Sunflower Faith

For many homeschoolers, using the computer is a vital component of homeschooling; Be it for keeping records, researching, creating/downloading worksheets, keeping in touch with other homeschooling parents or for in-class use of watching videos, online tests or software to supplement the homeschool experience and just for general storage of homeschool material shared,bought and downloaded.

Learned from personal experience of a computer crashing and with it many material that I may not use now but needed for later use in curriculum, I quickly learned the importance of investing in a portable USB stick.

Not only is it the holiday season where great sales abound on inexpensive memory cards, but even just every day pricing, it’s worth spending the 8.00 to 10.00, investing in a 2GB memory card to be used as a vital component of backing up precious homeschool data, worksheets/workbooks and future homeschool materials.

Another plus to making the USB stick, a vital part of the homeschooling parent everyday tool, is the fact that this can be use from computer to computer, very small and easy to pack and carry, and easily stored as backup.

Personally, I find having a set, helpful, because I can use one as backup and the other as a “working drive” that I store ALL my homeschooling material on, so there is no fear of losing everything, again, in the event something happens to the computer.

Plus, if I take one of them with me to work on while away from home, or whatever the reason,if it gets lost, I know I still have a backup at home, safely locked away in a fireproof box.

Silly,I know, but if you leave in hurricane prone (or fire prone areas like in California), your homeschool records are just important information and probrably the most difficult at times, to recover if all the paper is lost or the computer has crashed.

So if you use a computer as part of your homeschool record keeping and/or homeschooling use, I strongly advise using reliable backup.

In case you’re wondering, I use a rewritable CD as well, but I still like my USB stick because it’s quick to access, honestly, very tiny compare to a CD and easier to just “drop” in my purse/bag, so if I’m say,at the library, I can pop it in the computer there to quickly print out either a worksheet, or say I forget to bring my library book list, I can access it right there.

You can find these at Office Depot from 8.99 to 14.99 and usually at miniumn 2GB to more

So if you haven’t thought about using one yet or invested in one, this is a great must have!

Another thought…this makes a GREAT stocking stuffer or inexpensive gift for that homeschooling parent you might know, a secret sister gift or just great gifts for each child to have to use to store their own studies on.

The USB sticks come in many colors and designs, place a label with a child’s name on it so they can keep track of it, download their files and curriculum on it and there you go: An electronic folder.

© 2008, Sunflower Faith. All rights reserved.

Sunflower Faith is a quiet, sometimes silly, sometimes sarcastic, sometimes serious, follower of Christ sharing words of devotion, encouragement and hope that is always about our Father in Heaven. So grab a cup of coffee and join Sunflower Faith in words of growth, hope and more all in the spirit of 2 Peter 1:5-8.

Sunflower Faith

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