A couple of days ago we talked a bit about using Sonlight on a budget. I promised you more details on just how I managed keeping track of what books I need to request from the library and when to request them. If you didn't catch the previous post, you may want to read it first. It will help this post make much more sense.

I wanted to find a system that made my life easier rather than more complicated. So I went with a very simple, low prep solution: the old-fashioned pen and paper.

Once I have my Instructor's Guide (IG) in hand, I sit down with pen and paper to simply make a list. You could do this on the computer if you like, but it does not need to get complicated. After all, the idea is for this to help you, not eat up lots of time.

First, I find the list in the front of the IG that includes every book in the core in order of use, along with the week you will begin using it. Then I use my marked up catalog (see this post) to find which books I plan on getting from my local library. I simply list each book  in one column. In another column to the right, I list which week and day of the week I will need to use that book. In the picture above you can see that I will need Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia on Week 13 and Day 1 of that week (13-1). Then I listed the projected date that I will reach Week 13, Day 1 as Tuesday March 30. I don't fill out all of the dates when we begin the core. I fill these in a few weeks ahead of time since the dates may change as we move through the core. After all, sick days happen, right?

Once I fill in a projected date for when I will need a book, I write a second date to the left of the book title. This date tells me when to check the library for the book. In the example above, I listed my "check date" as March 23. In this instance I checked for the book one week before I needed it. You may need to check sooner than one week before you need it, depending on your library, their hold policy, the number of people using Sonlight from the library in your area (If every book that you want is always checked out when you want it, it's highly likely that you've encountered another Sonlighter.), or the time of year that you are using the core. When using the library, I have always purposely began a Core at an unusual time of year in order to avoid lots of people wanting a particular book at the same time because we have all started the same week and now will always be fighting for the same books. Many years I began a new core in January, but you could also start a few weeks earlier or later than most.

Once my library list was complete, I used the same process to create a list for the items that I would need to request through Interlibrary Loan. I created the list the very same way as the library list, only my request date was 3 to 4 weeks before the projected date that I would need the item. My library said it would generally take 3 to 4 weeks to receive an item, however, very often it would only take 3 weeks or less to receive it.

Every few weeks I would sit down with my lists and figure out projected dates and dates to request items. Every Monday when we began the week I would have a look at the request dates to see what I needed to request that week. Once I got in the habit of checking every Monday, I really didn't miss any dates to request an item.

This system worked pretty well for me. Most of the time, I had the books that I needed in time. Every so often I had to improvise because I couldn't get a book interlibrary loan or I couldn't get it on time. If I couldn't get it on time, I either read the next book and then read the interlibrary loan book when it came in or just waited for the book and did something else with our time. If I couldn't get the book at all, I could often find a similar book to read instead. A little flexibility was a small price to pay in order to use Sonlight without the money to buy it all.

That's it. Simple.

If you are contemplating using Sonlight but cannot afford to buy the core in its entirety, I hope this helps you to see the possibilities for still using this wonderful curriculum!

Connie