Are Printables Cheap Waste Or A Prudent Purchase?

Our relaxed homeschool consists of traditional textbooks, regular story books and readers, experiments, field trips, and a myriad of other things in which printables also find their place (the professional term for this approach is “eclectic“).

We use printables in four main ways:

• As Unit Study helpers, which we’re planning a lot of this year.
• As a satisfactory solution for occupying toddlers who want to do “real school” like their older siblings!
• For a change of pace for when we just need to liven the mood (especially in the Winter) and put the textbooks away for a while
• For charts, schedules, and organizational tools that are generally far too overpriced to purchase already printed, but do the job just as well.

Buying printables online can prove to be beneficial for several reasons:

Printables are inexpensive. Printables are a low-cost product to produce and the market is saturated, which means you, the consumer, can often find them for free or purchase them them very inexpensively. If you have preschool or younger elementary age children, are on a tight budget and can’t afford to purchase more expensive textbooks, you can rely solely on printables and still homeschool effectively.

Printables are easily accessible. You can find printables all over the Internet. A quick Google search for printables in your topic and grade of interest will probably bring up hundreds of results. They usually come as instant downloads, so there’s no need to wait for shipping, no vehicle required to pick them up, and you can find them at any time on any day of the week.

Printables are diverse. Printables are available for just about any subject you can think of. If you want a supplement that covers something not found in a textbook, you can surely find a printable for it.

Printables can be duplicated. Most printable creators will let you print off multiple copies for your own personal use. This is extremely helpful if you have children who are close in age, a child who needs more practice in a particular area, or you simple need more of a page. (I printed off several more pages of the “Reading Log” section in Marcy Crabtree’s Unit Study Planner, because we filled the first one in within a week.)

Printables can be laminated. Lamination allows printables to be wiped down and reused. It’s particularly helpful if you’re using a printable to teach cursive, like our 1777 New England Cursive Primer. A marker on smooth plastic encourages a good flow of the hand lessens the likelihood of choppy penmanship for beginners.

But, printables have their drawbacks, too.

Printables can be a waste of money. There are thousands of beautiful printable packets available, but you only save money when you buy ones you’ll actually use! Ink cartridges can also be costly, so if you’re planning on doing a lot of printing (it’s pretty much par for the homeschool course!), you may find it worth investing in a laser printer instead. (We have this one from Brother and it has done very well for us!)

Printables take more work to organize than regular textbooks, but it can be done. A simple three ring binder, colored paper for dividers, and a hole punch is all you need. You could also slip the finished printables into sheet protectors, file them away in color coded or labeled manila folders, or even get them coil-bound at an office depot.

Printables are dependent on printer, paper, and an Internet connection. Most people already have all three, so this may not be a problem for you. If you live in an area without a reliable connection, you may need to take a trip to the library or visit a friend to get access to printables.

Printables are not all created equal. Occasionally, I’ve been disappointed and somewhat baffled at what passed for a printable, especially if I’ve been charged for it. Maybe I’m becoming a printable snob, but now I only use them if they match the following criteria:

• They must be something I can’t make myself
  They must have a high image resolution so the lines don’t show up grainy or blurred when I print them off
  They must be able to be printed in black and white
  They must be allowed to be duplicated as needed for personal use
  They don’t have to be explicitly Christian, but they must not promote any character, theme, or idea that interferes with a biblical worldview
  They should either be a free, instant download, or instantly accessible with Paypal (not require an email or newsletter subscription to obtain)

It’s not part of my criteria to have certified teachers design the printables we use. Some of the most beautiful, comprehensive, informational, out of the box printables are created by homeschool moms who are qualified not by a paper, but their love for education, passion for teaching their own uniquely gifted children, and their God-given zeal to incorporate Scriptural truth into every area of study.

I’ve learned I can count on the following sites to consistently provide high-quality printables that meet all my expectations:

• Enrichment Studies (fine art and music printables for older elementary and high school aged children)
• Proverbial Homemaker (Bible themed printables for younger elementary aged children)
• Meet Penny (tons of very inexpensive, themed, printable collections for pre-kindergarten and younger elementary aged children)
• The Road To 31 (Fantastic Bible curriculum for boys and girls – see my review of the girls versionhere)
• Kristy’s Cottage (Our kids adore these monthly, unit-study based printable collections for pre-kindergarten and younger elementary aged children)
• Printable Homeschool on Etsy (This site is currently geared more towards homeschool decor, but is slowly adding in printables for early learners)
• Educents (This site offers an enormous variety of printables and curriculum. Some digging and discretion may be required because the selection is so vast and constantly changing)
• The Modest Mom (Home of the Character Badges. Caroline’s husband is a graphic designer that does amazing work, so I’m keeping my eye out for any more product offerings!).

And of course, we’ve used our own manuscript and cursive printables to teach our children how to form their letters.

 

Occasionally, I use printables for my own personal use as well. Marcy Crabtree’s Unit Study planner in particular has become a valuable management system for this season of our homeschool.

If you plan to use printables extensively in your homeschool, it may prove beneficial to invest in the following items as well:

–A good quality laminator
–A laser printer (as opposed to a cartridge printer that uses requires more ink and expensive refills)
–A bulk supply of regular printer paper
–Cardstock Paper (for use as dividers, project covers, and printable charts and schedules that may be handled more regularly)
–3 Hole Punch 
–Dry Erase Markers (for laminated printables; particularly helpful in learning cursive!)
–Manila File Folders
–Hanging File Folders 
–Hanging File Folder Box 
–Sheet protectors  

Are printables cheap waste or a prudent purchase? It really depends on when you use them, how you store them, and where you find them. Do a little research, use your own discretion, and see if they don’t add great value to your homeschool!