We have used notebooking for a couple of years now and I have had a ton of questions from homeschoolers, family, and friends alike, about the process of notebooking we use. I had a recent request from a special reader friend that set me to thinking, then inspired me, and then I began constructing!
I wanted to spend some time sharing the process, construction and practical methods that we using in notebooking and will spend the next month reviewing each notebook we use in our homeschool, subject by subject. Today we will be begin with Math, because it is my favorite a hugely important building block in academics. (P.S. There are some FREE math printables at the end of this post, so hang on!)
Notebooking in Math - this actually seems to be the subject that most people assume is the most difficult to notebook. I would have to submit that it is, in fact, the easiest! Here are a few ideas to use in Math Notebooking that may help to decode the process:
1. Let your child copy the problems & DON'T buy the worksheets! No matter what math curriculum you are using, notebooking will work for them all.
Example: We use a combination of "living math", Saxon Math, Life of Fred, Ray's Arithmetic and Teaching Textbooks. With ALL of these curriculums we employ the use of notebooking. My children simply take notes during their lesson, copy the problems by hand and then complete practice problems in their notebook. This process keeps them sharp and continuing to mentally process during each math lesson, and additionally (ha ha), it keeps us good stewards and NOT consumers. (The less worksheets the better!)
2. Use illustrations when completing math computations. The example shown above is showing how we use multiplication in the Bug's notebook.
She has used communative properties, addition properties, illustrations and arrays to complete her multiplication. IT'S NOT JUST DRILL AND KILL!
3. Have your child create a Math Office or Math Resource section in their Math Notebook. This helps them to govern themselves during the learning process and to go find the resources that they need in order to complete a math problem. Here are some great resources we have used in our notebooks:
- Times Tables Tricks printable
- Give, Save, Spend, Money Values, Math Symbols, and Fractions printables from Lapbook Lessons
- And here are more free Math Notebook printable from the Notebooking Fairy: Decimal Place Value, Factors and Multiples
4. Use notebooking to document and discuss great mathematicians and their contributions. Here is a great post on using the book Mathematicians Are People, Too by Jimmie discuss and discover more about the great mathematicians from history.
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| Photo Credit: jimmiehomeschoolmom via Flickr |
5. Create a Family Math Night scrapbook. This is a great way to show enthusiasm during the learning process. Take pictures during your Family Math Night and let your student notebook with scrap-booking and writing. They can do example problems showing what they learned during Family Math Night. They can also give written narratives explaining what they learned and what they enjoyed the most about the evening.
And here you go as promised. My friend needed help with her kiddo notebooking skip counting. Here are Skip Counting notebooking pages I made for her and am sharing with you. Enjoy!
My Skip Counting Graph NB Pages FINAL
Happy Notebooking!
Where we are at?
Homeschooling on the Cheap!
Here are some more homeschool resources we recommend:
- Notebooking Success is the #1 Notebook Resource! This teacher gives this eBook an A+
- No "falling" behind on Homeschool organizing! Get the Weekly Homeschool Planner today!
- Bright Ideas Press - The curriculum that Moms Love! Home of the Mystery of History.
Thank you for linking up this informative post in Homeschooling on the Cheap this past week! You were a top clicked post and I'm featuring you today! stop over and see your feature! I can't wait to see what you share again this week!
ReplyDeleteKelli
http://3boysandadog.com/deals/2012/homeschooling-on-the-cheap-september-6-2012/