To eBook or Not to eBook: That is the Question Part I

So I suppose I should pen something of substance here-as I have neglected the weightier posts for some time.

The decision to purchase eBooks, versus the hard copy of the product, has absorbed more and more of my thoughts lately.  Because I am a reviewer for the TOS Crew, I receive the majority of the products in the eFormat, than I do in print form.  And that is where my quandary begins.

I totally understand the eFormat idea for selling products, I truly do.  After all, you get the item almost instantaneously, you can (usually-all though this is not always the case-we'll discuss that later) print as needed and for many applications-it is a perfect fit.  But what about the downsides to this relatively new idea?  Unfortunately, for a hold-it-in-my hands kinda gal, there are plenty.  So how do I advise my fellow blogger friends regarding this issue?

For starters, I wanted to address the negatives, so that I can end on a positive note.  I am not a huge fan of them-I simply am not.  Honestly, I would rather have something in my hands, that I can refer to in a moments notice, without the need to hunt it down on my computer (and sometimes, that means booting the thing up too).  I do not like having to read a long, "thick" eBook on the computer screen-it hurts my eyes after a time.  I am not fond of the possibility that I can "loose" the material and never see it again-even though I do my best to back the file up onto a secondary source-sometimes I do forget.

I am also not thrilled that when and if I choose to print-I have now tacked on several dollars worth of expense in ink and paper costs, and the additional cost of providing something to store it in (which for me is usually a 3-Ring binder and protective sheet covers).  I am not happy to know that I have no resale options involved with an eBook.  You bought and now you own it-with no possibility of recouping some of the expense of it, when your family has finished with it. I also am much more liable to forget what I have in eBook form, therefore, missing out on using the material when I need it.  I am fortunate enough to have High Speed Internet connection, so downloading the products is not usually an issue.  But many of my friends simply do not live in an area that can accommodate the cable connection/satellite dish option (or their phone service does not have the capability to provide internet thru their pre-existing wiring). Obviously this is a big issue, as they simply cannot purchase products in this manner-they wouldn't get them or it would literally take days to upload.

Doesn't sound too appealing when I lay it out like that does it?  Well, there are actually some positives to going this route.  For one, like I already stated-you get it almost immediately.  No waiting anxiously for the thing to arrive (and sometimes-all battered and torn due to bad handling) or wondering if it is MIA in the mail system.  Printed copies are nice, but let's face it-somewhere along the line, if you want to print off parts of it for your students, there is going to a run to a local print shop or library to do so.  And once there, you are at the mercy of the copier (I cannot tell you how many times the ink was low so it was a cruddy copy, paper jammed or the machine itself was "Out of Order") and soon realize you just wasted your time, gas and money to get a couple prints made.  With eBooks, you are usually able to print what you need, when you need it (again see above paragraph about the expense issue involved) as many times as necessary.  Now, I have to be clear here-there is a batch of folks out there who do not honor the protocol of not selling or incorrectly using the copyrighted material.

Because of this tragic situation-many companies have had to purchase programs that create limiting parameters for the purchaser of the products.  For instance, one product that has come across my desk, can only be printed a certain number of times and that is it.  So it is an all or nothing type of deal-and I am not fond of that.  I don't always have the time, ink/paper or money to print the whole enchilada-so I am bound to the computer for its use.  I am on the side of the company on this-I don't think they like it either, but they also have to protect their investment.  So, what it comes down to,  is that at times the purchase has additional limitations -rendering it one of those get the print version whenever you can moments.

I am not sounding very positive, but alas, there are some great benefits to the eVersions of products.  Seriously, there are.  The whole trick to deciding betwixt the two-is to know what your need is for that particular product.  I wouldn't suggest purchasing a whole curricula on eFormat if you or your child need to have access to it rather frequently, or if the cost of it is at or just below the print version.  I need to do a separate paragraph to address that issue-but a good rule of thumb is this: if you need to see, touch,  and use it more than you can to spend in front of the computer screen-get it in print form whenever you can.  The second rule of the "Wise eFormat Purchases"  is to consider its application.  Lapbooks/Notebooking and Workbox activities are perfect for the eBook set up.  With all of the printing needs of such projects, this is truly the only way to go.  In fact, the majority of my files are lapbook kits and Workbox activity worksheets and projects.  I can print as needed, as often as necessary and find I can control many of the aesthetic choices involved (IE: color and type of paper for example).

