A question from Sarah:
I’m just getting ready to start homeschooling my 4 year old this fall. Do you think it worth the money to laminate worksheets and have them use a marker? Or is it best to start with pencils and pay for new paper each time?
This is an interesting question. Sarah quoted a price of about $18 for 50 sheets of laminating paper. So it costs 0.33 to laminate each sheet. The cost of a piece of paper is about 1 cent. Depending on type of printer it could cost anywhere from 1 to 5 cents to print a worksheet. The worksheets she is using are free and printed from a website.
The total cost for printing one worksheet is about 6 cents (max), so the child would have to use the laminated worksheet at least 5 times to break even. Of course if there were other children that might also be using the laminated sheets it could be a good investment.
Note: Owning a laminator is not near as expensive as it used to be! It’s a great investment for any homeschool family. Here’s my favorite laminator that I personally use.
The next issue is using a marker versus a pencil. Many occupational therapists recommend starting kids with a pencil because it allows them to learn how to exert the correct amount of pressure on the paper. My older children use erasable pens and we use white boards for spelling words, but I do have my younger children start with a pencil.
Personally I have found that my children don’t want to do the same worksheet over and over again. Once they finish a worksheet they want to move on to the next one. But since we have multiple children laminating worksheets might save us money over the long term.
What I have done, which is cheaper than laminating, but allows you to reuse worksheets is to slide the worksheet into a page protector. For my little kids I use a piece of transparency film
or a page protector
and place it over their worksheet page.
The worksheets can be reused and so can the page protectors. The benefit of laminating the pages is that the page won’t slip out of a page protector and the worksheets will last longer if laminated.
So, I guess my answer is if you want to laminate the worksheets, go for it. Especially if you think you will use them over and over. But, if you are trying to save money there are other ways to reuse worksheets for less.
Mandie says
I totally agree! It’s just not worth it to me! Even the Tot School manipulative aren’t worth it. My guys hate doing the exact same thing over and over and I don’t really like cutting it all out again! I’d rather move on and build upon the lesson! I also don’t like the chemicals that Expo’s put off. Gives us all a headache!
Allyson @ A Heart for Home says
What type of page protector do you use? It looks like it slides on from the side so you don’t have to take workbooks apart, is that correct?
I guess I could make some of these from the regular page protectors I already have by simply cutting the hole punched edge off and taping the top closed. Do you think that would work?
We have quite a few preschool workbooks we want to use this fall, but they will be used by at least 3 other children within the next 4 years, so I think we’re going with the page protector method. Our children do use pencils for many things, but will use a dry erase marker or crayon with these worksheets.
Ashley Pichea says
I’ve just made a page protector sheet for each of the workbooks my daughter uses (and that I don’t want her writing on)… this would work well for workbooks from the library as well: http://pkidshs.blogspot.com/2011/02/making-workbooks-work-for-more-than-one.html
Amanda says
I did this last fall for my daughter…best thing we did…she loved having her pages in the sheet protector and being able to clean it off
Heather says
If you only have one child than it is easier to just let them use the workbook but since I use the same workbooks for multiple children I photocopy their assigned pages and keep the workbook fresh. The workbooks that I want them to complete entirely I buy each child their own book.
Stephanie says
Thank You! We are starting to HS next month with my oldest (will be 4) and was thinking about the same thing since we have another who is 1. I guess for right now it would be cheaper for us to use the page protectors. I had never thought about that! Thank You!!!!!
Sarah says
You can also buy transparency paper. You would lay them on top of the workbook page, and use them the same way you would the sheet protector. As a public school teacher, I use both of those tricks a lot. It saves a LOT of paper.
MamaLearning says
We use the page protector method too.
I have a home laminator that I use a LOT for other reasons in our homeschool. Just this past week I purchased 8.5 x 11″ sheets from BJ’s for $6.99 for a pack of 50!! This was such a deal! So if your reader chooses to go the laminating route, stop by BJ’s for c-h-e-a-p laminating sheets.
LauraBeth says
I get my laminating sheets for about $20 for 200 sheets from Sam’s, so also quite a bit cheaper than above. That said, I agree that my kiddos don’t want to do things over and over, and I only have 2 children, so laminating isn’t always worth it. This past year, my husband took my workbooks to a local printshop he uses and had them cut the spines off or remove the binding, so I can copy the sheets that I need, and I do think that’s cheaper than purchasing multiple copies of the workbooks, especially since I don’t use ever single page in a given workbook for one child, but I might want to go over a page more than once for a child that’s struggling. I think page protectors and markers (I prefer the wet erase markers over the dry erase ones for my small children. The dry erase ones smear everywhere!) are a great way to change up the routine and make something interesting, but not necessarily a must for every day.
Esther says
As a teacher we have in my classroom communicators. These I believe you can purchase in a pack of 10. There are like a very durable plastic wallet. The are stronger a bit like cardboard and protector your paper you can then just use dry erase markers on them. They are not that expensive and can be used again and again. I love them because the paper cannot fall out or slip.
This is a link to what I am talking about
http://llteachcontent.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=LI&Product_Code=LLT-COMM-10PAK&Category_Code=COMM_PROD
Margo M. says
Instead of using dry erase markers one could use a grease pencil. My OT recommended that four my son so he could learn how much pressure to use on the pencil.
TheHappyHousewife says
Great tip Margo!
Natalie Q says
I teach at a small private school where budget is limited. I reuse everything I can. Single worksheets go into page protectors and workbooks are covered by transparency sheets so that several students can use the same worksheet. My advice is to buy the heavy duty sheet protectors. They cost more up front but last a lot longer and are easier to erase. Also, I buy overhead projector markers http://officeatcost.com/dixon-vis-aid-overhead-projector-4-color-markers.html (you know, the “old” kind that you had to use the transparency with) not expo markers. They have less of a smell, have a finer point making it easier to write, don’t smudge as easily, and don’t dry out as quickly. They are easily erasable with water. I have even “rigged” mine with an eraser made out of felt that we just get damp, then can erase any mistakes on the worksheet.