Putting guide in a binder

[totallyblessed]

Just got my box! This is my first year using HOD and I am very excited! My question is, have any of you taken your guides apart and put them into a three ring binder? Being a newbe I am unsure of how well the binding of the book holds up with lots of flipping back and forth to the appendix. Any thoughts?

Casey
married 15 yrs
dd 13
dd 8

[annaz]

Well it has that lay flat binding and holds up beautifully and completely open.

On the other hand, I've torn out about 6 weeks at a time and put it in a skinny binder for the sole purpose of hauling around only what I need. Then when the 6 weeks are over, I take those out and add the next.

I'm even thinking of adding all my TMs' in 6 week increments to one binder.

But yes, it'll hold up. It's quite nice actually.

[Daph]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who's considered this. I'm seriously thinking about breaking mine up into nine-week segments. I love the idea of just putting it in a small binder to just carry around.

This is my first year using HOD too, and I put mine in a binder with page protectors. I put the Appendix in a separate binder, because I didn't want to have to flip back and forth. Don't make the same mistake that I made, though: make sure you get a binder that's much larger than the number of pages you're putting in it. I had to buy a second binder that holds more, because if I hadn't, I wouldn't have been able to take pages out without a lot of pages falling out; and the first pages wouldn't lay flat when it was closed.

[raceNzanesmom]

I have both. I have LHFHG as it comes. My Beyond TG was sold to me already in a binder with page protectors. I prefer it left as sold with the lay flat binding.

After reading about others placing a few weeks of pages in a small binder, I've done that. I have all the Appendix items in one small binder with tabs and 12 weeks in another. This is the only way I see it being manageable. NO way could I deal with everything in one binder. It's huge and heavy. So, if you decide to have the binding cut, I recommend a large binder for all and at least one small binder for what you're currently working on.

hth.

[Mumkins]

Just got my Preparing done. I did it with Bigger last year too. I do it because I'm a little obsessive about the cover. I dropped my Beyond book the first week I had it and got a huge crease in it. The page corners turned up a little too. No issues with it falling apart though. I guess I'm just big on the visual presentation. For Bigger and again for Beyond, I bought a 1 1/2" bonder that matches the cover of the guide. I get the kind where you can slip things under the plastic so I can still see the front and back. Though I usually put our schedule in the back. This time they didn't send the side binding back so I'm disappointed. I like sliding it in the side so if I had it on a shelf, you could see what it was. I also put in tabs for the unit, appendix, poems, dictation lists, etc. and move them each week so I open to where we're at.

[8arrows]

I always thought I liked spiral-bound guides until I tried HOD. I love their guides as is. Perfect-bound is my pick now. Note: I have 8 kids so everything in perfect condition is not a hang-up for me. However, my guides are still in great condition to reuse with the youngers.

[momofjka]

I have thought of this too, because I really do like the idea of having the pages in protectors as I could see this would protect it from liquid spills, rips, being colored or written on, etc. I can also see how putting tabs to separate weeks or appendix items would be helpful, as well as putting increments of weeks (6, 12...), in separate binders. But then it is also alot of money to have spent for a guide if I don't like it how it turns out once it's taken apart, the binders would take up alot more room on the shelf too, AND I am a little obsessive about books staying in "new" condition.... and I'm not sure I could get myself to actually take apart the guide...as it obviously looks so new right now . Someone posted about having the binding cut to put it in a binder, does this have to be done professionally, or is there a way to take the guide apart myself w/o ruining it?

[Mumkins]

I think if you got the cover off, you could peel one page at a time. But it is really inexpensive. They charge (at Staples in Canada) $3 to strip and $0.01/page for holes.

[Kathleen]

Another mom who loves the HOD guides bound as is. They hold up wonderfully! And mine have been hauled upstairs, downstairs, to Grandma's house - and dropped MANY times in the process. They still look great! And they lay open so well.

(My 3-ring-binders that I have music in for church have NOT fared so well in their travels... Pages fall out, the rings won't stay closed, the cover rips off. So, I personally would NOT do that to my guides! )

Kathleen

[totallyblessed]

Well I took the plunge and used an exacto knife and a ruler and cut the pages out and put them in a heavy duty, 2 inch, 3 ring binder. I just like things neat and unwrinkled and I think this will be the best way to "protect" it. I put all the pages in page protectors because paper 3 hole punched can easily ripe out of the binder. We get started next week so we will see if I made the right decision.

Casey