Notebooking?

What is Notebooking?

Notebooking is essentially a scrapbook where your child creates pages using his
lessons. It's an expression of their learning in a scrapbook format were they can add essays, illustrations, photos, maps, quotes, poetry, scripture or whatever they feel impressed to add. Many homeschool families have found notebooking to be a breathe of fresh air compared to the old workbook route. Your child will write his own book rather than filling in the blanks.

What can I notebook?

Just about anything you can think of! Here's a few ideas....copywork, dictation, history, timelines, science, nature journals, personal journal, scripture study, writing assignments, vocabulary, grammar, spelling.... anything at all!!! The sky is the limit when it comes to notebooking!

Where do I find the resources I need to create a notebook page?

There is a vast amount of information all around us. You could use the internet, library,
field trips, nature, curriculum you have laying around, books you've collected, scripture,
atlases... The list goes on and on. There are so many learning opportunities all around
us and they can all be added to a notebook.

What do I need to get started?

The basics would include the following...

1. A three ring binder with page dividers or
several binders, one for each subject.

2. Clear page protectors, for your finished
pages.

3. Scissors, glue, colored pencils, markers,
paints, and/or crayons, colored paper (for
embellishing), and some way of storing it
all.

If you want to get really elaborate you could pick up stickers, stencils, or any scrapbooking
type of embellishment.

For extra "perks", but in no way necessary, you could consider the following...

Some homeschoolers have invested in binding machines such as the ProClick.
I purchased mine from Amazon for about $50. I have found it to be a very good
investment. The spines for the ProClick open and close which allows your child to
continue to add to there notebooks day after day. The only downfall about the ProClick
is that the largest spine they offer only holds 85 pages. However, I'm still very happy with it.

Another thing you could purchase is a laminator to help preserve their pages or just for the covers of their books. I also invested in one of these. There are several types to choose from, I chose to purchase a cold laminator from 3M which I've have for several years.

How do I organized the supplies needed for notebooking?

You could use anything from an old shoe box to a hutch. What I use are the plastic drawer
storage bins you would find at Walmart. They have several sizes, they stack nicely and they are very affordable. You can store them in a closet or in plain site. I also make sure to label
all the drawers so the kids know where everything belongs. I keep mine on bookshelves in my schoolroom. We also scrapbook, so all the supplies are together in one area.

If my kids are working on a page for more than a day or more we keep them in pocket folders. Each child has a folder clearly labeled with their name where he keeps his unfinished pages. You can purchase these folders in different colors, so each of my kids has their own color. When they complete the pages they get punched with the ProClick and placed in their notebook.