Homeschooling internationally

[Embassy]

If you are or if you have homeschooled in parts of the world where it is difficult to receive shipments, how did you do it? Did you use e-readers mostly or stock up on the books you would need for several years at at time?

 

We will probably be moving to Sri Lanka or Nepal in the next year or so and I might need to start stocking up. Right now I use the library heavily so I'm going to really need to change things, I think.

[moonlight]

we use bookdepository.com for most of our books and they have free worldwide shipping. i just checked and they deliver to sri lanka, but not nepal..

 

you should also check out better world books. they have free delivery too, but i haven't personally used them.

 

i've found that rainbow resources, fat brain toys and many others will deliver to us here.

 

i also bring back a ton of stuff from the states every summer, because things are just eally expensive here and i can never find what i need when i need it! :glare:

 

good luck!

[Laura Corin]

We also used Book Depository. Paddyfield delivers to most of Asia, but you'd have to contact them to check.

 

I made sure to have a few really good encyclopedias: history, science, etc., so I didn't need so many individual books. An online subscription to one of more encyclopedias might also be worthwhile.

 

Whenever we visited the West, we would take an empty suitcase and visit second-hand book shops.

 

Laura

[Amira]

We've spent three years homeschooling in Central Asia. Our best solution unquestionably was ebooks. Even if there were places where it wasn't horribly expensive to ship from, it still took months for some packages to arrive, and some never did. It wasn't worth the stress.

 

I scanned hundreds of our own books, and if you have a US credit card, you can buy ebooks from Amazon (it's not quite as straightforward with other ebook sellers). It also makes a huge, huge difference if you have a decent internet connection. We only did the last 10 months we lived there and it was amazing.

 

Ebooks are also so much easier to fly with. It's hard to fly with 2 heavy suitcases for each person, especially if some of those people are little children. We were able to cut back on our suitcases when we didn't have to fill half of them with books.

[Embassy]

Thanks! I've used bookdepository and better world books since we have been in Canada. Both have been positive experiences. I hadn't heard of paddyfield previously. I also checked Rainbow Resources shipping rates. It looks like if I spend over $500 I can get rates similar to what I pay now. That is good.

 

Amira, you mentioned my other concern. What if it doesn't get to me. I can't spend $500 on books to have them not arrive. I like how there are more and more textbooks available as ebooks now. That will simplify things, but I prefer the old edition texts for a couple dollars instead:tongue_smilie:

 

I will definitely use ebooks for reading books/classics.

[TheReader]

One other thing is that most ereader devices now allow libraries to carry their books, so you can check with your local library, sign up for their e-book library (you have to have a pin number for most, besides the regular library card) and then you can still access e-books via your library, if your internet is good enough. We are able to do that via a card held in our hometown.

 

Then, yes, I stock up once/year in the US for whatever we need from then to the next time we'll be there or have someone visit. We are able to visit the US once/year, though, so that makes it easier.

 

Also, check the duty fees on shipments to your new country -- in Brazil, books are duty-free, so I can order from places like Amazon and it will get here pretty gauranteed, shipping will be nutso, but it gets here and at least there is no duty on it.

 

Or, I can also have large bookstores here order a book for me, it ships to them, and I pick it up. Price on the book will be a bit crazy, and it still takes a while, but sometimes this comes out to be less than the book + shipping.

 

Some libraries (few) have English books in limited amounts even here, and then lastly, we do a lot of web based stuff. It's doable, as long as the laws in your new country are hs friendly (we had to enroll our boys this past year in school as the law changed some).

[Amira]

Another good piece of advice I got here a few years ago was to use the library at an international school if you will be near one. We didn't always live in a town where there was an international school, but one time when we did, we were able to use the library at an international school for a small fee. It was tiny in comparison to most libraries, but it was wonderful.

[nansk]

 

Infibeam delivers books from India to Nepal and Sri Lanka.

[nd293]

What if it doesn't get to me. I can't spend $500 on books to have them not arrive.

 

Amazon, Book Depository and Rainbow Resources have all replaced parcels that went missing at no cost. Of those, both the Amazon and RR parcels arrived after the replacement parcel. I paid to return the RR parcel and donated the duplicate Amazon books after I could not get a response from them.

 

There was a used bookstore in the city we lived in overseas (Middle East) and we found odds and ends there or in the local English language bookstore. You might consider approaching the local international school if you are in a main city. You might be able to arrange library privileges for the school library, we did.

Edited November 14, 2012 by nd293

[Embassy]

Great advice everyone! Thanks so much for the links. The international school libraries may be a good resource. I will stick to companies that will replace a missing parcel too :) I don't know how often I will get back to North America so I'm sure I'll need some stuff shipped.

[Um_2_4]

Thanks everyone for the info, I will most likely be HSing overseas for part of next year.

I will be back, we will probably be going just for 6mos, so with 6 people traveling, I will take all 12 bags!

I HOPE that is enough books to last. I will take some tablets and laptops ( we SHOULD have hi speed internet).

Anyone who had internet, did you have problem accessing any sites you normally use for school? (I'm thinking of the twins, starfall, pbskids, etc. Also we have jumpstart subscription for all)

[Amira]

Thanks everyone for the info, I will most likely be HSing overseas for part of next year.

I will be back, we will probably be going just for 6mos, so with 6 people traveling, I will take all 12 bags!

I HOPE that is enough books to last. I will take some tablets and laptops ( we SHOULD have hi speed internet).

Anyone who had internet, did you have problem accessing any sites you normally use for school? (I'm thinking of the twins, starfall, pbskids, etc. Also we have jumpstart subscription for all)

 

Some content you're used to getting in the US (like a lot of what's on PBSkids) isn't available anywhere else, or only in limited countries. It always seemed to me that getting a decent internet connection was a far greater hurdle than having some sites not be accessible, so if you'll have high-speed internet, then I wouldn't worry too much.

 

We've mostly lived in places where internet access wasn't blocked by the government, but because we were in a small country, some service providers used internet resources from a neighboring country that did block some sites. You get used to that too if it's a problem.