"Free" resources - how free are they?

[SereneHome]

Over the past year I've collected/saved on my laptop A LOT of various HS resources, even whole curriculums, etc. Same with resourcers that you can download for a small price, like Confessions of a HS, Mr Q, etc.

 

If I were to start printing them all or some of them or most of them, I think it would cost A LOT of money in ink and paper, especially if you use color ink.

 

So, I am curious - how do you handle this? Does it really gets expensive? Wouldn't it be easier/cheaper to just buy it?

 

This is all still very new to me, so I would love to hear your experiences.

[kiwik]

If I were over there I would buy hard copy of the stuff I buy as a download. It is the postage that is the problem. This is especially the case with those who charge the same for both (prufrock press comes to mind).

 

A lot of stuff can be used direct from an iPad or tablet. But yes if you made colour copies it would get expensive.

[Lori D.]

Sounds like you may prefer something you can hold in your hand, rather than work from on a laptop or tablet? If that's the case, then, yes indeed, all that printing can be expensive, and it would certainly be easier time-wise (and wear-and-tear-wise on the printer!) to just purchase pre-printed materials.

 

Sometimes, I think expense is actually a GOOD thing, as, at least for me, cost helps me to prioritize, to NOT overbuy, and to encourage me to really USE that which I purchase or download. ;)

 

The free materials I used tended to be websites that I reference, or online games/activities, which are not really printable types of items. But when I did have something I wanted to print, we have a workhorse of a laser printer (an OLD HP -- 20 years old!) that just prints B&W, so I printed thousands of pages over the course of our 12-year homeschool journey, and while we did go through new cartridges, we were also able to extend the life through recharging them with toner, so for us, printing has been more just about the price of paper (which is pretty cheap through Costco).

[5wolfcubs]

For me, a pre-printed, bound work/text book gets done.

 

One I have to print doesn't.

 

Either I can't bear to print it -- too many pages, too much ink, or *gasp* color required!

 

Or I print parts, which are then crumpled, lost, used for some other purpose...and not done.

 

Even pre-printed, unbound student pages fall into the above category. Actually, I can think of an exception. I had two kids go through The Great Latin Adventure I & II.

 

I've always homeschooled. I *still* download a lot of "free" stuff. But I've learned that if I want something to get done, it has to be pre-printed and bound.

 

I wonder why I'm this way?

[kiwik]

Sounds like you may prefer something you can hold in your hand, rather than work from on a laptop or tablet? If that's the case, then, yes indeed, all that printing can be expensive, and it would certainly be easier time-wise (and wear-and-tear-wise on the printer!) to just purchase pre-printed materials.

 

Sometimes, I think expense is actually a GOOD thing, as, at least for me, cost helps me to prioritize, to NOT overbuy, and to encourage me to really USE that which I purchase or download. ;)

 

The free materials I used tended to be websites that I reference, or online games/activities, which are not really printable types of items. But when I did have something I wanted to print, we have a workhorse of a laser printer (an OLD HP -- 20 years old!) that just prints B&W, so I printed thousands of pages over the course of our 12-year homeschool journey, and while we did go through new cartridges, we were also able to extend the life through recharging them with toner, so for us, printing has been more just about the price of paper (which is pretty cheap through Costco).

 

 

I have one of those printers too. I was given it last year. It is not flash but it does the job.

[boscopup]

Since I bought a laser printer (~$80), I have no problem printing free stuff. I bind things with a Proclick.

 

I don't use a lot of free stuff, but printing it usually isn't the issue. I pay ~$0.02/page to print. Most things can be printed black and white, even if they start out in color. Something like Mr. Q, which IIRC is a lot of color, I'd probably use on the computer or a tablet instead of printing.

 

I do collect a bunch of free stuff. I just end up never using it. :tongue_smilie:

[2_girls_mommy]

I collect a bunch of free stuff. You never know when it will come in handy. If it is going to be something we will actually use as the core of that subject I need a hard copy. But I can print and it is worth it. I print and 3 hole punch and put it right into the 3 ring binder. I don't do a lot of color stuff. Most people that do workbooks or large materials to be printed don't do them in color. I don't have a laser printer yet, but I do have the best printer that I could afford and researched it before we bought it. I use it a lot for printing tags for a consignment sale that I do, and it is always worth it for me after expenses. I will upgrade to a laser at some point though.

 

A lot of free lapbook stuff is in color. I don't do those as much. But even occasionally for something different I will do one of those. If I do a unit study of some sort, especially a holiday one that I am likely to use again, I am very careful to store it in a binder or folder and save it. Often for co-op I can then take my original and print b/w copies there. So things I printed get used again.

[Mom2TheTeam]

I collect free stuff online and bookmark and such. I was using a lot of free worksheet type printables for my K'er who I can't keep busy. But, it was seriously getting expensive. So, I bought her Explode the Code workbooks. I've decided that it is cheaper and more convenient to buy things pre-printed. I don't mind student sheets that are loose.

 

I am not someone who likes to use e-books or to read off the computer. I like paper in my hand.

 

I am all for things like student sheets being in PDF form though if they are black and white. That way I can print out the exact number of the sheets I want. I like my student sheets reproducible. So for that, I don't mind PDF. Other than that, I prefer paper/book in hand.

[Tanikit]

Due to the price of books in South Africa where I live and the heavy import duties we pay on things, it is definitely cheaper for us to print than to buy - but I also use a laser printer and only B&W. If its going to be used I have to print it - I cannot use curriculum online - it just doesn't work for me. I definitely don't print everything I download though - only what I plan on using at the time (I probably do a print run once a week - sometimes only a few pages, other times much more).