Another great aspect is that they (eVersions) are so tiny that they do not (when not printed out and packaged in a binder) take up much space at all-and if they remain in eFormat-no space at all on your (jam packed?) bookshelves.  If you are overseas, in a remote area or in a situation where space is a total issue, they are great for meeting your needs.  No oversea shipping costs (and a lot of companies do not ship there anyway, so it is the only option for procuring the product), you can have a lot of product/data for your homeschool library without all the clutter and again-you have it almost as soon as you purchase it.  These are all admirable and wonderful pluses to such products.

Because this is getting rather long in the tooth-I will end this post here, and will pick it up again in another one soon. Let it be said, that regardless as to what is better for my family's needs-yours will be different. You will need to take into consideration all the factors that make an eBook VS a printed version of a product right for you-before you buy.

Look for the second installment soon-until then....

With all the conventions, homeschool catties and spring purchasing

I decided to bump up the posts I did last fall that relate to curriculum choices and online links. Figured a few of you may want to read them, in order to get some insight before you purchase your books this spring. I also have lots of reviews up on my review blog 1 of 100 TOS Crew Reviews, so that you can glean even more insight. Don't forget to go to our TOS Crew Homepage, as there are several more products discussed!

I hope that those of you, heading to a homeschool convention, will have a fantastic time and get some great new ideas and leave refreshed and renewed.

If there is a subject I don't have up and you need some ideas, feel free to ask-I can always try to offer up some helps.

Blessings-

Science for homeschooling

I never was much into the scientific world. Maybe that teacher I had way back in 4th or 5th grade, killed any interest I had (this was the guy who wrote on the board what you were to do and that was about it. Upon entering the room-silently-you would sit down, open your books, and do the reading and questions. Painfully, you would wait for the bell to ring...all the while he sat in the back of the room reading a newspaper or magazine). Science was a four letter word to me-DUMB!

Enter homeschooling my own. "Hmmm, interesting?" "Not bad." "Never knew that." "Uh, that is cool." rolled off my tongue with ease.

I look forward to science now. I know more than I ever knew in school. My kids like it too. Now that speaks volumes, doesn't it?

For elementary we used the Montessori plan on Botany and Life Science. I made the "works" (a Montessori term) to go with what we were studying. For example: we covered the parts of the flower. So I used their sheets for that, copied them and made enough so the student could label them correctly, or put parts together. We took apart a flower to see the real thing. We drew a flower and labeled it. We read books about flowers (hmm, sounds very CM to me) and so forth. We did this same thing when we covered mammals, reptiles, birds, humans, and so on. I was fortunate enough to have a friend who was a teacher at a Montessori school. I ordered the TE thru her. But I am sure you can come up with something similar. I did this for the very early elementary ages up to about 3rd grade. Not that you cannot do it with older children, but the TE I have covered only those levels.

We read on things that interested us and did mini projects for it. I never really did a program. Ok, yes-I tried Bob Jones and went thru it...but if felt so textbooky to me. My kids did not retain what we covered either-so I didn't continue with it. That was 10-14 years ago...they may have changed their program a bit...I dunno. I just knew for us, that is wasn't a good fit.

I never really did a ton of science in the elementary...or so I thought. We just would study what we liked or happened upon (say a particular bird, and so we researched it).

I then found some books that were engaging and had lots of real life meaning. If you can find them, use them to supplement what you are doing. I don't think they cover enough to be considered a full curriculum. They are all by the same author: Bob Friedhoffer. I do not know if they are still available new, you will have to do some research. He has several titles and the ones I own are: Physics lab in the Home, Science Lab in a Supermarket, and Physics Lab in a Hardware Store. My son really enjoyed doing the experiments. It was engaging and not too heavy. We had a new baby in the house when I found these, so they were perfect for that season in our lives.

I also had my 6th -7h graders do Beautiful Feet Books History of Science. That really gave them a good grasp of how the field of science came to be. After all, someone had to think upon this stuff and call it something. Since BFB is very CMish, it fit our family to a T.

When I came across Apologia (not long after he wrote the first book), I was in science heaven! Yes! So we have done Apologia right thru high school. I have not been disappointed. My kids could do a lot of it on their own, and the experiments are engaging and interesting. I also found that there is a Yahoo Group for Apologia. There are alternative tests on it, and I find my 3rd child does much better with them than the originals. You can join them at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Apologia_Science.

