# Writing in workbooks or copies



## highlandview (Feb 15, 2007)

Is it more economical to make copies of workbooks (reproducing allowed) or to have kids write in them and order new for the next child? I began making copies for my youngest but a lot of the material is in color so it is expensive to copy and black and white doesn't always work. I'm starting to think it is close to as expensive to make copies. Maybe I am wasting time. Any thoughts?


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

I had only 1 that did a lot of workbook work so I never needed to make copies. But once you add the cost of the paper, the electricity, wear and tear on the copier, time, and your ink most of the time it would be economical to get 2 workbooks. The exception would be really expensive workbooks.


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## jamala (May 4, 2007)

My first year I made copies and found it much cheaper to order another workbook. I use Saxon math so I just have to order a second test book for that. I have found with the Abeka work that the kids just use a notebook to write the answers in and that works for us. I just spent $80 for ink that will only last me 1/2 the year without using it to copy a workbook. The year I made copies I went through that much ink in a month.


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## rean (Nov 18, 2008)

Are you specifically looking at Alpha Omega? I ask this because you can order just the workbooks. No sense in having more than one teacher's manual.


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## braidsandboots (Jan 7, 2010)

If money is a real issue you can have them slip a page protector in front of the page they're working on and do it in dry erase marker. Same page protector for most of the year until it gets too cloudy.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

Get a cheap flatbed scanner and scan the pages. You could even modify results to fill out on a computer, no paper or ink necessary. And old black only laser printers are great, very cheap to print. I dont use a printer very often and when I had an inkjet, ink always dried when I did need to use it. With laser printer, they use dry toner powder. Nothing to dry out and you get whole lot more pages for your dollar.  Used, my old HP4000 laser printer cost no more than cheapie new inkjet. Has worked fine for several years now. Have to do your research, not all laser printers are created equal. Some much more reliable and toner, other supplies much cheaper. Supplies for some of the new cheap personal laser printers are really high dollar so you dont save whole lot.


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## highlandview (Feb 15, 2007)

Thanks for all the replies I had a feeling I was wasting time.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

highlandview said:


> Is it more economical to make copies of workbooks (reproducing allowed) or to have kids write in them and order new for the next child? I began making copies for my youngest but a lot of the material is in color so it is expensive to copy and black and white doesn't always work. I'm starting to think it is close to as expensive to make copies. Maybe I am wasting time. Any thoughts?


I did it both ways when the kids were young. It just depended on the cost of the workbook. Some are cheap enough that it's just better to use them. Some are more expensive, and I made copies. 
We had four kids, so I used a lot of hardback texts that I got from tag sales too and from Rod and Staff. In those cases they answered on paper.


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## cindy-e (Feb 14, 2008)

when I did it, copies were more expensive. There used to be a homeschool catalog that sold "page protectors" for workbooks, so you could have your kids do the work with a dry erase marker, and re-use them that way if you grade regularly. I imagine you could just take a regular page protector and cut one side of it off... it would do the same thing, no? But if you want a permanent record of what your kids did, it is usually better to buy the workbook if you are going to use workbooks. At least that was my experience, even with more "expensive" workbooks. 

Cindyc.


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