How to use ebooks

[alisha]

I'm looking in particular at "A Child's Geography" which comes in an ebook version, but really, with any ebook.... How do you use them with your kids? Do you print it all out and put it in a binder? Or do you just read off the computer?

 

I ask because we do all our reading with the kids in my lap in a comfy chair How do I bring about reading a computer/laptop into the equation?

 

Thanks.

[kiwik]

I have the same problem - i have a kindle which works for a lot but I think I will have to get a tablet at some point.

[Lanny]

I don't know how you are going to have more than one kid in your lap and sit at the computer, unless you have your comfy chair in front of your computer. We are brand new to the world of eBooks. I discovered, a few weeks ago, that DD needed a novel for the 2nd semester of 6th grade English. Had I looked into that last September, we would have ordered it, with the textbooks and novel we ordered then.

 

On Amazon, I discovered that it was available as a Kindle eBook, but we do not have a Kindle....

Solution, download/install Amazons free KindleForPC Reader application. We set up an Amazon account for DD and I bought the eBook for her as a Gift and she had it on her PC, in 1 or 2 minutes.

 

Not sure if you can Print eBooks out. That may depend upon the device you are using to read the eBook. I would not want to "waste" that much paper or printer ink...

 

DD asked us to buy an eBook for her, for pleasure reading, a few days ago. This one was only $1.99, but she will probably want all of the books in that series, and they are about $5 or $6 each. No problem. Again, she had the eBook on her PC, available to read, in 1 or 2 minutes.

 

If you enjoy reading, hopefully your kids will enjoy reading!

 

BTW, there are a lot of FREE eBooks for Kids and for Adults, available for Kindle, on Amazon.

[happypamama]

I use a tablet or e-reader; if I had to print out e-books, it wouldn't be worth it to me. I didn't get *everything* that I could in e-book form, because I didn't want everyone needing the e-reader/tablet at the same time. But I have science (Mr. Q), DD's logic (Art of Argument), and DD's writing (WWS1, student portion) in e-form, plus many literature books. (Otoh, I opted to get the teacher portion of WWS1 and DS1's WWE3 in paper form to avoid backlog, as they'll also need my tablet for doing their Mango language lessons, and they'll need the desktop PC for typing and music.) I find a tablet/e-reader much easier to read from (compared to the desktop PC), and I find it much easier to hold while sitting in my comfortable rocking chair with several small people on my lap, than a paper book.

[mrs.m]

Do you have a smart phone? You could pull it up on that and read. I have a Windows Surface and Kindle Fire too. It's not much different than a book with the right device. We often sit at the dinning room table if I need to read something off my laptop. Save cuddle time for fiction.

[Tmhearn]

Also wanted to add that you can download a program called Dropbox to your computers, phones, tablets, etc. It is a file sharing program. So, if you add a file to it (such as a book you are currently reading) you can open it up on any of your devices.

[Holly]

I load most e-books on my e-reader, especially if I'm reading them aloud. If there are lots of color pictures, we gather round the computer (my e-reader is b&w and tiny). A few I do print out and put in a binder. I try to print these on a weekly or monthly basis...there's nothing worse than printing out 100+ pages and finding out the curriculum isn't a good fit!

[NittanyJen]

We use them different ways, depending upon the type of book. If it is a PDF file, I will sometimes print just the worksheets. I have two kids who think differently, and sometimes one will work on printed worksheets, and the other prefers to port the worksheets into notability and color them in/write on them there (we use Dropbox to share them to each kid). No, you cannot print a Kindle e-book. if it's a Kindle or Nook book, we just sprawl around the yard or the family room or cuddle on the couch just as we would with a paper book and read it. If it's something that is a combination of live links and interactive feeds like Meet the Masters, we gather 'round when we need to, print just the pages we need to, and work at the table when we need to.

 

I love e-books; they are so flexible to work with just about any way you can think of!

[stripe]

I find it difficult to read PDF files on an ereader, because they become too small -- both curricula type things (WWE or MEP or whatever) and regular material -- and more of the freely available stuff is available in PDF form than in epub. I have been very disappointed by ebooks and other stuff. I end up printing more than I want to, or it gets lost on my computer and never used.

[skeeterbug]

You need a tablet! Reading it from a laptop would drive me crazy. A tablet is much faster, much easier to hold, you can easily enlarge the text. And quickly look up words or questions that come up. If that's not an option I'd be printing.

[NittanyJen]

I find it difficult to read PDF files on an ereader, because they become too small -- both curricula type things (WWE or MEP or whatever) and regular material -- and more of the freely available stuff is available in PDF form than in epub. I have been very disappointed by ebooks and other stuff. I end up printing more than I want to, or it gets lost on my computer and never used.

 

 

This is where an ipad or an android tablet come in handy. With a pinch motion, you can zoom in or out quickly on a PDF doc, and you have a larger screen than on an e-reader to start with, depending upon which tablet you buy.

 

ebooks-- organize things in Dropbox. Make a "homeschool" folder, and then organize subfolders by either publisher or subject. Then you can always find exactly what you are seeking, very quickly. If your DC have one as well, you can share specific folders or files with them to their own Dropbox accounts, or email them a copy (most publishers permit sharing within your own family for educational materials).

[stripe]

 

This is where an ipad or an android tablet come in handy. With a pinch motion, you can zoom in or out quickly on a PDF doc, and you have a larger screen than on an e-reader to start with, depending upon which tablet you buy.

 

ebooks-- organize things in Dropbox. Make a "homeschool" folder, and then organize subfolders by either publisher or subject. Then you can always find exactly what you are seeking, very quickly. If your DC have one as well, you can share specific folders or files with them to their own Dropbox accounts, or email them a copy (most publishers permit sharing within your own family for educational materials).

I regret to inform you that I have both an ipad and a dropbox account, and I still can't handle it. But I've gotten a great suggestion from TraceyS/FL about how to hold the ipad. :)

[*Michelle*]

I find it difficult to read PDF files on an ereader, because they become too small -- both curricula type things (WWE or MEP or whatever) and regular material -- and more of the freely available stuff is available in PDF form than in epub. I have been very disappointed by ebooks and other stuff. I end up printing more than I want to, or it gets lost on my computer and never used.

 

If you have a Kindle, you can convert the PDF to Kindle format so you can adjust the font size and make annotations. I just discovered this a few days ago.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=kinw_myk_pd_ln?ie=UTF8&nodeId=200767340

 

You and your approved contacts can send personal documents to your registered Kindle devices, supported Kindle reading applications, and your Kindle Library in the Amazon Cloud by e-mailing them to your Send-to-Kindle e-mail address(@kindle.com"][name]@kindle.com). Your Send-to-Kindle e-mail address is a unique e-mail address assigned to your Kindle device or supported Kindle reading application upon registration.

To successfully send personal documents using your Send-to-Kindle e-mail address, you must ensure that:

• The sender's e-mail address has been added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List.
  
• The e-mail is sent to your Send-to-Kindle e-mail address.
  
• Your document is a supported file type.
  

Attach the document to a new e-mail or forward an existing e-mail with the document attached to the Send-to-Kindle e-mail address associated with your Kindle device or Kindle reading application.

 

A subject is not necessary in the e-mail, unless you'd prefer to have the document converted to the Kindle format so you can take advantage of functionality such as variable font size and annotations. To have a document converted to Kindle format (.azw), the subject line should be "convert" when e-mailing a personal document to your Send-to-Kindle address.