Homeschool Guest - Getting Started With Notebooking
Wednesday, June 20, 2012 at 5:00AM 
I love Wednesday because it means I get to have another Homeschool Guest here! So far, six guests have shared their homeschools and hearts with you.
This blog is a place where I LEARN daily. That is the biggest blessing in blogging... the friendships I make and ideas I glean.
Today's Homeschool Guest is Jimmie... she is the homeschool notebooking expert and I'm so happy she will share an introduction to notebooking with you today!
When you are new to a field its jargon can be intimidating. But homeschool notebooking should not be scary because getting started is not a difficult venture. Here are the steps to take:
Select a Lesson for Your Notebooking
Look at your weekly lesson plans and choose an area that would lend itself well to notebooking. You may be thinking, "I have never done this! I have no idea what will mesh with notebooking!" In that case, I suggest you begin with either science or history. Those topics normally are easy to both write about and illustrate.
Then look at your weekly plans. Choose a day that introduces and completes a single idea. It might be a famous individual or a single historic event. Or in the case of science it may be a lesson about a chemical process or an animal.
Zero in on that one day's science or history lesson . Now you have your notebooking target.
Carry Out Your Lesson as Normal
Go ahead and teach as you normally would whether it's having your child read silently or you reading outloud. If it is a video or a hands-on experiment, that will work too. Don't change your normal homeschool plans for the sake of notebooking.
The only change you need to make is at the start of the lesson. Cue your children that at the end of the lesson you are going to have them retell the lesson on a notebooking page. If they look confused, don't worry. Tell them it will be easy once they get to that point.
Have Your Child Narrate Orally
Now that the lesson is over, ask your child to tell you back what he learned. You listen and probe for more details if you feel the narration is not thorough enough.
While your child is narrating, you need to make some choices. Eventually you are going to ask your child to write down what he just explained outloud. So you may want to take outline notes of what your child says. Or you may prefer to write key words, like a word bank. Some of you may even serve as a scribe for the child and write down exactly what she ways.
Write it Down
You don't need anything fancy here. A plain piece of notebook or copy paper will work. But you can also print out some of generic notebooking templates if you desire.
Ask your child to write down what he just explained. You can offer your outline or word bank as helps. If you have tips for things like capitalization or spelling, make mention of them, but don't stress the child out. The main point is to get her ideas down on paper. There will be mistakes, so use a pencil. This doesn't have to be perfect. And the oral narration should be a good "practice" for the written work.
Gauge the length by the age of your child. Some children may write only a sentecne. Others will write multiple paragraphs.
Illustrate the Notebook Page
Reserve part of the paper for an illustration of the lesson. If your child is crafty, set him loose with markers. But if your child despises drawing, offer some alternatives such as an image printed out, a picture photocopied from a book, or a coloring page. Diagrams and graphic organizers work here too. And stick men are absolutely acceptable. The point is to illustrate the lesson not to create a work of art.
Check it and Store it
Now your page is complete. Check it for glaring errors and make minor corrections. Then hole punch your page or slip it into a page protector for safe keeping in three ring binder. Let your child personalize her notebooks and take responsibility for making covers and dividers. Even if they are very simple, the idea is to teach organizational skills.
Repeat the Process Again
To use notebooking another day, simply repeat this process. To prevent falling into a notebooking rut, take a look at the list of 50 things you can put into a notebook.
If you buy the complete guide to notebooking, Notebooking Success, this lists of 50 things is included as a bonus printable that can go straight into your mom notebook. After your children have learned how to make the basic noteooking page with written text and an illustration, let them select some new formats for their pages. There are many different ways to add variety to your pages: puzzles, paper dolls, flashcards, minibooks, postcards, photographs, brochures, stamps, paper crafts, coints, etc...
Notebooking pages can become an enjoyable part of your homeschool routine where children narrate their lessons, practice writing, adn expres creativity. As a bonus, when you are done, you have a portfolio of your work that documents all you learned.
See? Wasn't that easy? Getting started with notebooking is truly simple. Start small and see if notebooking is a good fit for your homeschool.
Jimmie Lanley is the mother of one creative teenaged daughter. Living abroad in China necessitated the original choice to homeschool. But now that she and her family are back in Tennessee, Jimmie can't imagine any other way to educate her middle schooler. Jimmie's Collage is where she blogs about her Charlotte Mason styled homeschool. In the early years, Jimmie's lesson plans were full of hands-on activities and lapbooks. As the years passed, she began using more and more notebooking and became so passionate about the method that she created her second blog, The Notebooking Fairy. That site features free notebooking printables and how-tos plus the affordable eBook guide Notebooking Success.
