So you have your free core curriulum from last month’s post. Many ‘free curriculum’ websites are simply lesson plans to go with classic/living books. The books used are often easy to access books; either free public domain books or books easily obtainable through any decent library system.
So how do you save on books? By not paying for them of course! (Legally free, please don’t steal books!) E-books are a huge money saver as there are a plethora of free e-books and an e-reader is a great invest for any homeschool.
One of my new favorite obsessions is my Kindle that my daddy bought me for my birthday. There are a ton of free e-books for Kindle; many classics and, if you keep a check on Amazon.com, you can snag some really great new books and for free. But check often as books can go up in price without notice. It may be free for a month, but it may be free for only 24 hours, so check regularly. If you see something you might use in the future, go ahead and get it while it’s free, it costs nothing and you can delete it later if you decide you don’t want it.
Don’t have a Kindle you say? No problem! There is a free Kindle reading app for almost very device you own! You can read Kindle books on your computer, mac, iPhone, iPad, Blackberry & more! Plus the new Cloud Reader is Awesome! (The Kindle with special offers is another great money saver as you get special offers on your Kindle like $1 e-books, $20 Amazon card for $10, etc)
Amazon even has a whole Kindle page dedicated to Free ebooks and how to get them on your Kindle! *Be careful here-some times getting a free book from places other than Amazon to you Kindle can cost you a delivery charge, but you can set up a charge limit so you aren’t hit with a fee you were not prepared for.
E-books are usually cheaper than tangible books, so if you can’t get it for free, chances are you are still saving money!
E-books, are a great money saver and an e-reader just makes them much more usable and easily accessible. While an e-reader isn’t necessary at all to utilize e-books in your homeschool, I find I do use our library of e-books more often now that I have a Kindle for easy access to them, rather than having to use the laptop to read them.
Kindle just recently (9/28) released the new generation Kindle for $79, Kindle Touch for $99 and the Kindle Fire (tablet) for $199!
And yes, you really can easily read a Kindle in bright sunlight.
Sonita is a frugal, Christian homeschooling mom of 2 boys. She blogs at Cows Dont Moo
I am considering buying my daughter a Kindle for Christmas. This might seal the deal
Totally worth it. (IMHO) the access to free public domain books, the classics, the un-watered down books, that alone makes the Kindle worth it to me.
And you can’t beat the $79 price tag now! I paid $114 for mine!!
no kidding! I want an iPad, but $79 is more in my price range!!
Well have you looked at the Kindle Fire? Only $199, no 3G, but if you can use wi-fi where ever you want to use a tablet, then it’s worth looking into.
I’m actually going to be getting a Nook today! My husband was going to make it a late birthday/Christmas present, but then a friend of a fried decided to sell hers this week. I’ll be saving about $100 on what it would cost new, and it’s apparently in great shape (we will test it out tonight before writing the check!). So, it’s not a Kindle (I need a device with internet access to make it worth my while), but I know the same doors are now soon to be open to me with my Nook. :^)
Many of the free Kindle books are also available on Nook. And those that aren’t usually are at least discounted for the Nook, like $2ish
I don’t know much about the Nook, isn’t it a color display? That’s the only thing I don’t like about the Kindle, is it is just B&W. But it does have an ‘experimental’ web browser as well.
How do you find the free stuff in Amazon I always seem to find everything I have not the newer stuff?
Christina you can find newer free books here http://www.amazon.com/s/?node=2279458011
There are also sites/FB pages you can sign up for like Pixel of Ink that will post these free deals as well.
I am so ready to buy this for myself. The kids have their own versions (Nook, iPad, iPod) and I think it is time for mom to get one too. What do you think?
Totally mom!
Be careful about what you’re buying and make SURE you understand the difference in the different versions of a reader. Having WIFI does NOT equal having internet access as most readers with WIFI ONLY access the store they’re associated with (my Kobo only connects to the Kobo store, Nook only to B&N, Kindle only to Amazon Books, etc) Most of the major readers also have a desktop application you can use to interface the internet to download files to your computer and then to your reader. I was given a Kobo from a friend that needed a “touch screen”. So after buying the Kobo without it, she realized she didn’t have the thumb strength to operate it (she’s an older woman). She bought a new touch screen and gifted me the “old” brand-new Kobo. I have the Kobo reader on my desktop, but I also have the Kindle and Nook readers on my desktop. I can download files to them and then transfer them to my Kobo as the Kobo reads both PDF and .epub files.
ONLY the premium priced readers – Nook Color, Kindle Fire, etc can connect to the internet, have a browser, etc. However, they do NOT work like a tablet does. This doesn’t mean you don’t want it/shouldn’t get it, only a caution to make SURE you know WHAT you’re buying and that it is what you want/need.
Most readers are just that – something to READ a file. Some readers have proprietary files and that means that you can’t use them on another device. Other devices use the more common .epub and .pdf files. So make sure you know WHAT files your reader is able to read. Obviously, the more file types it can read or at least if it can read the most common files, it will be better for you. There are some readers out there that are being discontinued. You can buy them very cheaply. HOWEVER, they break frequently AND they have an uncommon file type and they ONLY read that type of file. NOT a “good deal”.
Remember, you can get them “refurbished” for quite a bit less than “new”. I have quite a few electronic items that are “refurbished” and have never had a problem with them. Had there been a problem, the seller was prepared to make it good. So know the seller – Walmart, Tiger Direct, etc. Know also that YMMV and that Walmart will not let you return to the store what’s been purchased on-line. If you buy it online, you have to return it through the online people.
HTH