[SilverMoon]

I use some free stuff, but the only way most of it will get used well is if I have the entire thing printed off at once. If I can't use it well it's generally not worth using, nor printing. I rarely to never print in color though.

 

 

There are ways around it. My 9yo has been enjoying Thunderbolt Kids science, which is a free, full-color download. I downloaded the TM with my phone, and he reads the student edition right off the computer screen. We only print the occasional page he wants to write on directly. This is his only lesson done on the computer, and he enjoys it enough to remind me of it's existence regularly.

[SereneHome]

Lee, I am the same way - if it's just loose pages - they will be everywhere, except where they should be and they don't get used.

 

I haven't introduced my kids to the computer yet, so that's why I need hard copies of things.

 

Someone I know bought BFSU for $5 for download, I just couldn't understand why she wouldn't pay $25 for the book and be done with it, kwim?

 

Yeah, I have lots and lots and lots of things that I will probably never use. LOL

[prairiewindmomma]

Laser printer. Proclick. Prioritize.

[teeniebeenie6]

I personally don't find it that expensive to print. I have a laser printer that prints very cheaply, even cheaper with no name cartridges and I have an inkjet that is also cheap to buy ink for. I buy refilled color and black ink carts for it on ebay for between $4 (for black) -$6 (color). The carts print a lot of sheets.

[boscopup]

Someone I know bought BFSU for $5 for download, I just couldn't understand why she wouldn't pay $25 for the book and be done with it, kwim?

 

BFSU would be a good one to use on a Kindle or tablet, or just looking off the computer, because it's really just something for Mom to read and then teach. You don't really need book in hand necessarily. And though I'd prefer a hard copy... $5 vs. $25 is quite a bit! I did Getting Started With Latin e-book this year for $10 instead of paying $20 for the hard copy. We used my son's Kindle (e-ink, so easy on the eyes) to do our lessons. That worked out great. No need to spend an extra $10 for the book.

 

If the price between e-book and hard copy is less than $5, that's a no brainer for me... Hard copy, if non-consumable.

 

I just bought Lively Latin online version recently. It was $55. At 2 cents per page, that's $8 (400 pages). So I am spending $63 on Latin, and subsequent children will be only $8 each. If I had purchased the hard copy, it would have been $125 for the book and the CDs. I don't even see an option to just buy the book by itself, but since hard copy + CDs is $125 and CDs by themselves are $79, that's a $46 difference for the hard copy book. I'd rather pay $8 and not have to use a photocopier ($$$) or scan all the pages in (though my DH's printer will scan a stack of 50 sheets to a PDF file on a USB stick, so it's not as time consuming as it used to be before he bought that printer).

[mumto2]

I print a lot too. Laser printer to holepunch and into a binder. I stay about one week out. I also prefer to buy hard copy curriculum which grants copyright permission to my family. Laser copy machine too. This allows great flexibility in how we do subjects. I can speed up or slow down and add more practice at will. It also allows me to completely change course mid year without great expense and disruption. I have stacks of partially completed workbooks from our early years. I can't stand to get rid of them because they are special but bulky. When I print I have binders filled with completed work which I prefer.

 

I just fell in love with the Stanford reading history coursework about two weeks ago. I have heavily integrated into the remainder of Modern History. No real expense except my cheap copies with the added bonus that if it isn't working I can change. Obviously I do my descriptions after.;)

[Susie in MS]

Black and white laser printing is cheep. I have printed several books for far less than it would cost me to buy them.

[stripe]

I've always homeschooled. I *still* download a lot of "free" stuff. But I've learned that if I want something to get done, it has to be pre-printed and bound.

 

I wonder why I'm this way?

I feel this way too. It takes a lot for me to "flip through" and familiarize myself with an online resource. I find it very awkward. If I already know I like it, I am okay with it, but it mostly sits, unused and unloved, on the computer. I cannot easily compare two things side-by-side either, and that irritates me.

 

Someone I know bought BFSU for $5 for download, I just couldn't understand why she wouldn't pay $25 for the book and be done with it, kwim?

Maybe to see what it looks like. Better to really see it for $5 even if you then buy the printed book, than to buy sight unseen.

[Zoo Keeper]

Some free stuff is not so free by the time you are done printing; money is very tight for us, and I have to *love* it, not just find it interesting, before I hit print. But, on the other hand, sometimes printing can save money too; for example: since I already have the Teacher's Notes and Copymasters for MEP years 1-4 printed off, it is very cheap to just print off the student pages for the younger children. I couldn't buy any other workbook program for as cheaply as I was able to print off MEP for my two younger ones this year. Sorry about the bold--formatting is wonky and won't let me change it....

[Arcadia]

I don't print any of my free resources. My kids read and do on their iPads. So in a way it is really free and very portable. My black and white laser printer cost per page is very low also if I want to print any worksheets out for my boys to do. For example, I don't use the entire MEP but I downloaded everything and then i get to pick and choose the pages I like my kids to do. It is much cheaper than if I had bought a book of worksheets and only needed a chapter off it. Same for the free science resources on publishers websites. Nice for a quick revision/refresher when my kids read/do on their ipads but I won't have paid for those.

[Hunter]

My printer broke last year and I still have not replaced it. I managed to semi-fix it for emergencies. The loss of the printer totally changed how I teach and for the better. I use very little on a tablet or laptop. I need hardcopies.

 

We use a lot of vintage and Waldorf and notebooking methods. I read aloud a lot.

 

Sometimes I make homemade copywork and workbook pages. I had to remediate my OWN handwriting to be comfortable doing this. I also spend a LOT of time working on student handwriting.