I was also very pleased with Jeannie Fulbright's books she wrote for Apologia. I have used the Exploring Creation through Astronomy, so far. I like how very CM it is. My youngest is fast approaching the ability to use them and I look forward to buying and trying out a few more. For those of you who liked the Montessori ideas-this would be a great alternative...almost exactly what I described above.

For my first grader this year: I am doing SL K. I am following their science 1. I have not done any of their sciences before, even though I own a few Cores (in high school-I do the Apologia, I am talking Lower/Upper El). I will have to get back to you on how well we like it. I am waiting to do the Apologia ones with him when he has better reading/writing skills, and my friend is done using it for her boys.

The only other suggestions I can think of is to have a huge reference shelf. You will need this for you Nature Study too. I find mine at garage sales, dollar stores and even in Grandma's closet/bookshelves! Keep a science notebook where they can pop in their observations, notes, narrations and so forth on their science activities. I do not grade elementary science (or any other subject for that matter-just math tests) so I will not squelch or overshadow the learning experience. Keep the elementary sciences simple, more hands on and read, read, read on your subjects.

If I think of anything else note worthy-I will add on....

Don't Know much about History? Pre-K thru Early Elementary

How sad that song really is when you consider it. I love history and therefore, it will be my first subject to cover. I will save my least favorite for last.

What to do? Where to go?

Preschool :

Little ones do not have much to base their history on. After all, they have only been on this earth a mere couple of years. So, keep it simple.

Talking about their history is a great place to start. Show them photos of family and friends. Talk about when they were a baby and how your family came about. I have yet to meet a preschooler who doesn't love to hear (over and over again) what they were like as babies. They need tangible history lessons. I doubt many would even have a reference point to truly understand Egyptian Pharaohs and Spanish explorers. But do by all means introduce these things if they show some interest. Use dress-up and children's books. No need to bore them to death. This is a great age for imagination. Utilize this desire. Whatever you do-DO NOT over teach it! That will just suck the life out of it. We want to build an interest and desire to know more about history, not bury the desire before they enter "real" school. If they have older siblings, invite them sit in on readings and discussions, but do not require them to stay thru it.

Avoid packaged programs for now. It will only stress you out, and create bad undertones for future teaching.

When they start showing better writing skills, and listening skills that extend past -oh five seconds- then start (gently) introducing a more structured approach (this may take until they are 7!)

I would like to interject a story that perfectly illustrates this:

My youngest was about 5ish when I decided to include him in the regular routine of "school".

I carefully set up his work area with his supplies and chair. I made a paper with 2 lines each of the lower case "a" and "b". Four lines! They were dotted out as well, so this was a no brainer.

He was so excited. He plopped himself down, proudly picked up his pencil, listened to my directions and quickly set out to his task. I stepped away, confident that I had maybe 5 minutes or so to work with his sister. Pencil scratches and head down-he was really working at it. I smiled inside thinking, "Finally-my last student is ready to move along with school."

Five seconds into it, he sat up, drew a deep breath, blew it out loudly, set his pencil down, pushed his chair back and proudly announced, "Well I am done with school!"

A bit astonished, I went to see this work of art. How amazing of a kid did I have? He could get his work done in 5 seconds! And to not laugh at his serious comment of being finished! Two, yep two scribbled "a" letters graced the page, and he was no where to be seen! Priceless, simply priceless. He thought 2 letters constituted school and he was done.

Maybe I should of saved this for the Language Arts blog-but it beautifully illustrates the readiness of a child. Getting him to sit through a book without pictures at that point-impossible. He simply was not ready for any sort of structure. I had to rethink how to approach this and spent more time doing "fun" things (which I would like to point out is "fun" in his eyes but was actually play that taught!) until he was ready. Which really wasn't too many months later. I adjusted the learning experiences to his abilities to handle it. I still have to keep it less structured at this point--but experience has taught me that it will all work out in the end, he will graduate knowing how to read, write and do 'rithmetic. Remaining patient and not falling into that nasty trap of "what others are doing" will produce a well-rounded, educated young man in the very near future.

Know your kid. Use play to teach, your voice to tell stories and your arms to embrace. That is what a preschooler needs.

