Notebooking is our favorite way to learn.
Each week we take the Classical Conversations memory work and print applicable notebooking pages. I put them in Grant's memory work binder, and as the week progresses he completes pages that interest him.
(Remember, I do believe the MEMORY WORK IS ENOUGH... but for a child who needs a little more I've found notebooking to be perfect!)
We have notebooked through all three cycles and through all areas of the memory work. Honestly, the sky is the limit!
Notebooking not only helps a child memorize the material, but also lets them dig deeper in certain areas and have a tangible keepsake of their hard work.
Getting Started With Notebooking
If you are a beginner with notebooking, you might want to read Getting Started With Notebooking. This is a general primer that can help you get a quick start.
Our favorite notebooking resource is Notebooking Pages. We have a Lifetime Membership that enables us to download anything in their treasury --- and there are literally thousands upon thousands of pages!
What I love about notebooking is that you only need the following:
- notebooks (we prefer 3 ring binders)
- colored pencils, crayons, or your writing instruments of choice
- scissors
- page protectors (if you want to save your work for years to come)
- printer
Notebooking and Classical Conversations
I get so many questions about notebooking, so I want to explain exactly how we have done this over the past four years.
We've notebooked in TWO ways through our Classical Conversations journey.
Our first year we kept it very simple. I purchased a HUGE three ring binder and used dividers for each section of the memory work. Then, as we went through each week of CC we printed notebooking pages that interested us (Notebooking Pages has things organized and they are easy to find) and I let my son take the lead.
The best way to show you is with this video below -- I'm laughing because the video is three years old. Look how cute he was!
(In case you were wondering about the nifty little memory work book you see in the video, you can download and print this from CC Connected.)
The second way we notebooked was by creating a smaller notebook for geography, history, and science. I sat down the summer before CC started and searched for pages and printed them, then put them in the binders. Each day of the week my son would notebook through a different area of the memory work.
Here is an example of our history binder for Cycle 3:
Grant also loves to include his map tracings (have you read my post about Geography and CC?) and other goodies in the memory work binder.
The sky is the limit when you are notebooking!
Notebooking allows for a lot of structure, yet much creativity with the weekly memory work.
Less is More
Once I figured out that memory work really is enough, homeschool became much more simple.
We review the memory work each morning during our morning time and then Grant gets to work in his notebook.
Add a Saxon math lesson, quality read alouds, reading instruction (we recommend All About Reading!), and plenty of time for play.
I know I'm saying it a lot, but we are SO THANKFUL for Classical Conversations!
How do you reinforce the weekly memory work at home?
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