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Jordan
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| Posted: Jan 24 2007 at 5:28pm | IP Logged
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Is it safe to assume that most here love books and acquire many of them?
I am wondering how others handle the temptation to buy soooo much to enrich the learning environment. I love having a selection of books to choose from and find myself anticipating future needs. This easily leads to wanting to buy too much too soon.
Does anyone have insightsor practical tips on providing a rich environment without spending irresponsibly? What duration of time do you budget for? And, I realize this may be personal and may vary greatly, but what would you consider to be a reasonable amount of money to set aside for books and other materials? How often do you make purchases? Do you find the expenses grow or level off as children age and family size increases?
Thank you,
Jordan
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guitarnan
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| Posted: Jan 24 2007 at 6:09pm | IP Logged
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Hmmm...
I adore books. I even met my husband in a library!
I usually try to hit the thrift shops once a quarter to get books. I do compile a list of things I want to buy ahead of time. I also trade books on www.paperbackswap.com. (I've acquired several great titles this way.)
Then, I hit the library every other week or so to get books for my 4th grader's lessons. Sometimes she picks them and sometimes I do (e. g. biographies). We borrow a LOT of books. I do get some books for my 9th grade son this way, but not many.
Then I try to shop in a reasonably controlled way for the other titles we really need. Dover is a great source for classics because they have great prices and lots of titles.
Now that ds is older he can read some of our existing, extensive, mind-boggling history collection for school...and he's enjoying that. We are a real history-loving family, so there's lots of stuff to read.
I try to organize our studies each year, but when a rabbit trail pops up, I usually proceed in the order outlined above to get books and materials to feed our interest.
Does this help?
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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Jordan
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| Posted: Jan 25 2007 at 7:00am | IP Logged
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Thank you, Nancy. It sounds like you do a very good job of getting what you can without spending more than necessary. I hadn't heard of the paperbackswap.com before.
I'm trying to build up some reference books to keep. Things like field guides, nature study books, an atlas and maps, saints' stories, & liturgical year stuff. I can definitely see using the library for books for rabbit trails. At the same time we are beginning this homeschooling journey, we are also reorganizing our finances and budgeting system, so I'm trying to come up with a reasonable spending plan for building up our learning environment. In the past, I just haven't been able to stick to the $50/month I budgeted. Perhaps it will just take some trial and error to find an amount we can work within.
Thanks again for your input, Nancy.
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Paula in MN
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| Posted: Jan 25 2007 at 7:18am | IP Logged
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I buy the books I know I can't get at the library. We go through the books we do get at the library, and if there is one that we really like, I'll put it on my list of "Books to Buy". I bring that list with me when I go to the bookstore.
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 Paula
A Catholic Harvest
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guitarnan
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| Posted: Jan 25 2007 at 7:26am | IP Logged
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You're welcome! I think your idea of using your money for reference materials is a great way to go. Also, if people want gift ideas for you, have that book list ready! (That is how I got my wonderful Oxford Atlas!)
Check with your parish to see if you can borrow saint books from them, at least to get started. It's nice to have a good look at books before you buy your reference materials. (That's one of the reasons I try to get to a homeschool conference each year...to look at things in person.)
I've borrowed field guides from libraries in the past, but it's great to have our own. (We love birds!) One library even had a field guide to birds' nests! It was interesting reading, but we didn't end up buying a copy for our family...not useful enough.
It's that old thing...time versus money...
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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juststartn
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Used book stores, Abebooks.com, alibris.com, ebay, and the thrift stores (not to mentio the occasional yard sale which turns up good stuff).
I rarely buy NEW books. And we rarely hit the library. Another good source is library discard sales, or "Friends of the Library" sales, esp in bigger towns (altho in small towns they are nothing to be sneezed at either).
We have TONS of books. Accumulated piece meal. My oldest dd is only 6.5, so we are only just really getting into the reading stage for her (where she can read well on her own--she's falteringly making her way thru 'Ramona Quimby age 8' right now). But the thing I love is finding regular sellers on ebay...and there are some good ones...who offer discounted shipping for more than one book. Sometimes you can get things MASSIVELY cheaper on ebay than new, or on the other listed websites, and if you find more than one (esp if they are out of print, or simply REALLY hard to find...well, it can be a real bargain that way)...then saving on shipping? Whew. Plus it saves the gas of running around.
