Writing work can take many forms in the hoemschool classroom. You can have your homeschool students fill out worksheets based on what they have just been taught, or you could introduce them to Notebooking. This is an interesting concept which tends to involve the homeschool students more.
What is Notebooking?
In a nutshell, this is getting your homeschool student to write down in a notebook exactly what they understood in their lesson. First you have them orally narrate what it is they picked up. This helps them to outline what was taught. Then you give them time to write it down. They can illustrate it, use different color codes for different aspects, and make it their own creative project. The older children may require less help and could do different notebooks for different subjects. The younger ones may just do an occasional notebooking project.
Advantages of Notebooking
Since the homeschool student invests so much time on the lesson recreating what was taught, they are much more likely to remember everything. Also they get an opportunity to show off their creative skills. This makes them more involved in the lesson. They may look up extra details to add to their notebooking and may end up doing more research on the lesson by themselves. Plus they learn how to showcase what they know in an interesting manner. They stay motivated to learn more and to find new ways to express what they have picked up.
How to Start Notebooking
Begin by getting a notebook! One that is only for the use of your homeschool student for notebooking. They can do all subjects in the same one initially. Next get them to speak up about what they understood and make an outline for them. They can then use this outline to write down their thoughts in the notebook. Let them give the basic facts followed by their opinion. This allows them to think for themselves and form original thoughts. Plus the decorating aspect allows them to indulge their creativity. Help them find and use free resources online to improve the quality of their notebooking project.
