Using a Kindle for S.C.M. products

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  • February 22, 2015 at 11:02 am
    mamajamiah
    Participant

    I am ordering my curriculum for our next school year. Please don’t think, “WOW, she’s on the ball!” Our school year goes from May to April (through the summer) with a week off per month. And so, I am trying to order now and have it all by April so that I can plan.

    My question is: Does anyone download the files for books (PDF) from Simply Charlotte Mason and then use a kindle instead of physical copies? If so, are there any books that you find you would prefer in the physical form over a file form?

    I am seriously thinking about purchasing a kindle because it just might be a good investment. Books are sooooo expensive when they add up and the downloads/pdfs/kindle versions are going to save me in the long run. I am a book-a-holic and the thought of giving up turning an actual page and holding the book in my hand is very difficult. However, having four children and thinking about all the books we are going to need to order over the years, is a little frightening. Before any one says, “use the library”…I do…but does anyone find it a little annoying when you cannot just go back and refer to the book when you want or need?

    Thanks for any help I can get!

    February 22, 2015 at 11:39 pm
    Mysterious Lady in Pink
    Participant

    I have purchased quite a few SCM e-books and have used them on a Kindle or tablet-type device.  I have some opinions…take ’em or leave ’em. 🙂

    – as  you already noted, SCM e-books are PDFs, not Kindle books (although I think there is one  parent-type book that was a Kindle version?). This is more significant to me than I first realized because it doesn’t work quite as seamlessly or look as pretty as Kindle-formatted books do. Most notably, on a Kindle-sized screen I can’t read the whole page on one Kindle screen. Now if you have a full-sized tablet (iPad or whatever, but full 8.5×11 screen) then you can see the WHOLE page of the book jus like you were reading it on a similar-sized piece of paper. However, the Kindle is not that size. So then I put it in landscape mode to read it (in which case your “page turns” on the Kindle lets you see the next part of the page, if that makes sense, so that you will have 2-3 page turns on that 1 PDF page). But on the KindleFire (color small tablet) you would scroll up an down yourself to see the entire page in landscape mode…or zoom in to read in portrait mode. (Maybe someone with better eyes wouldn’t have to zoom in so much — my eyes aren’t horrid, but I do typically wear low-powered reading glasses now.)

    – Some things are great as PDFs, like the “Visits to…” series because I *want* to print those off for my kids. 🙂

    – As much as I love my kids reading on a Kindle to address the space issues that we have with books, I don’t feel like the SCM books are all that Kindle-friendly due to the issues mentioned above. Yes they can be read, but it’s not as user-friendly or… well, pretty.  I am more willing to buy SCM PDFs when *I* am the main one reading from or using the book. Other books such as those from Yesterday’s Classics or Heritage History are pretty and seamless to use, as they are Kindle formatted, and my kids do read a lot of those on the Kindle.

    – Certain things that *I* may want to use, like the history guides or  the 106 Days of Creation or the parent books (LDTR,  etc) I would personally find very cumbersome on a Kindle if I plan to refer to flip around in them much, although flipping around in them on a full-sized table would be fine —  and they would be ok on the Kindle if I am just breifly referencing it to see what the assignment is. BUT if I want to scribble notes in them then I’d still want either to print a copy or just buy the hard copy.

    IDK if this is much help. I would love to see SCM make Kindle-formatted copies available, because they have so many great products! The PDFs work on Kindle, just not as well, IMHO.

    February 23, 2015 at 10:10 am
    HollyS
    Participant

    I like some PDFs and some regular books.  If I’m making lots of copies, I prefer PDFs (like maps, handwriting pages, etc.).  Books that I’ll read aloud once (Boy of the Pyramids, Ancient Egypt and her Neighbors, etc.) are fine with an e-reader.  For resources I’ll using quite a bit, I prefer printed (LDTR for Children, 106 Days of Creation, etc.).

Viewing 3 posts - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
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