In my first post about Notebooking and Lapbooking, I explained that I was ‘scared’ to start. WHY? Because I was afraid I would fail…before I even started.
I needed a “WHY” to get started.
Why should we notebook? What benefits does it have?
Well, I can point you in 100 different directions and recommend you read other people’s books, eBooks, (that’s what I did…I read, a lot…and I’m still reading…and I recommend you do, too)….but, for now, I want to keep this simple.
Notebooking provides you with an amazing opportunity to combine subjects, allow your children ample opportunity to be creative and learn to write without an oppressive atmosphere. To top it off, their memory retention will increase..in ways you can not imagine!
OK…I know…you might be scratching your head: combine subjects? HOLD the phones….how and why?
Let’s take a look at History – that is a favorite subject in our home.
Before I begin reading from one of our living books, I will skim through it, identify certain aspects about the book:
- What new words does the book introduce
- who are the main characters
- what is the time-frame
- are geographical locations mentioned (ie: country, state, mountains, lakes, etc)
- anything that is ‘new’
And I begin a quick ten minute search….
I look for previously made notebooking pages for those topics (if you remember, my son prefers lapbooking mixed with notebooking, while my daughter prefers lapbooking, I will also include a search for lapbooking materials for the same concepts.)
When my search is complete….I have a compilation of many different ways to help my children learn. (If I did not find what I wanted, I begin creating something I want them to use).
As I sit and read, they listen. They can doodle, draw, build with Lego’s, color or begin writing on the pages I have printed and/or created for them. (I do ask that they write down words they do not understand, I’ll ask them to write down a place such as a town or geographical location such as a bog so that we can research those later)
After reading for about 20-30 minutes, we break and then….comes the fun part of writing down what we have learned. We begin the process of notebooking. The children may decide to find the definitions for the new words they wrote down. We may begin a nature study based on a new geographical location (like a bog) or we may even have a new animal or plant to discover….eventually, we tie it all together. The historical figure, the physical location, nature studies, new words….and mixed in all of that, we have been learning how to write with proper grammar (all based on the level of skill for each individual child).
It isn’t always easy. It’s an old way of learning…..but, it’s new to many of us.
I have fallen in love with it…and thank Cindy Rushton for her eBook Let’s Try Notebooking and Jimmie for her eBook: Notebooking Success.
Do you use notebooking/lapbooking in your homeschool? If not, are you ready to begin?
About Rebecca Brandt
Thanks for the encouragement!
Jasmine, We all need encouragement, don’t we! Please let me know if I can do anything to help you.
Great encouragement! Do you have any suggestions for notebooking with older students?
Jean, I do not have ‘older’ students per se…. my best advice, is if you have not started notebooking, just start. If you can let me know the ages and any specific questions, I can provide more specific answers.
My daughter is 12 yrs old and finishing up 6th grade. We just started homeschooling in November of 2011. I did loads of research on curriculums, methods and styles of homeschooling. I read about Notebooking & Lapbooking and was intrigued, so we gave it a shot. It is the main method of our homeschooling. We just adjusted the lapbooking to my daughters grade level, and we notebook everything, even Math. I think it is an excellent proponent and think everyone should notebook/lapbook.
The possibilities are endless. There are tons of sites that are geared toward both methods. You can find loads of printables for free. I’m not sure if this is allowed, but you can email me at kimmiesonly if you’d like to know more or would like ideas. I say give it a try. You have nothing to lose, but everything to gain.
we are new to notebooking as of this year – I’ve always done some form of it – but it was my own “thang” finally found the proper resources through jimmies notebooking fairy and notebooking pages dot com – makes my life much easier than searching all around the web for what we need and piecing it all together- now we are real notebookers!
We’re big fans of notebooking – we tried it a few years back and the benefits were apparent after one term with my daughter who is mildly dyslexic. We all love the appeal of a well-done notebook, too, and revisit them to enjoy.
Rebecca, I’ve been reading through your series here as a part of my own research into notebooking…it’s a great series, and I look forward to keeping up with it! Thanks, especially, for the link to the Cindy Rushton ebook. I hadn’t come across that yet, and I look forward to reading it
I love how you talk about combining the elements of lapbooking and notebooking.