Examples of notebooking using blank books

Here are some examples of our John James Audubon notebook we put together when we covered him. Obviously, you can substitute this for any artist, musician or person of interest. I simply created a cover for the blank book I had purchased for this very activity.  I believe I got these from Bear Books, but you can also find blank books at Miller Pads and Paper.

These images were found at Wikipedia 
Not sure if the one on the right was-cannot recall now

These pages were from an Audubon notebook/lapbook package. I am not sure where I found that either but when I come across that source, I will be sure to post it.

These pages were put into a larger blank book from Pear Educational Products (site currently needs to be fixed-it links to the wrong place). Since most of the pages were printed, we simply glued them down on the pages. Some children would enjoy coloring on the direct pages or adding stickers too.  With them being blank, it allows for so many options to truly personalize them.

**for specific J.J. Audubon ideas see my post on that here.

Idea for storing pre-printed and pre-cut lapbook components

My friend gave me her stash of Creative Memories binder holders-these have a fold over of plastic to keep the goodies in the "envelope" part, and they have the 3 ring holes for a binder.  These make excellent holders for lapbook components.

To be ready for the part of the lesson I simply print out what I need to for our current study, cut them out (it's just easier that way) and store them there, pull out what we need per lesson and pop them back into another one when done, so we won't lose any of them.  Neat heh?  Only problem is I am not sure these particular holders are still available but I bet you can find something similar.  I will see if my research comes up with any good substitute, but check with your local CM associate or look for them at garage sales and such.  These are a little gem of goodness-

So the one on the right holds all the pre-cut and ready to work on components. Then I pull out some we'll be working on (laying on top of the pockets) and when those are done-we place them in another to await being placed in a lapbook.

                                  Ideas for a more detailed way to organize:

(this was penned prior to the clear pocket option noted above-

but it'll still offer a few more ideas for you)

I found the easiest way to have all the necessary mini-books, and lapbook components ready to go was to download/print the various things I wanted to include. I then cut them out and stored them in a Ziplock bag, along with the book (if we own it). I also printed off any notes or important info that I felt I would need for the study and label the whole package accordingly.

I also stored them in a clear, medium-sized tub for easy access. It allowed me to quickly find it without having to stop to print, cut out or find additional resources. When I had to do those tasks while during the school time, it only served to disrupt our day or lead to my precious student losing interest.

History and Artist Study Resources: Lewis and Clark & George Catlin

As we are moving through the Beautiful Feet Books Westward Expansion guide, we have come to an exciting point-the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery expedition.  I have been waiting for this part for some time.  I want to really ingrain the significance and well-coolness of this part of our history, so I am slowing way down to bring in several more resources, a DVD, arts and crafts and a great Lewis and Clark game to bring it all together. I reserved what I could not find at our library (use that feature peeps-great way to save money on books you'll only use once or twice) and pulled what I had on our shelves. The required text, Of Courage Undaunted: Across the Continent with Lewis and Clark by James Daugherty is serving as the backbone of the study but is not pictured because I didn't have it from the library when I posted.

I own some of these (What's the Deal, the top two Lewis and Clark 

activity books and the coloring book in the center pile ) 

 the others are from the library

So while we wait to get that book, we will read thru many of the excellent books I did get.  I will use some of the art/crafts books to cherry pick a few activities to add a bit more excitement to this study as well.  We will also be notebooking pages as we move thru the lessons (working on those right now, but so far I do have the Louisiana Purchase map from Homeschool in the Woods Olde World Style World and US maps printed, which he colored in while listening to me read one of the books. He also has T. Jefferson, Lewis, Clark and Sacajawea pics to cut out and place on his pages to write down their data for his history notebook too.

Because we have already covered Audubon, we won't be studying him as denoted in the study. We will, however, be covering George Catlin who did paint various Native American tribes/chiefs and village life a few years after L and C had explored the vast territory.  I found some real gems in regard to the colored prints of his work. I will have the boy go thru and find about 6 different ones he wants to do for his picture study, then get them printed and mounted on card stock for ease of reference. As a part of the Charlotte Mason way of studying artists, we'll put together an artist info page on George too.

image from Amazon.com

Wow-the price of this has gone up-I did not pay that amt. 

Do some research and look for a better deal.

And because I find games to be a great way to bring interest into a study-we'll be playing the Lewis and Clark game I purchased at the beginning of the year.  Once we have wrapped up the study, I will post a new ditty on the links/resources we used.

Paddle to the Sea book/map study

I bumped this post up from 2009 (wow-that was eons ago!) since I will now be covering this book study with my youngest.  I will come back and add in any new things we use for idea helps for you but for now-here are some great links.




I found this thru the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival-

Part one of Paddle to the Sea

A gal posted the You Tube link for the Paddle to the Sea movie. How fun is that?! I wish we had had this when I did the study with my daughter a couple years ago. It is broken into 3 parts (10 min. for first 2, about 8 for the last one) to enjoy. My son was mesmerized...and it was filmed in 1966-so there is nothing flashy about it!

This makes a great addition to your geography studies, esp. if you are doing Paddle to the Sea. And if you are looking for a great study guide for geography, I highly recommend the Beautiful Feet Geography Guide. It covers four of the classic Holling C. Holling books-Paddle to the Sea is one of em. BF Books has 4 great maps to go with the study and they make very nice keepsakes-I have done this with 3 of my 4 and when Buddy enters 4-5th grade, he'll do it as well.




In the right sidebar of You Tube, you will find the other 2 parts. Thanks to Established Work (can no longer find this blog-sorry) for posting this info.