arcara Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 ...how do I decide which ones? This year we've been studying SOTW 1 with the AG. We've been getting all of our books from the library. Our library has a very poor selection, but I have been able to find a lot of books through interlibrary loan. However, I was thinking about how nice it would be to own a lot of these books and not have to worry about making 1-2 trips to the library each week, plus remembering to reserve my books online each week. Also, I think it would be nice to own a lot of them so that my kids could read them again and again. But, how do I decide in advance which ones are good? There are SO many suggested in TWTM and in the SOTW AG. Many of the ones this year I thought were too old for my kids, but there were many that we loved. How do you choose without reading them all beforehand? Ideally, I would love to plan one good history book supplement and one good lit book for each topic. How do those of your choose the books you will buy for history and lit?d Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 I am familiar with most of the books used in Sonlight and Winter Promise, because they are classics or at least very good and fairly popular books. When I run across them in SOTW AG, I snag them quickly if I think dd will be interested. I also have had my fair share of "thought she'd like it but she hates it!" Why do you have to go so often to the library? Is there a limit on the books you can take out at one time? I usually go every 3-6 weeks, and take out anywhere from 10-30 books at a time. Online renewal is a godsend. I often order thru interlibrary loan or our county loan system--and sometimes I don't get to preview the book (other than the amazon.com reviews or recs from various sources), but it doesn't really make or break anything, because I have plenty if one or two or even more "don't work" for us. Oh, and I also recommend keeping your library books in one place--we have a huge basket by the couch. Dd can now keep some in her room, but at first we had her keep them all in the basket--cuts down on the fines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 I reserve about 50 a week and review them during the summer to see what I would like to own, what we could get by with borrowing, and what should be skipped. It saves library fines, shipping costs, and shelf space. I get my book lists and reserve as many as I can find plus any that I can find through the library search system that seem similar. I read them and show them to my dc. I note which once are worth reading and which ones aren't. If something is great, i will start looking for it at a good price or in an anthology. Saves me lots of trouble later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Yes, I preread in the summer, too--great idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usetoschool Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 The first time through the program we didn't do any additional history books or we would have still been going through the cycle for the first time. I tried it that way at first and after six months we were still talking about Egypt! And we picked just one or two literature books depending on what we were most interested in, and what the reading levels were, from the time period. We didn't read a literature book for every chapter, again we would have taken forever to get through it. And we spent a lot of time on Amazon previewing books and reading reviews and sometimes ordering a different book from the additional lists of correlated material Amazon provides. We bought a lot of used books also. Shipping on used books is 3.99 so sometimes a used book isn't cheaper but most of the time it is. I bought mostly classic books that they will need to be familiar with anyway so we could kill two birds with one stone. The second time through we used the activity book but didn't read the SOTW books and focused on the additional history books and the Kingfisher book. The third time around it is mostly the spine and literature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristineinKS Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Our local library is very small and has a terrible selection, so I try to choose very carefully. I look for recommendations here and on other boards and websites, check out what different companies use to supplement their curriculum & read all the Amazon reviews. That said, I do still tend to overbuy, but try to buy used whenever possible so that I'm not spending *quite* so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Alte Veste Academy Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 How do those of your choose the books you will buy for history and lit?d Like others have said, I pre-read bunches at a time, during my planning phase. I buy the ones that I love and think we will go back to over and over. I make a note of the ones that are OK and fill a need but that I don't necessarily want to own. I make sure to include them in lesson planning with a note to request them again at that point in our studies. There are quite a few that I think aren't worth getting again. Previewing has definitely saved me some money because many of the books I thought I would love are just so-so for me. Another thing I like to do is keep Amazon wish lists for different things (SOTW1 recs, first grade American history, nature studies, etc.). When I get an afternoon to myself, I like to hit Half-Price Books (our used book store) with the lists. I look over what they have to see if they have any from my list but even more importantly, I continually search for gems that might not appear on anyone's curriculum list. There are many, many wonderful books out there. Sometimes you'll find a gem that has not been discovered and there is nothing wrong with using that in place of one specifically recommended but a curriculum when it fills the same subject matter need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 We have lived in a couple of locations where the library was truly "sad". Therefore, we have built quite a library of our own. Frequently, I used Amazon as my "guide". That's not technically correct. I get my lists from multiple sources, but then go to Amazon. I can frequently get the "feel" for a book in the samples they show online. I've learned to trust authors. (As in, if I like a book by an author I generally will like all their books.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Sonlight, and Good Books, and Ambleside Online all have great lists. I also like the idea of prereading over the summer and buying based on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Well you're going to get some re-use of books simply because you have more littles coming along to read what the first dc used. In our house (only one dd and now a baby), picture books are the thing least likely to be re-used. Historical fiction is where it's at for here, so that's what she re-reads. Her favs have been things from the VP catalog and TQ guides. It's mainly historical fiction and engaging biographies that get reread, not information books. (That might help you decide where to put your money.) Of course your dc may be the opposite and prefer information books. She did like the Usborne stuff when she was little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thundersweet Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 I prefer to buy my books. I know it's $$$ but I like knowing I have them here. I may still get some books from the library but since I have another child that will use our SL cores again, I like knowing I have the books sitting on the shelf. I just bought a ton of books from Amazon and Veritas Press. They have a great selection of books. I look at the books I am going to purchase on Amazon and read all the reviews. So far, I have always been pleased. Sandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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