Animal Kingdom - Science Notebooking Pages

This post contains one affiliate link to a book that we are using this year.

Download Animal Kingdom Notebooking Pages

New for us this year is a formal study of science.  In years past, we have just casually read living nature books and made nature journals, but this year science is scheduled in twice a week.

Taking the advice of The Well Trained Mind, we are going through the Kingfisher First Encyclopedia of Animals.  A big goal of mine this year is to be more organized and prepared, so I've prepared notebooks for most of our subjects (using my beloved simple spiral binder).

One of these notebooks is for science.  I created a simple and versatile two-page spread that my son will fill out each time we learn about a new animal.  I printed out a bunch of these, back-to back, and bound them together in a spiral notebook.  You could do the same, or simply print out one to go along with what you are learning about.

Each page gives your child room to:

• Write what animal they are learning about
• Write a short narration about what they have learned
• Draw or write where the animal lives
• Color on a map where the animal lives
• Fill in a food chain for the animal (what it eats and what eats it)
• Draw, diagram, paste a picture, or write any other information (3 squares)

Included in the download are instructions and  pages for your child to list each animal under the group it belongs in (mammals, birds, reptiles, etc.).   This is just for if you are creating a full notebook like I did.  I placed these pages in the front to add to each time to learn about a new animal.

Download Animal Kingdom Notebooking Pages

The Trojan Horse Book Report Pages

We've been studying Ancient Greece (using Veritas Press, which I'm LOVING!) and we are currently reading The Trojan Horse by: Emily Little (affiliate link).  My son loves reading the story, which really makes the legend of the Trojan Horse come alive.

When I read any book to my son, or when he reads to himself, I always like to make sure that he is really listening and comprehending.  I have typically done this through oral narration, but as his writing skills are increasing, I like to add in some written narration.

• One page for each chapter  

• Picture box to draw a picture about the chapter

• Comprehension question with lines to write the answer

I love having my son use these type of pages because it lets me quickly assess his spelling and grammar.  I can give him simple pointers or corrections while he proudly shows me his work.  History lesson and English lesson in one, without double the work!

Please print these to use yourself, and feel free to share this page so others can enjoy as well!

Download the Trojan Horse Book Report/Notebooking Pages

Simple Spiral Binding Machine - My New Favorite Tool

I am absolutely in love with a tool I got a few months ago.  It's a spiral binding machine.  Seriously, I love it.  I've been going a little crazy and binding everything in site!

I am not being compensated in any way for telling you about this (although these are amazon affiliate links, so I could potentially make about 50 cents if you buy it ).  I bought the Carl Brands Ring Binding System with my own money and I want to tell you about it because I LOVE it (oh, did I already say that?!)

It all started when I got the Young Reader curriculum CD from Heritage History.  I love using living books for teaching my kids, and love the clean formatting that Heritage History brings to these old books.  The only problem is that they are best used in ebook format.  They can also be printed out, but I found myself printing out pages and then misplacing them.  I knew I wanted to make these wonderful stories into books, but I didn't know the best way to do it.  I looked into many different forms of book binding, and finally found the Carl Brands Ring Binding System.   At less than $20, it was a perfect match between price and a great final product!

What kind of things can you bind?

Since I got the binding system, I've gone a little book-binding-crazy!  I've been making books out of just about anything I can get my hands on =)  Here are some of the books I've put together:

• Multiple Heritage History selections
• History lesson plans from Simply Charlotte Mason
• Notebooking Pages along with copywork pages for our Veritas Press Ancient Greece and Rome studies
• Song School Latin workbook pages (just for fun!)
• A Nature Journal
• A Beginning Writing Notebook
• A Story Journal (for simple book reports)
• and more!

How the Binding Machine Works

When I was trying to figure out which binding system to go with, something I really wanted was to see them in action to help me decide.  I thought it might be helpful for you to see how this spiral binding machine works.  I'm not great with videos, but hopefully these will help you get a feel for how it works in case you are looking to make some books too!

This first video is a close up of how the binder actually works:




This second video is so you can get an idea of the whole process and how long it takes to put a small book together:

 Highlights of the binder:

• punches holes into the paper 
• you turn the coil through the holes to make the book
• punch up to 5 pages at a time
• punch any size paper (up to 12 inches)
• punch locks into the strip to ensure perfectly placed holes
• coils come in many sizes to accommodate different book thicknesses

 
If you are looking for a way to preserve your children's work, make notebooks for schoolwork, or make physical books out of ebooks (and not break the bank!) I encourage you to give the Carl Brands Ring Binding System  a try!  Let me know if you have any questions and I can try to help you figure out if it would suit your needs.

Happy Book Binding!

Help Your Child Capture the Story: First Grade Book Report Pages

This post may contain an affiliate link to a product that I love!

