While visiting a friend last weekend, I learned a money saving homeschool tip. Many moms I know will take their workbooks to Office Depot, have them unbound and then put each page into protective covers. This allows multiple children to use the same workbook. I have always liked this idea, but was too lazy to go to the store and then put 300 + sheets in protectors.
My friend discovered a way to simplify and reuse. She cuts a slit in one page protector and then slides that protector over the page her child is using. The child can then “write in the book” using a dry erase marker. The child writes in one color and the mom corrects in another. The next day the sheet is cleaned off and moved to the next page! Brilliant! I plan on using this with our Wordly Wise and Easy Grammar workbooks this year. With 6 kids this will save our homeschool a significant amount of money on curriculum.
As I was typing this I realized that this page protector would also work great in the kitchen. Just slide the protector over the page in the cookbook you are using. This will keep your recipe clean and stain free.
Kelly says
I think you can copy the easy grammar books. I know we did. Look in the front of the book, it should tell you.
Nancy says
You can do this with mazes and other printouts for travel fun in the car, too.
TheHappyHousewife says
Kelly-
Yes you can copy the easy grammar books, but that would cost a lot of money. My son’s book is over 300 pages… x 6 kids = 1500 pieces of paper (750 if you use both sides) plus at least two or three ink cartridges for the printer. I have copied pages in the past, but I will be using the protectors from now on. Easy grammar now has test books for grades 4 and up so I buy one for each kid and save the tests for record keeping purposes.
Toni
Rachele Posey says
Thanks for stopping by my blog!! I love the “My Under Armour!” that was great!
I am going to share this with my best friend, she homeschools as well. 🙂 great idea here!
Chel
Heather P. says
Awesome idea!
Thanks for sharing.
Renee says
Back when I followed FlyLady a little more closely than I do now, I used to do this with my daily routines. Great idea to use it for worksheets!
Chel says
Okay now, I’ve read one post and I’m hooked! 🙂
I am the “other Chel’s” best friend she was going to refer. Very cool idea.
And very nice to meet you!
Kendra at Handprints says
What a great idea! This totally beats the other method, or even making copies of each page. Thanks so much for sharing. I’ll be sure to remember this when I start homeschooling 🙂
Sherry says
That is a great idea! You can also get a china marker which wipes off, too. I got mine at Michaels.
Nancy says
That’s a great idea! You must have been talking about me. My recipes are always stained with the ingredients I’m using! Thanks for the tip!
Luke Holzmann says
Very cool. Thanks!
~Luke
Kim says
Great ideas! I had heard the ladder idea before, too. But, the simplified way sounds even easier!
michelle waters says
Hey, great idea!
The Gluten-Free Homemaker says
Good idea. I used to use a transparency on top of the page, but this would probably stay in place better. As you already mentioned, I would keep hard copies of tests for their portfolio.
Alex says
Such a great idea! I have 2 that I am homeschooling now and 2 more that I will start in the next couple of years. This will definitely come in handy.
Adlyn says
you know, that’s not a bad idea!
http://www.adlynmorrison.blogspot.com/
Jo Ann says
This is such a fantastic idea! Thanks for sharing. It’s so good I just had to pass along the idea on my blog! 🙂
http://joann-justasiam.blogspot.com
I just found your blog and am soooo excited. Thanks for all the ideas.
Anne A says
This is a great idea! I wish I had thought of it back when we were still homeschooling!
On the other idea… clean recipe pages… I have always believed that any good recipe would be marked in the book with smudges, bits of food, and fingerprints… and any recipe without those things should be avoided at all costs! LOL.
JustAnotherSAHM says
Such a fabulous & simple idea!
Since we are starting homeschooling later this year with my oldest (Kindy) that would be a great way to reuse some of the basic books with her little brother when it comes time.
Thanks for sharing!!
Cindy says
OMG! Such a good idea. I’ve been having my daughter write her answers in notebooks instead of in the workbooks so I could reuse them. I can’t believe I didnt think of this, lol. Thank you so much.
~Cindy~