Homeschool Methods
In our homeschool next year, we will have a seventh grader, a fourth grader, a first grader and a Kindergargener. For the first time I will be actually planning work for all four of my kiddos, and I would be lying if I said I’m not at all worried about fitting it all in. Over the past seven years, our homeschool method has changed and evolved into something only vaguely resembling that of the heavily Classical beginning of our journey.
As every homeschool mom knows, methods must shift as we learn who our children are: their strengths and weaknesses, their learning styles and challenges, their personalities and interests. My children are all unique, and so I cannot (must not) teach them in the same manner. At the same time, teaching four at once in various levels is difficult to say the least.
This past year was the first time that I relaxed and decided that I didn’t have a “method”. We are now firmly in the eclectic mindset, and I see the value in flexible learning. It was also the first year we worked on a subject together– a US Geography notebook– and we used notebooking pages from around the web. The children loved making that notebook together! So when I was introduced to Notebooking Pages, I knew that the site and its resources would become a staple in our coming year.
Notebooking is a technique that can be used with any homeschooling style, for any subject, and with any age. The thousands of styles and subjects that can be found at Notebooking Pages are of an amazing quality and so varied! We have recently used astronomy pages as we were studying the planets and basic lined pages to chronicle our field trips. My children love having the concrete, decorative pages, and a finite amount of lines to use, to complete their work, and I love that I can use this technique with all of the children, no matter their age.
Most exciting of all is the new web-based app that is rolling out in the next week or two. The Notebooking Publisher will now allow members to create and customize their own pages. Their children can add photos and clip art of their choice, type out their work and then change the font and size of their text, and then save to the computer. My older two, who have been honing their typing skills, will be so excited to use this option instead of writing out their pages by hand.
Notebooking Pages Membership Discount
Notebooking Pages is celebrating its 6th anniversary, which has prompted them to give a huge discount on their Treasury Membership. Membership, only until Monday night, May 28th, which is normally $75.00 for the year, is marked down to $56.21, and they are tossing in three extra months for free! Membership includes all of the pages on the site, and any new pages added throughout your membership year, plus the new Notebooking Publisher.
We will be using our membership all the time in the coming year. As you are planning your year, I hope you will find the value in Notebooking Pages as well!
This post contains affiliate links. My opinions of this product are my own. I love it!
