Such a Time As This

Faith, Hope, & Love

Simplify Your Homeschool with Notebooking Journals

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The first day of school came and I almost felt burnt out.

You know the feeling? More, more, more had to be done … if I could just fit this.one.extra.thing.in everything will be great.  

I had a to-do list a mile long and only held enough patience to fill a cup of coffee.  I was running on empty on our very first day.  How is that for a mom fail?

Thankfully, God gives us second chances and he offers us grace in moments like these.  So, with a deep breath I decided to do a little do-over and change up what I was doing.

I then decided that this Fall we were going to try something a little different in our homeschool.  I was sick of worksheets and workbooks.  I didn’t want dry boring facts.  I needed something that reflected the reason we are homeschooling.

I needed to remember that it was about the learning and the connecting.  It wasn’t about regurgitating knowledge but rather being able to form thoughts and to grasp the content.

 

I needed something that could simplify our homeschool day.  I wanted my kids to show me what they learned.  So, in the spirit of Charlotte Mason, we started notebook journaling.  My idea is based on that of oral narration.  (Oral narration is what happens after we read a chapter or a passage aloud – my kids tell me everything or anything about what they remember.)  It is a simple idea that holds a lot of depth.

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So everyday during school we start our morning off with Bible study and prayer.  We then go about our different subjects: reading, history, science, math, and spelling for one child.

 

After most subjects they have some written narration to do.  It is an open ended exercise that sometimes consist of them writing in a spiral notebook (I like 3 or 5 subject for this) or in a thick hardcover bound sketchbook.  I found the one in the picture at Michael’s before the beginning of the school year for $5 a piece.

simplify your homeschool

During the day I assign a little of copywork  (we haven’t quite gotten the hang of dictation, yet).  I usually assign the copywork from what the book they are reading independently.  They can choose anything that stood out to them from the passage.  I also sometimes assign poems that we are learning or Bible memory work.  We do some free-writing a few days a week and that always goes in their spiral notebook.  I also sometimes have the kids work on art projects, mapwork, or drawings of what we learned in history.  That all goes into their sketch journal.

simplify your homeschool

The mapwork is completed by tracing outline maps into their sketchbook – first onto tracing paper and then by coloring in the back of their paper with their pencil.  Then flipping it back over to their drawing and recopying the map.  They then label the country we are studying and usually I’ll ask them to draw the country’s flag and label important cities, rivers, oceans, etc.  This exercise, in my opinion, is better than filling in a map.  They are drawing and redrawing the outline of the map, the countries and other parts of the map so that they then begin to memorize where the places belong.

 

How to Simplify Your Homeschool Day

I have found this to be the number one thing that simplifies our school day.  It’s a win-win for all of us:

  • The kids know what is expected of them
  • They are able to be creative
  • I can tell if they are grasping what is being taught
  • They aren’t looking for tons of binders and workbooks
  • No losing random sheets of paper
  • A beautiful creation at the end of the semester
 This is such an uncomplicated system.  You could really start homeschooling tomorrow with these 5 things, a math curriculum and a public library card.  The awesome thing about this system is that it works for so many different types of curriculum.  We are using a history and geography curriculum to study Africa but we are using it with these notebooking journals.
 

Here’s What You Need:

 

 

This is seriously the most awesome way to simplify your homeschool.  Each kid has two books – a spiral notebook and a sketchbook.  No more loose leaf paper flying in the wind.  No more piles and piles of bulky, boring workbooks.
No more losing their work.
And they are learning.  
They are growing.
They are owning their work.
They aren’t stressed out and either is their mom.  You want to know the best part?
The best part is you can look back through the pages at the end of the year and see your child’s mind and your child’s heart.

 

 

What helps you simplify your homeschool day? Leave a comment and let me know!

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Comments

  1. We don’t homeschool but this is a great post for those who do. Organizing notebooks and journals is important for all students! We’ve really been working on it with our third grader.

  2. I found myself screaming YESSS in my head the whole time reading this! Love the use of art to fully grasp a concept and that you are encouraging them to think outside A B or C answers,m!

  3. What a great idea for making homeschooling less stressful! I feel it should be that way, so it allows for the children to be more receptive to learning. We didn’t home-school our children, but I could recommend this to some people I know that do home school their kids.

  4. You’re completely right about how it is more important to engage the children into learning and connecting because that it makes an impact. They are more successful at remembering when children are engaged. Your children have crafted such beautiful drawings, very talented!

  5. This is such a great post. My son loves to write and draw. I am also considering switching him to homeschooling. I enjoyed reaching this post, thanks.

  6. Looks like a great idea for homeschooling parents. Love seeing all the artwork!! Also, how wonderful that you start the day with devotions with the kids!

  7. We are in our first year of homeschooling. I am collecting all the resources and ideas I can. While we are just in preschool, I see us using notebooking journals when he’s older.

    • Oh preschool is so much fun! With my 6 year old we do a version of this but I help him write (and he draws his pictures). I’ll have to write about that next week. 🙂

    • Preschool is so much fun! With our 6 year old we use a version of these notebooks but I write or scribe for him and then he draws a picture to go along with the theme. I’ll post about that next week. 🙂

  9. What a great resource for homeschooling families. I know you probably hear this a lot but I could never imagine homeschooling. I know how much work it is for you as the mom/instructor. Finding great ways to really help with organizing the homeschool routine must be helpful

    • It is a lot of work but it is so rewarding! The longer we’ve done it the more I love teaching (and learning right along with the kids!)…

  10. We do not homeschool yet but it is becoming more of a possibility. I love the whole idea of of Notebook journals. I think this would also help my children deal with the educational anxiety they have. They are discussing in to making our high school a mega school. I am NOT HAPPY about that!

    • I’m sorry about your highschool … but if you do decide to homeschool, let me know if you have questions on curriculum! It really is a great option!

  12. What a great approach to studying – so much better than the standard curriculum. It is also for sure does a couple different things – keeps things fresh and not boring yet delivers the knowledge

  13. Hi. I am wondering how old your kids are that are doing this system. Thanks.

  14. Hi there! I love this idea. I know this post is a couple years old but I had a couple questions—do these sketchbooks open flat? My boys are picky about that. Do you paste the writing into the sketchbook? Thanks!

    • They open fairly flat — however, if you are concerned, I would use a spiral bound book. Also, yes, I paste their writing in!

  15. Could you please clarify: Does all written work go into the spiral notebook and all drawn work into the sketchbook, regardless of subjects? I do like how this would consolidate resources — loose leaf papers are my nemesis! I suppose this would make for rather random review at the end of the year, e.g., a page of History narration followed by a page of Science narration. Am I understanding correctly?

    Do your children narrate (written or oral) after each subject?

    After reading through the posts in your Curriculum category, I’m also curious if you’re still utilizing HOD in whole or part, or if you’ve gone another route.

    Thank you. 🙂

    • Hi! Yes — We used a notebook (spiral bound) and a sketchbook. However, the next year we used one sketch hbook and glued lined paper in, so that for each kid a sketchbook would last one semester. It worked very well and it was a nice review of the year.

      We have taken a break from HOD. We are currently streamlining with Master Books. I love HOD but I was unsure how to find time to do 4 different levels (we have kids in 4 different grades currently) and I’m enjoying using a block schedule for my high schooler.

      I hope that helps, sorry for the late response.

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