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Angel
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| Posted: April 15 2007 at 10:01am | IP Logged
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I'm having a little trouble with my soon-to-be-8 yo old dd. She loves art and crafts and is constantly drawing and writing up little things about her areas of interest. (Currently birds and using A Catholic How to Draw.) So I thought that she would like putting together a couple of notebooks -- or at least a booklet or lapbook -- about birds and for her First Holy Communion. I showed her some pictures online of FHC notebooks and she *seemed* excited about it.
But if I put working on either of these projects on our list of activities to choose from every day, she will completely avoid them and look glum at the prospect of working on them. I'm *trying* to choose projects based on what she likes, but as soon as it's my idea, she doesn't want anything to do with it. She has pictures from A Catholic How to Draw *all over* her walls right now, but if I say, "Let's pick a picture from A Catholic How to Draw to draw for your notebook," she sighs and looks less than enthused.
After seeing so many beautiful notebooks, lapbooks, etc. online, I wonder: do any of you have this problem or do your children leap at the chance to do a notebook?  I have no idea what's going on, but I guess maybe I am doomed to frantically trying to collect all the artwork, etc from all over the house so *I* can put it in a notebook and save it.
Anyway, just wondering. I guess she doesn't want my interference, and I'll probably stop trying to suggest paper projects for her at all. This makes *me* a little glum. Maybe I should start my own notebook instead? 
--Angela
Three Plus Two
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JennyMaine
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| Posted: April 15 2007 at 12:12pm | IP Logged
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I commend you for trying to use her own talents and interests in the learning process. But I'm wondering if she feels like you're trying to turn her art into yet another lesson? I think sometimes homeschooled kids feel like everytime they find an interest, mom rushes in and turns it into a school moment. Just food for thought.
I suggest that if you want her to do a FHC notebook, that you don't make it optional. Simply say that it is time to work on the notebook. Even if she doesn't seem warm to the idea at the time, she'll probably get into it as she works. As long as she knows it is her notebook for her own edification, not something that is going to be shown off to others. If she feels she has to live up to the examples you showed her, she might not want to try. KWIM?
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--JennyMaine, Mom to Catherine (17) and Sam (15) "The countenance is a reflection of the soul. You should always have a calm and serene countenance." -- Therese of Lisieux
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: April 15 2007 at 12:13pm | IP Logged
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Angel wrote:
Maybe I should start my own notebook instead?
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That might be just what you have to do.
I began notebooking by taking ds's work and putting them into notebooks myself. Then I gradually had him take over by creating small pieces that I could put in, like mini-books, etc. I would also ask him to find a piture on Google to illustrate a page, or to decorate a page of a narration I typed up for him. He liked adding borders and clip-art through Word or other programs. As he got more proficient he got more enthusiastic and he began taking over more and more of the design process, and creating more and more complex elements. If you look at our notebooks you can see a definite progression through the years in complexity of design, with the Dragon, Christmas, and Pirate notebooks earlier than the Fairy and Sailing ones. But even these are only the latest. His earliest ones are MUCH simpler as are many of his history, religion and LA notebook pages.He also has some very incomplete ones that we may or may not get back to.
Perhaps if you took some of her Catholic How to Draw artwork and put them into a notebook, along with some pages with typed or hand-written narrations and some clip-art, she might see how lovely it looks and get enthused to do some herself. Try starting small by asking her to "finish up" a piece by adding some stickers around the border, or cutting out and gluing onto colored cardstock to "frame it"-that is a simple but nice looking touch(ds still likes to do this with his poetry and prayer copywork.They hang on the wall awhile then get stuck into page protectors in his religion or LA notebooks.)
Anyhow, like any other thing, it takes time and is a growth process. Perhaps by seeing YOU do some, she will see it as an enjoyable thing, rather than another requirement, and enjoy doing it as well.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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Willa
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| Posted: April 15 2007 at 12:33pm | IP Logged
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Angel,
I could easily have written your words several times in the course of my homeschooling. I think there must be a certain type of child to whom personal ownership means as much or more as the project itself.
So many times my children would start up a project or follow an interest, and then as soon as I made it the least bit part of "school", they would back off as if they had touched something hot. In addition, when I try to get them to do something that I think ought to be in line with their interests AND educational, they become wary. I used to think this was some flaw in me, but now it's more helpful for me to think about it as simply our own family temperament and dynamics... the way God made things operate around here.
I think the suggestions that others have made are good and I will be following the thread in hopes of picking up some new ideas. What we have done in the past is rely on "short lessons" (very short) to cover the things that I think are essential and non-optional, and then, with the little kindling interests, I act as facilitator and interested listener. Finding further books from the library, that kind of thing, but not incorporating it as part of the "school day."
Also, what unschoolers call "strewing" plays a part for us. I will buy things I think might interest them, or check things out of the library that I might want to pursue myself. Sometimes if they see me doing something or reading on something or buying something to have around the house, they will pick up on it in their own way, in the long run. So what CM called "environment" and "living ideas" plays a big part, and then I use "discipline and habits" to cover the things that wouldn't come so naturally to them, that I think are important.
