Homeschool Notebooking:
Show and Tell

I have been hearing a lot about homeschool notebooking. It sounds interesting. I plan to try notebooking this coming year.

What Is It?

Homeschool notebooking is recording what your children learn in a notebook. It is a lot like scrapbooking or keeping a journal. Notebooking has a visual element and a written element. My children like to draw and write, so this will be an easy way to document what they learn.

Supplies

You will need a 3 ring notebook to keep your papers in. I like the notebooks with the clear plastic on the front and spine. Your children can decorate a page to place in the front. Place a name of the notebook on the spine.

If you don't have a 3 ring notebook you can make you own notebook by binding paper between a cover. In a pinch you could use any type of notebook that you have on hand.

You can use plain paper or download paper from the internet. Some people even use scrapbook paper. To keep your children's papers put them in sheet protectors.

After paper and a notebook not much is needed in the way of supplies. Your child might like colored pencils or markers to decorate his pages. Stickers would also be nice. Glue and scissors could also be used to add items to the page.

Keep your supplies ready available. Organize your supplies together in a notebook area.

Getting Started

After you have some supplies, decide what you want to include in your homeschool notebook. I will probably start small. We will be studying about plants next year. My children can make pages about how plants grow. They can draw the different parts of the plant and write a description.

Since this is the first time that my children have done a notebook, I will have to give some direction. I will have to walk them through the first page telling them what to include. I want to ask them to write about what they have learned about the subject.

After they have written what they know I want them to illustrate it. My children need to decide if they want to add a diagram, map, photograph or drawing. Then the page goes into their notebook. All in all my children need to make their notebook their own.

Every homeschool notebook is different. Each child will determine what is important from the lesson. Your child will determine what should be written and how the information should be illustrated.

Ideas for Notebooks

• Reading lists
• Diagrams
• Copywork
• Photographs
• Field trip records
• Time lines
• Poems
• Drawings
• Science lab reports
• Nature observations

A notebook would be good for any age group or ability. When your child uses a notebook for learning the pressure to preform is no longer present. He does not need to get 100% on a test. If your child has difficulty writing he can tell you what to write. If he has difficulty drawing he can find pictures in magazines or the internet.

Homeschool notebooking takes the place of workbooks and testing. A notebook allows your child to show and tell what he knows. If your child is proud of his work he will show it to others. Each time he shows his book he is reinforcing what he knows about the subject.

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