Our favorite Notebooking Resource:
Reader Comments (63)
Jimmie, I wish I had had this three years ago! What a blessing this post will be for many Moms starting (or already using) notebooking!
My son is just mastering his letters and beginning on sight words so we haven't started full out notebooking yet, though there have been times I've asked him to draw a picture about what we've learned in his notebook. Usually he'll draw about nature.
We do not notebook in our homeschool, YET! I am excited to add this to our homeschool next year and have been devouring Jimmie's blog lately looking for tips. I would love to win her e-book :)
We don't notebook right now but hope to soon!
We have used notebooking some in the past, and lately I've been talking with my girls about using it more. I am feeling like it could work very well for us to get into more of a routine of adding to the girls notebooks. I just bought your ebook the other day, Jimmie, and I spent time last night reading it through. Thanks for collecting so much helpful advice in one spot and helping me to see ways we can incorporate notebooking into our learning :)
really appreciate this - as easy as it is printing off printables, the actual hand holding is what I need. Especially after this week and realizing we had TALKED about so much great stuff - but none of it was written down !! (forehead slap)
I've not tried notebooking yet, but I've been interested in it for a long time!
We started notebooking a little last year & are gearing up for the big plunge this year!
We just began notebooking and I plan to use it extensively next year for science and history. I can't wait!
We are just starting to notebook and will be using it extensively for science and social studies when we start again after our summer break. I would love to win the copy of Jimmie's book!
Our most successful notebook pages are for history, but I have a boy who always wants to make his pictures "silly" which I find very distracting to the history content. So far, I have let him enjoy himself, but for 5th grade next year, I'm wondering if I should require more serious illustrations? For this reason, I haven't been fully satisfied with notebooking, although I want to keep trying.
I really enjoy doing lapbooks with my children and with my students when I taught 2nd grade. I tried notebooking on a long GA history unit when I was a teacher but for some reason couldn't wrap my mind around the process as easily as I could lapbooking. So, for that reason, we haven't done much more than dabbling in it in our homeschool. This could be what we need to make that transition.
We kinda do. My 10 year old likes to, but not the way I think my 1st grade daughter is going to get into it! It may be soemthing with boys and girls. We use it for science and reading. And states. And history. Oh well I guess a lot! So we will se what this year bring us! Jimmie does a great got with notebooking!
We've just started notebooking- have been doing it for a year. Our main notebook is a US geography one, and my impetus for beginning it was to allow all 4 of my children to do a project and learn together but each be invested in the finished product. They have loved doing it, and I am planning a lot more notebooking next year!
We use notebooking across the board in our homeschool. History, science, geography, literature. It has quickly become a mainstay in our homeschool.
We unofficially do a little notebooking, but would like to do more!
We're starting our homeschooling journey this fall and are excited to start note booking!
This spring was the first time we tried notebooking with history and we loved it. We are looking to get more creative with it and buying and reading Jimmie's Notebooking Success book is on my summer to-do list! I would love to win a copy!
I've been dabbling in notebooking with my kids. We only just started homeschooling (pulled them out of public school the first week of April). I think this would be a great means of improving my children's ability to communicate with written words and independent thoughts. I have come to realize the school system didn't really put any value in teaching children either of those skills.
Math notebooking has worked out for my son. He remembers concepts better when he makes a notebook page for his math journal. When a concept has been forgotten, he goes back to his journal.
What a great post! I must admit, I've not been able to get into the notebooking habit. This post has made the process so much clearer and easier to understand. This is GREAT! Thank you! =)
We use notebooking mostly for science and history, but have started to branch out thanks to Jimmie's inspiration and great printables on her Notebooking Fairy blog.
Jimmie,
I've just started using notebooking with my four year old. It's still pretty relaxed, like my homeschool style, but she lives it! Plus, with our state laws, I'll have a portfolio for her, which will enable her to get out of standardized testing when the time comes. Love your work!
Hey, as a homeschooling mum, this article was inspirational as notebooking always sounded so laborious. But having just gotten back from a big trip, I've been hoping for a way for the two kids to sort of recap all they did and experienced in a journal of their own making...this gives me the confidence to start simple and see if they get into it.
Thanks for the encouragement, and obviously, would love to win the ebook! :)
I do not notebook yet but am looking at the idea more and more to do with my son.