*history instruction: google book lists or purchase one of the many great books that are written for this very purpose, use costumes and lots of picture books. Use songs and crafts. Make those cardboard forts, castles and trains. Use field trips to places of historical happenings to teach. Use grannies, grampies and old Mr. Brown down the road, to talk about what life was like when they were kids. That is history! (uh, the big kids love this too-including ME!)


Kindergarten (and a few years beyond if necessary):

Most four/five/six year olds are still not ready to handle a big scheduled out program. Again, this goes back to writing/reading/listening skills. Some curriculum require a lot of writing or reading on the part of the child. If you have a non-reader, this can be a huge hindrance. Other programs are full of what Charlotte Mason called "Twaddle". That basically means that it is full of fillers, junk and unnecessary work that takes away from the meat of the lesson.

If you are graced with one of those particularly precocious children..then skip this part. Otherwise, all others should read on. If they have some ability to to write/draw and can sit through readings of non-illustrated books as well as the illustrated ones..then by all means start using a program. Tweak it to fit your child/family's needs. You are not a slave to it nor should you feel it necessary to do every little thing suggested by the author. Use it as a tool, not a yoke!

We started out in 1994 (officially) and there really wasn't the avalanche of materials that there is today. That said, with all the research I did, we found that we could afford (and then fell truly in love)with the Beautiful Feet Books curriculum. We didn't want to spend a lot, because after all, we were only going to do this homeschooling thing until we figured out a better plan. We originally did not start for religious convictions- all though we were concerned with the moral decline of the schools. That better plan led to homeschooling all the way through high school! GOD is awesome! He used a particularly not so swell school dilemma, and turned it into a way of life for our family!

I bought the Early American History guide for K-3. I felt that it really should be listed for grades 1-4 (depending on the child.) I loved that it used real books to teach history, and the timeline and notebook were right up our alley. Plus, it played right into what Charlotte Mason taught...and to think I didn't even know about her until years later...but thought the same way she did in this matter! I still have that puppy on my shelf, along with just about every other guide they sell. It is a must in our home.

Rea Berg(BF Books) lays out the entire year in a gentle and easy to follow manner. Starting with the Vikings, she progresses through to the Civil War. The program is not so overly crammed with information that the child will become bogged down with it. The time-line offers a nice way for visual and tactile learners to enhance their studies. You can also add to, or delete whenever you choose (ah the beauty of homeschooling!). You snuggle with the child(ren) and read the majority of the books together. For those with the skills, I let them read the books they could handle. I still have those notebooks my three oldest made, and get almost teary-eyed when I go through them now. My two oldest have graduated from high school so these little treasures are priceless to me!
I plan on using it in the fall of 09 with my youngest. I cannot say enough good about the program!

I have decided though, to go with Sonlight's Intro to the World: Cultures program for my youngest this year. I debated over whether to start with this or BF's Early American. I knew the boy was not ready for BF only because I want him to be able to do the notebook with all of its writing and such. SL's program is really geared more for pre-K to Kindergarten-but due to his needs, this should be a good match. I will let you know how it went in the spring. I have used SL for higher grades and greatly appreciate the fine job they did with the scheduling and layout. I am looking forward to giving the lower level a try this year.

I am a loyalist and stick with what I truly love and what works. I have not skipped around or tried too many programs. BF Books was a perfect fit-so I stuck with it. Since my youngest is not quite up to the first BF program, and SL has a seemingly good one for his age, I am giving it a try. I do not have personal experience with the other programs out there. I have heard a lot of good buzz about the classical approach using Susan Wise Bauer's program-The Story of the World. If you tend to be more classical...consider them. If you are into more unit study styles-find some friends who have used those types of programs and give it a whirl. I have heard a lot of good about Diana Waring's history programs too. In fact, I may use her Romans, Reformers and Revolutionaries program to piggy back my 9th grader's Medieval study this fall (yep-using BF's Medieval program).

AVOID at all costs-teaching history by using textbooks! You know the type..the ones we were exposed to in PS! History is much more complex, and interesting than the typical textbook 2 paragraph quip on something. Oh, and you can avoid those crazy myths and legends that proliferate them...learn history through authors who love their topics, have researched and have accurately depicted the events. I cannot stress this enough!!!!!!!


I am going to break these history blogs into age sections. That way you can pinpoint your age group better and my hands can take a break from typing. WHEW~

Sheri