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I am fairly new to the board, so if this question has been asked/answered already, please forgive me! I am considering using HOD for the upcoming school year for my 9, 11 and 13 year old children. We would do CTC or RTR ... my question is about all of those wonderful living books! Our budget is VERY tight (as I know everyone's is!) so spending $500 - $600 on an HOD program while still needing to purchase math/english is pretty impossible for us. What kind of experience have some of you had when checking out the books from the library when needed? Any thoughts would be appreciated!

First of all, welcome to the boards!! I am a "stalker" here!! Love our HOD experience and LOVE to hear what the ladies on this board have to say...and seldom have much to add!! But I noticed you were awaiting a reply and although I have not used CTC or RTR yet, here is what I have done for the 3 guides I have used or am using...Our library has their catolgue online, and I sat down with my list of read aloud books, storytime books and DITHOR rec. and searched for which ones our library had. Our library also has a hold feature that is fabulous!! I was then able to decide which books were available to me and which I really would need to purchase!! For me, if there is an option between a book that I will use for every child and one that would only be used once, I go with the one that will get the most use!! (The Emergent readers or DITHOR selections for example, as each child will use them at least once...) Our library has had a large portion of the books Carrie rec. and that has helped the budget! Blessings!!

This was actually just discussed not long ago. Here is the link. viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5595

I think if you can afford to buy the books it is much better to have them on hand than to try to depend on that sometimes fickle library. I used to use the library, and had difficulty with getting the books and returning them on time, which resulted in late fees (which bothered me greatly, as I could have just bought the books at that point ). However, these could just be my problems, as you may have a better library or may be better about returning things on time. I'd suggest that you get as many of the books as possible, especially the books in the economy, science add-on, and basic packages. Having the books on hand to be able to homeschool easily each day is a big part of being able to homeschool consistently and happily. I do totally understand being tight on funds, but wherever you can cut corners to have what you need on hand, I think it is worth it. For example, I used the library for my own dc's personal reading books (or borrowed books from family) for many years rather than buying the dc books they'd enjoy, but probably only read once or twice and put them on a shelf. We also asked for family to give books for Easter, Valentine's Day, etc. with a small treat instead of oodles of candy. One other thing we did was sell our used clothes to Once Upon a Child. All of this helped us be able to afford the things we needed to be able to homeschool. I know some ladies just ask what resources they'll need for the first 3 months, and we can list those titles out for you on the board so you can start with those if you'd like. I think the easier things to get from your library would definitely be the DITHOR books (as if you need to sub one in it's not hard) and the Storytime books. I wouldn't let this prevent you from using HOD, as it is such an incredible way to homeschool that I don't want you to miss out on! But, those are just a few ideas I had to try to make it work the best in the day to day for you. I'm so glad you have introduced yourself on the board here and look forward to getting to know you better here!

In Christ,
Julie

We don't have a big library, so I need to buy most of the books. What I do is plan at least a year ahead and see what it will cost to get everything new. I stash away a small amount of money each payperiod into a separate checking account. Then I keep my eye out for bargains on used books, and buy them if I see them. But if I don't find a bargain, at least I've saved enough money to buy new. I'm going to start saving soon for Preparing since we'll need that 2011-12. That's a huge leap in price from anything we've used before (since I want to get all the books, except for the extension books), but if I start saving a little bit now, the money will be there when I need it! Plus, my Grandma sometimes gives me money for books, so I use that!

ETA: I am going to use the library for some of our storytime titles, since I can be flexible with those. But for the required books, I need to purchase them, since I've yet to find any of them in our library!

I am buying all of the books. Just don't like the idea of going to the library all of the time. It's also small so not as much of a selection at times. I try and find them used like on bookmooch & paperbackswap online book swapping sites, yard sales, freecycle, library book sales, etc...