Posted in notebooking

Today, I had my daughter start a word notebook.

Three ring-binder

Twenty six dividers

paper

Every time my daughter learns a new word or a word she has trouble spelling she will put the word, along with the definition into her notebook.

My daughter has severe dyslexia and often spelling simple words, and words that we use everyday, she struggles with. Often times she asks me how to spell the same word, day after day. I am hoping that this notebook will help her so that she can often refer back to it, rather than asking me how to spell something over and over.

Posted in notebooking

Years ago when I was in a chat with Terri Camp she had mentioned a questions notebook. I thought it was a wonderful idea at the time since my oldest two were at the ages of asking "Why?" to everything.

She had mentioned that a questions notebook is a notebook where you put those interesting questions that only kids can ask with the answers when you find them.

My children and I have been working on ours for about 6 years now.

I was enjoying going through it today and the memories it brought back.

Some of my favorite questions have been: (I know the answers to these, but if you want to know the answers, you'll have to do some research. You never know when your child will ask these questions to you.)

"Mom, if boy sea horses have the babies then does that mean that the girl sea horses have the sperm?"

"What is a fadora?"

"Did Noah have an umbrella?"

"What does GT stand for on a Mustang GT?"

For this answer you can read this blog I wrote way back when in June!... you have to read down a bit to get what "GT" stands for.

Then of course there are all those questions of How and why something works the way it does, or why things are named the way they are. Those can be some of the hardest to find answers to.

I love it when my children ask questions because if I don't know the answer then I can show them how to find the answer. This develops great research skills in my children and for me it fills in my learning gaps. Many times their questions make wonderful 'spring boards' or ' bunny trails' that lead to more exciting learning. I love home schooling!!

What are some of the intriging questions your children have asked?

Posted in notebooking

I am pondering what I have planned for next week with the children. I 'planned' it all about a month ago and due to all the Christmas excitement and morning sickness I almost forgot what I had even planned. We'll be learning more about God's Sovereignty and Worship along with Inventors and Inventions.

I'm also thinking that the kids and I will do another "Baby notebook."

We made one with my last pregnancy and it was enjoyable. We had a section for growth of the baby, nutrition for mommy and the different stages. I also put in it handouts from my OB and sonograph pictures.

Posted in notebooking

 smfeet2001 asked, "You said you have a teachers binder. Can you go into detail what you have in the students section? Also can you go into detail what is in it and the sections? I am trying to do this but struggling with this."

Holly, thank you for asking about my teachers notebook.

I use a three ring-binder and I have dividers for different sections.

Legal stuff - This is where I keep my copies of Notice of Intents and attendance.

Lesson plans - This is where I put, in pencil, any unit studies I write. I take about an hour on the weekends to plan 2-3 weeks. I don't always follow it to a "T" but it gives me something to look at and my husband also likes to see on paper what the kids are learning so he can interact with them more. Because I have 4 children I love unit studies because I can teach the same thing to them.

I also have paper to make lists of any supplies I need to purchase for any activities or crafts we do. We do a lot of hands on stuff.

Personal 'teacher' journal - Here I write my prayers for our homeschool. I depend so much on the Lord's direction in our homeschool and this is a place where I can put my thoughts and any write down any direction I get from the Lord. My children and I have about 3 minutes of journal writing a day. While they are writing in theirs, I write in mine.

I have dividers for each of my children. (Four of them) - In each one I put down ideas the Lord gives me for each child, ideas and interests that my child tells me and also what things I feel they need to learn or things my husband suggests. Many times character traits are written down here. =)

To Do list - I only have 5 things on my to do list per day. If there I don't get one done then I put it on the next days list, but I do not do more than 5.

I also have a house cleaning routine and menu planner in the back.

Posted in notebooking

Every year my children add all sorts of fun stuff to their Christmas notebooks.

Each child has a 3 ring-binder with dividers for each year. They add things from any Units we do. Recipes we use and copywork of songs we may learn. Stories we read or poems. Stickers, drawings and whatever my children get creative with.

When my two oldest children were 3 and 4 we did The Christmas Alphabet. I will make another post just for this one so I can include activities that I made up to go along.

On another year we did "The Names of Jesus" Christmas unit.

We also enjoyed doing the The Blessed Christmas Unit Study another year. This was a fun one. It goes through different Christmas symbols for each day leading up to Christmas day.

One year when we focused on baking we added a mini-unit on Hot Chocolate! Yummyliciousness!

This year I think we'll be doing a Christmas around the world study. I'll probably make this one up as we go. =)  I will be sure to share what wonderful ideas the Lord gives me for this one!

Posted in notebooking

Notebooking... it is one of my favorite subjects!

Anyone can notebook, and many already 'notebook' and just don't realize it.

Notebooking is simply 'gathering and hunting' information on a subject/s and putting it all in notebook. Notebooks can be made with three ring-binders, spiral notebooks, paper tied with string, journals and even scrapbooks. Notebooks can be as simple as a journal or as fancy as a scrapbook layout.

In my three years of leading notebooking chats at The Homeschool Encouragement Center and moderating "Firetime notebooking" (Terri Camp's group)the uses of notebooks are endless. They can be for your personal use to keep track of finances, recipes, your prayer journal or to be 'portfolio's' of your childrens work. They can also be wonderful artistic places for children to learn whatever they want about a subject/s.

My favorite type of notebooks are the ones that children can work on all by themselves. It is their notebook and they can learn about any subject they want. They can get as creative as they want with them. I know of one child who collected 'scat' of the animal she was notebooking on and kept it in her notebook in a plastic baggy. Notebooking gives a child a sense of ownership. "Look what I am doing!" or "Look what I made today!" For us parents they make wonderful memories!

A child can 'notebook' at any age. My two oldest children started notebooking when they were 3 and 4. It was just a simple spiral notebook that they each took with us on our walks and they would draw trees, rocks, bugs. (At that age, they were scribbles so I labeled their drawings) Now that they are 9 and 7 those first notebooks hold precious memories. (Now my 4 year old is enjoying the joys of notebooks. He takes HUGE pride in his airplane notebook!) Their notebooks now contain more than just scribbles, they contain: stickers, drawings, poems, magazine cut outs, stories they find or write, photos, charts, labels...  I let them get as creative as they want, I just keep them supplied with what they need and I teach them how to 'hunt and gather' their information. I let my children work on them when they want, sometimes that is when I am reading out loud to them, or even after dinner.

There really isn't any one way to start a 'notebook,' just pick a subject and 'hunt and gather! Get creative, have fun and show it off!

Happy Notebooking!

Dianna A.