We don't really use the library that much. The ones around here aren't that great, and we have so many books at home, it's not worth loading everyone up and heading out for it. Esp since they aren't carrying the things I would let me dds read, most of the time.
HTH
Rachel (who has bookshelves in every room but the bathroom)
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1floridamom
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I was sorely tempted (and gave in many times) when we first started officially homeschooling to buy every book anyone mentioned. We read several FIAR books, and I began to realize that just because other people liked them didn't mean that we would.  I sold quite a few on half.com (ebay's baby sister site). Now I try to get the books from my library first. If they are well received, I look for them at Overstock, Book Closeouts, Half.com. Our Books-a-Million has a great section of clearance kids books where I've found a lot of picture books that we like. Every once in a while I'll do a purge and sell them on Cathswap or Half.com to save up money for other books. 
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Monica in FL
dh Steve, Sean (14), Ethan (13), Emily (10), Kylie (6), Ashley (5) and Lindsay (2)!
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hylabrook1
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We also borrow a lot from the library, but sometimes (lots of times) I just *have to* own the book!  I often look at Half.com or Amazon Marketplace. Things that are new I often put on my Amazon Wish List. Then, when I have to buy something for school or as a gift for someone else, I add in one or two from my Wish List to bring the total to the point where I can get the free shipping. (Just a little bit at a time...., but then the package comes in the mail and I feel like it's Christmas).
Peace,
Nancy
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Erin
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| Posted: Jan 25 2007 at 6:29pm | IP Logged
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juststartn wrote:
Rachel (who has bookshelves in every room but the bathroom)
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Why Not!!!!
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Erin
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juststartn
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Erin wrote:
juststartn wrote:
Rachel (who has bookshelves in every room but the bathroom)
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Why Not!!!! |
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Won't fit. There's literally NO space in there. 1950's era ranch starter. LOL
Believe me, I would if I could. LOL.
My dream is a house with hallways lined in built in bookshelves (wide hallways, of course).
Think of how much space is "wasted" in a hallway! Imagine all of the glorious books you could fit in there?!? Ahhhhhh...
Rachel
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Jordan
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Rachel, I love your house with the built-ins in the hall. How fun would that be?
For our retirement house, I envision a room that overlooks something nice with floor to ceiling built-ins, comfy seating, and a handy place to set a drink. I can't imagine having the space (or time) with kids still in the house.
Jordan
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Paula in MN
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juststartn wrote:
My dream is a house with hallways lined in built in bookshelves (wide hallways, of course).
Rachel |
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Rachel, I want the same thing. And you don't need super wide hallways. All you need is from 8-12" of space --- if you use the space between the 2x4 studs -- you wouldn't even need that much extra!
I have this all figured out on paper, that's how I know!
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Paula
A Catholic Harvest
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juststartn
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PaulaL wrote:
juststartn wrote:
My dream is a house with hallways lined in built in bookshelves (wide hallways, of course).
Rachel |
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Rachel, I want the same thing. And you don't need super wide hallways. All you need is from 8-12" of space --- if you use the space between the 2x4 studs -- you wouldn't even need that much extra!
I have this all figured out on paper, that's how I know! |
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Oh, I know. But this is the "DREAM" house. LOL. I want wide hallways, anyway, if we were to ever build, to allow for wheelchair access, etc. Universal design, etc.
But this is the "I win a $200M Powerball Jackpot..I write a bestselling novel/series....all of my rich relatives die and leave me everything, lock, stock, and barrel--and the dirt its all sitting upon" kind of a house.
LOL
But I can walk thru my dream kitchen...look across my dining area...and into the enormous vaulted ceiling family room with the big fireplace...that I don't need cause I have one of those lovely masonry fireplaces that they have in Northern Europe that will heat an entire house....but the fireplace in the family room is "just for looks"--even though we throw wood in it all the time to burn...lol.
Ah, yes.....
Just don't get me started on the "Decontamination Chamber"/mudroom area at the backdoor....SIGH
Rachel (humming "when you wish upon a star....")
LOL
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juststartn
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| Posted: Jan 26 2007 at 11:30am | IP Logged
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Oh...and besides, you need wider hallways so that two people can stop and peruse opposite shelves when needed--or one can pass by the other without jostling.
Wouldn't want to hurt the books, you see.
LOL
Rachel (whose bibliophilia is now WAAAYYYY out of the closet)
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Books, $$$$, how do you handle it?
