Could you please explain to me why you use sheet protectors for TOG

[Karie]

It seems to me that this is a big deal amongst TOG users. Why????

Do you put one page in each protector? Doesn't this get expensive? I'm just trying to figure this all out. I'm bouncing around all over the place with deciding on Ancient history for 3rd and 5th!!

[momofkhm]

I heard that it was a big discussion on the TOG yahoo group. I do not use page protectors. Well, I do but it's so I can clump several pages together. I printed out the "order list" and put all the pages into one page protector so I could find it easily and flip past it easily.

Those who do use page protectors, yes it sounds like they put one page in each page protector. To me it does seem as though it would get pricey. I think page protectors are so that in 4 years when you come back around to that time period, the curriculum is still in good shape.

[susie in tx]

I found that the paper was super thin, and I knew that I was going to pull the pages out of the binder, so I put them in page protectors. Others use the page protectors so that they can write on the curriculum and not have to worry about erasing or wrecking the curriculum pages.

[Karen in CO]

Here is my page protector confession.
I just received my first unit of TOG last week and I have been reading it a lot. I wasn't going to put it in pp. I got ready to start marking books and making notes after 3 days of reading though it. I took the pencil and made marks on the first week, then I thought about those pp discussions I had read and went to the supply closet and got a couple out and some wet erase markers. Then I relaxed and made notes all over the planning pages. Somewhere in the first three days of reading the unit I had decided that I would like to use it again at the next level with my dd and with her sister in four years. Page protectors made sense to me to protect a valuable resource that I can see myself using for many years to come.

[Lisawa]

Oh... I do it because I cant bring myself to write on it!:o Sad but true! I put it all in the page protectors. Its up to you though.... if you don?t mind writing on it... don?t worry about it... its about a 50/50 split to page protect or not to page protect. :)

and.. to be completely honest... when I first bought TOG, I wasn?t sure I could do it or not... so I was also thinking resale value.... but after 4.5 years :D I?m not worried about not using it. W/ the page protectors, I write all over it now! lol

Lisa~

[Hen Jen]

confession- I'm not using page protectors, tho I had decided to use them- the reasons are so it will be in good condition next time we go through it, but I haven't done it yet. My thinking was to do it slowly, one unit at a time, but I haven't even started...

[Lisawa]

confession- I'm not using page protectors, tho I had decided to use them- the reasons are so it will be in good condition next time we go through it, but I haven't done it yet. My thinking was to do it slowly, one unit at a time, but I haven't even started...

I love your board name! The picture of you and the make way for ducklings duck is so cute!!

Gasp... using TOG with no page protectors... the horror! lol JK

[Karenciavo]

It's not really a big deal, there has been some playful ribbing over the years between pp and non-pp people. :)

I use them because I am a tactile person and I like the feel of them. Also I want to keep my pages as clean as possible, back in my Diet Pepsi days I spilled a glass on my unit and it was saved by the pp. It does raise the cost per year plan a good deal, I'll pay about $45 this year for pp for my Redesign Year 2, but because I do one unit here and one unit there it doesn't seem so bad.

[Zee]

I didn't use them with my classic TOG, but as someone mentioned, the Redesign pages are THIN. I tore a page within minutes of putting the first unit in the notebook. So, I'm going with page protectors on the the redesign. Also, I like to eat and read my notes, or, blow dry my hair while reading notes, so page protectors have become a must. I want to use TOG for the next cycle and I don't want hairspray or jelly on my pages. :)

[Karie]

This has been very helpful. I didn't realize the pages were so thin. For those who write on PP, what do you use? Wet erase markers?

[Melora in NC]

Wet Wipe markers work very well. I put all my Classic TOG in page protectors because I didn't want the page holes in the pages to rip out with repeated use. (Of course, then I ended up not using TOG at all, so the pages would have done just fine without protection! But now I will re-use the protectors for the Redesign I just ordered.) The pages in Classic are regular copy paper weight paper.

[Lisawa]

I just use a sharpie... but you can use what you like... dry erase works too. *?*

Lisa

[Zee]

I can't bring myself to write on the page protectors! I realize this is sick, but they are too stinkin' expensive and I don't want to clean them down the road. It just seems too messy. I use sticky notes, instead. The notes that I make aren't the kind that I will need the next cycle. Generally, they are reminders that I can throw away or transfer to my planning page.

[LisaNY]

I didn't use them with my classic TOG, but as someone mentioned, the Redesign pages are THIN. I tore a page within minutes of putting the first unit in the notebook. So, I'm going with page protectors on the the redesign. Also, I like to eat and read my notes, or, blow dry my hair while reading notes, so page protectors have become a must. I want to use TOG for the next cycle and I don't want hairspray or jelly on my pages. :)

What??!!??? I thought the Redesign pages were better quality, not worse! ack! I think the Classic paper is really thin - 20lb, I think. They should have used 24lb. I have the Classic, and I definitely have to start using pp, because I keep ripping the first page in the binder.

[Karen in CO]

LOL that is awesome. I have some sticky notes on top of my page protectors, but I have written on some of them too.

[Zee]

I just went to physically compare the Classic and Redesign pages. Classic is much thicker in comparison. The Redesign is hands-down a better product, but the paper used is cheap, IMHO.

[susie in tx]

I haven't seen the Classic, or felt it, either. The Redesign pages are kind of strange. Sometimes, they feel like 24 lb. paper. Other times, they are flimsy and thin. They will also have some type of sticky substance on them, on the long edges. It's like they had a bunch of paper stuck together like back in the 80's and they just rip the pages off. I don't think I'm describing it well. Anyway, it's thinner than 20 lb paper, IMHO. I am hopeful that in future printings, and with the addition of the updated price, they will upgrade the paper in the Redesign.

Overall, though, the paper wouldn't turn me off from purchasing the product. I'm certain that I would have had to recopy all the pages in order to keep the holes in them, had I not purchased page protectors.

[Zee]

I agree. I wouldn't let the paper issue deter me from purchasing. It's really about what is on the paper, and that is an awesome product! :)

[LisaNY]

Thinner paper would only be acceptable to me if it were stronger, not flimsier than the Classic. I used SL, and I don't remember ever having a problem with pages ripping out of the binder.

[susie in tx]

Thinner paper would only be acceptable to me if it were stronger, not flimsier than the Classic. I used SL, and I don't remember ever having a problem with pages ripping out of the binder.

I have a recent SL core here as well. The TOG paper is most definitely easier to rip than the SL paper.

[TMarie]

Hey, I just wanted to encourage others that pp aren't necessary.

I am very "hard" on books and yet we've made it through 2 units of TOG with no serious damage. I think once I needed to repair the holes on a sheet with those cheap little stick-on hole reinforcers.

I don't write on my papers, really don't know why you would! But, maybe I'm not doing it right. ;) Then again, I am a sticky-note queen. The inside of my binder has become a "holding place" for notes I will reuse next week!