot of table space.  Instead, we encourage you to post the item for sale by printing a picture on a sheet of paper (8.5” x 11” or smaller), and including a written description of the item with price and contact information.

Reading/Phonics: Curriculum which teaches reading or phonics and readers associated with specific curriculum.  A Beka will often have its own table of readers.

Science:  Science curriculum (ex: Apologia, Bob Jones, A Beka, etc.).  Not books about science subjects.

Science Manipulatives:  Items for experiments, kits, lab equipment, etc.

Social Studies:  Formal curriculum for elementary school levels.  Not historical fiction, biography, and non-fiction books like the DK books or Landmark books, as these are considered “Pleasure Reading - History/Geography”.

Spelling:  Formal spelling programs such as Spelling Power.  A Beka and other curriculum have their own spelling programs which may be here or at the A Beka table.

Testing Materials:  Materials used for skills evaluation or specific test preparation (ex: SAT Prep).  This small category is often grouped with other small categories.

Unit Studies:  Curriculum which is all inclusive (Konos, Tapestry of Grace, etc.). Some subjects which have unit study themes but are just single subjects may be placed here or with the subject, depending on space.

Vocabulary:  Vocabulary programs such as Wordly Wise.

Writing:  Curriculum for teaching writing.