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Willa
hsing boys ages 11, 14, almost 18 (+ 4 homeschool grads ages 20 to 27)
Take Up and Read
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marihalojen
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| Posted: April 16 2007 at 5:17am | IP Logged
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Have you considered doing one with her for First Holy Communion? Almost a response journal style. I recall Elizabeth wrote a letter to her child in her posted FHC Notebook example. Rather than one long letter what if you broke it up into several smaller examples, your memories on the topics you want her to address, and she could write a response to be posted on the same or facing page. Do you have any photos of your First Communion? That could be copied and included.
Just musing aloud...
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Mother to Mariannna, age 13
The Mari Hal-O-Jen
SSR = Sailing, Snorkling, Reading
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Kim F
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| Posted: April 17 2007 at 10:20am | IP Logged
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Remember too that notebooks don't have to be especially crafty either. In the end they are about writing though adding artsy touches makes them nice. For some of mine we often just highlight their typing, reformat it to a lovely font, and find a google image to illustrate it. We print on different colors of paper to add variety without affecting the workload. Others of mine like to doodle and mess around and they will go whole hog illustrating their own pages. They are both nice results though!
Kim
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Angel
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| Posted: April 28 2007 at 8:55am | IP Logged
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I wanted to thank everyone for their responses to my questions. For now, I think I have decided that the best course of action may just be to leave her interests alone and let her "own" them. I'll just collect any finished work she does and file it in her big binder.
That means I have to decide on other projects for her to do, though... workbooks are not a good fit for this child, as she doesn't really retain much information for them. She needs a more a hands-on approach... but lately she's been shooting down all my ideas, and grumping about having to choose from the list. She doesn't want to go back to the old, workbook-y routine either, though (and I don't think it's all that great for her either). I think mostly what she wants to do is watch birds all day... but I'm not quite unschooly enough to give up math and grammar!
--Angela
Three Plus Two
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MichelleW
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| Posted: April 28 2007 at 11:20am | IP Logged
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Angela,
I, too, put a list of options on the board, but it sounds like my list is a bit looser than yours. I put up categories (math is also non-negotiable in our house) like Handwriting, History, Science, etc. Then I tell them today they need to pick, say, two. The conversation usually goes like this:
"Mom, if I pick handwriting can I use your calligraphy book instead of my workbook."
"Yes"
"Mom, for history can I just read Farmer Boy?"
"Yes"
"Mom, some of the earth worms I saw yesterday are really fat! If I collect them and measure them using our chart, could that be science? Oh, and can I take the microscope outside or bring the worms in?"
"Yes"
If I really want them to do a notebook, then I tell them so and make the project non-negotiable. Usually, though, notebooks happen because I insist they keep their papers cleaned up and notebooks are just easy ways to accomplish that.
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Michelle
Mom to 3 (dd 14, ds 15, and ds 16)
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meaculpa365
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| Posted: April 28 2007 at 11:33am | IP Logged
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Dear Angela,
Have you considered taking photos of her work or her working on the assignmanets. Maybe she would like that better than 'giving up' one of her special pictures.
I have just returned from an Australia Cub Scout camp. I used various 'lap book' items-plant growth cards from Enchanted Learning, frog life cycle mini book & butterfly metamorphsis chart. Several of the DC were very keen to color correctly each item, others were colorful but not "correct" (a purple quoll). I just let each child work w/ the information at their level-not wanting to make it too"worky". They did tell me my butterfly was dodgy!
In working w/ my own 5 dc on these projects the plastic models-frog & butterfly helped a lot too. The dc still learned the important info w/out me forcing a long written assignment. If your dd wants to do projects she might enjoy finding some other ways of recording her work. (maybe letting her video some things? ) My dss have very few written items from the first few years, but we did many projects wchich i photographed them working on.
HTH Pam in Au JMj
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Angel
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| Posted: April 28 2007 at 6:29pm | IP Logged
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MichelleW wrote:
Angela,
I, too, put a list of options on the board, but it sounds like my list is a bit looser than yours. I put up categories (math is also non-negotiable in our house) like Handwriting, History, Science, etc. Then I tell them today they need to pick, say, two. |
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You know... maybe the lists I've been making just seem too heavy in area-of-interest for her. I have a problem shifting between her and my 10 yo ds. My 10 yo is an immersion learner of a fairly extreme variety. He wants practically everything he does to relate to his current area of interest. (I'm like this myself, though maybe not to the same extent.)
While my dd has deep interests as well, I don't think they are as all encompassing as his are... she might enjoy branching out a bit and having her choices listed by subject area instead.
I *am* actually fairly loose with the lists. If the kids have different suggestions that seem reasonable, I'm fine with that. But for some reason my dd lately has been shooting down ALL my ideas... just because they're mine, I think.
--Angela
Three Plus Two
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: trouble with notebooks?
