The
term "notebooking" is a fancy word for compiling
information into 3-ring notebooks, binders or even sketchbooks.
When a student uses a notebook system, he is able to
organize his learning adventures into neat, efficient
documentation that will enhance memory and pride in
his work.
Our
family began using notebooks for learning this year
after a very disappointing event following our assessment
last year. As we did every year, we compiled all of
the work that the children completed, and had an educational
evaluator go through it and make sure that learning
did in fact occur. When we came home, I went though
the books and basically threw everything out. My daughter
stood next to me and sadly asked why I was throwing
out all of her hard work. It occurred to me that it
was a lot of hard work, but there wasn't really a lot
to show for it except for many worksheets and tests.
There wasn't anything there that was memorable, nothing
that she could go back and look through with pride and
memories. Our odyssey into notebooking had begun.
There
are as many ways to notebook as families who use them.
Some families set up notebooks for each subject while
others provide one for each topic within a subject.
Our family used a 4" binder for each child and
put dividers in for each subject. In addition to the
diversity of the types of notebooks used, there is also
a wide variety of options as to how the notebooks are
accomplished.
I
have broken these down into three major types: student
directed study, topic directed study and textbook correlation.
Families
choosing the student directed study do not usually have
a planned curriculum. They may have a directed math
program, but will allow their children to choose a topic
that interests them most. The child will find books
(fiction and non-fiction) relating to the topic to create
their notebook.
What
goes into the notebook just depends on the child's abilities
and creativity. A student could write summaries or narrations
of what they have read, copy passages from a book, visit
a web-site and write an outline about what they learned,
coloring pages, map work, drawings and sketches, and
even time-lines. The list is endless, but the results
are the same; the child has learned about something
important to him. He has discovered how to obtain information,
during the course of his study he has learned grammar,
spelling, and reading comprehension. And most importantly,
your student has something to show for all of his hard
work.
Topic-directed
studies are very similar to the student-directed studies
except that mom has probably chosen what will be studied.
A book is usually chosen as a spine. For instance, mom
has decided that the family will study ancient history
this year. She would choose a book such as Mystery of
History by Linda Hobar as the spine book. While allowing
for the individuality of her students, mom leads the
children in their studies by following the outline of
the book.
Finally,
there is the textbook approach. Many parents feel more
comfortable about homeschooling by sticking to a structured
curriculum. However, they see the advantages of the
notebooks to their children. These families will follow
the curriculum, but will allow some individuality of
their students by integrating notebooks into the history
and science subjects. These notebooks will probably
(not always) include the workbook pages along with additional
research that the child has done on his own. Perhaps
a child is really interested in something that has been
introduced in a textbook. The notebooks allow him to
follow that interest.
There
are many books, web-sites and groups dedicated to notebooks
and if you are new to this, it could seem overwhelming.
Just remember that there is no right way or wrong way
to get your children started on this exciting adventure.
All you need is a three-ring binder, some paper and
a pencil. That's it! Just have your explorers start
writing about what interests them. Your family will
find your niche and before long, you will have a bookcase
full of treasures authored by your favorite people!
:-)
Some
of my favorite resources:
Books:
Ignite the Fire by Terri Camp
Considering
God's Creation by Susan Mortimer
Websites:
**
Absolute Favorite is Homeschooling with Notebooks: www.notebooking.org
History
Scribe: www.historyscribe.com
Fueling
the fire (Terri Camp's site): www.ignitethefire.com/fuel.html
Home
Hearts: www.homehearts.com/Notebooking.html
Groups:
groups.yahoo.com/group/Notebooking
Written
by Candace Darr, Independent Consultant, Educational
Specialist
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me about The Story Teller; felt products for fun and
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