A few weeks ago I shared with you how I made my daughter's writing notebook, and today I want to show you a book I made for my son!  I'm a little obsessed with book binding right now, using my new favorite tool =)

My 4 year old son is a great little reader, but he often lacks confidence in his abilities.  When I have him read to me for part of his school time, he does great, and he often sits and looks at books on his own, but I never really know if he is reading them or just looking at the pictures.  Since he doesn't nap anymore, I give him quiet time where he can read and rest for an hour or so.  I wanted to come up with a way to make sure that he was actually reading (and not just looking at) the books for at least some of this time.  So, I decided to make him a handy dandy book! 

Trevor's Story Journal

I created two lined pages (you can get them for free at Classical Copywork), one with just lines and the other with lines and a pictures box.  I printed them back to back and put them together in a book.  You would not have to bind them, but I just wanted an excuse to use my book binder again!

I made a personalized cover with lines to record the books that he completes.  My desire for this notebook is for him to read early reader chapter books, which usually have about 4 chapters in them.  Each time he completes a book, I write it down.

On the first page, he writes down any words he does not know how to read.  You could also have your child record any words that they do not know the meaning to, any questions they have about what they read, etc.  On the second page, he draws a picture of something that happened in the chapter and then writes a sentence summarizing the chapter.  Keep in mind that he is four years old.  I am not expecting great drawings (but it's good practice because he doesn't draw on his own very often) or wonderful sentences.  I am just looking to see that he remembers something about what he read and that grows in his ability to form good, complete thoughts.  I love keeping these kind of things in a notebook because it's so easy to look back and see progress!

Benefits of a Book Report

When I take a look at this after he does it, it is easy for me to see which words he is struggling with reading, which words he is struggling to spell, if he is remembering to capitalize sentences and end them with periods, etc.

For example, in the picture above, he had read chapter 1 from Tigger Comes to the Forest.  Here is what I learned from looking at his 'book report.'

• He needs help spelling the words:
• unwind
• ceiling

• He needs more practice spelling the words:
• wanted
• check
• someone
• stolen
• honey

• He needs to be reminded about:
• capitalizing the beginning of sentences (and not the beginning of a new line)
• putting a period at the end of sentences

•  He is doing well at:
• making his letters the correct size for the line
• putting spaces between his words
• summarizing a part of a story

In case you couldn't read it from the picture (I really need a better camera!) here is what he wrote:

Once upon a time Pooh Was in bed he wantid to chec to see if samwan had stolin his hane.

Here is a close up of another page he has done (after reading Gus and Grandpa and the Two Wheeled Bike):

Gus rod his old old bic then he got a noo bic  it wus shiny Gren.  he crasht it.

He does not do this every day during rest time, but often he does.  He is always so proud to come and show me what he drew and read me what he wrote!  I love that it is an aspect of school that he can do independently and without really even feeling like 'school.'

Don't forget!  You can download these pages for free at Classical Copywork.

enJoy Movies Your Way Winners!

Did you see my review of enJoy Movies Your Way last week?  Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway for a 2-month subscription!  This is a product that can really let families be able to enjoy entertainment together again, and I'm excited that many of you are ready to do that!  Are you ready to hear who won?

Audrey S.

Michelle C.

Mary P.

Trisha G.

Danielle M.

Congrats ladies!  I hope you enjoy turning your movies into exactly what you want them to be for your families!  (The winners have been emailed.)

How can you get enJoy Movies Your Way?

If you didn't win, don't worry because enJoy Movies Your Way is so reasonably priced that you can begin editing your DVDs right away without breaking the bank =)  Take a look at all the details of their Subscription Plans, but here is the gist of it:

• Standard Subscription - $2/month or $17/year
• Premium Subscription - $3/month or $22/year

If you have any questions, please let me know or check out my review!

Exodus Notebooking Pages

Download Exodus Notebooking Pages

We have been studying Ancient History this year.  So far we have made it through Genesis and Exodus, studying the Ancient Sumerians and Ancient Egyptians as we went.  I am excited to be headed to the book of Joshua now, and beginning to study Ancient Greece!

Most days I assign a copywork page to my son, but sometimes I switch things up by doing some other sort of writing assignment.  (He is still very young and I know that he can only handle one major writing task per day, though I see him increasing his abilities all the time!)  One of the things I had him do some days was a notebooking page.

I love notebooking pages because they let your child express what they have learned creatively and without feeling like they are being tested.  When my son does copywork, I make sure that everything is copied correctly, but with pages like these I let him work without any criticism or critique.  I really just want to see if he has absorbed anything that I have read =)

I created these pages (because that's how I roll) as we went along in our studies, and I wanted to share them with you before I moved on and forgot about them!

There are three pages, each with a picture, lines to write, and a box to draw a picture in.  You could assign your child something particular to write and draw, or let them retell what they have learned in whatever way they wish.

Pages Include:

• The Nile River
• Baby Moses in the Nile
• Moses and the Burning Bush

These are just pages that I created when I felt like assigning a notebooking page to my son.  I was not trying to capture each event in the book of Exodus, but if this is something that you would enjoy, I would love to make more for you!  Please let me know if these are a benefit to your family!

Download Exodus Notebooking Pages