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MamaFence
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| Posted: March 23 2012 at 3:09pm | IP Logged
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I have read this thread and loved it! Now it's my turn to bump it up. 
My oldest is 7, 2nd grade. What is a good time to start a notebook with her? We haven't done copywork very formally, but her interest in writing and practicing cursive is growing. She asked today if she could have a plain, blank book...so sounds like a good time is now. 
I have a hard time holding back a few years on all the wonderful-sounding notebooks. I think the book of centuries will help put all the pieces together so well for history! But that is a few years off still. So, tell me the best notebook for a younger child, to help set the foundations.
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Mackfam
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| Posted: March 23 2012 at 5:51pm | IP Logged
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MamaFence wrote:
| My oldest is 7, 2nd grade. What is a good time to start a notebook with her? We haven't done copywork very formally, but her interest in writing and practicing cursive is growing. She asked today if she could have a plain, blank book...so sounds like a good time is now. |
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I think you're right!
A copywork notebook would be a wonderful way to start. She can copy poetry, or Bible verses, or hymns, or whatever she's copying! A great idea might be to work on a First Holy Communion Notebook. Here are a couple of threads with great ideas for that:
Catechism Notebook
First Communion Resources
Favorite FHC Resources
And - Suzanne's First Holy Communion Notebook
Happy Notebooking! 
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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MamaFence
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| Posted: March 29 2012 at 8:56am | IP Logged
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oooh, Thank you! She might really like having one for First Communion, which she is preparing for right now!
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Gina, mother to 4
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JennGM
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CrunchyMom wrote:
I think the appeal of the premade pages is for something to look uniform and attractive with minimal effort. I think of it as more of an extension of copywork or drawn narrations rather than a medium for specifically Charlotte Mason notebooks.
It doesn't really take the place of a book of centuries or a commonplace book, but it is easier for littler ones to use before introducing those notebooks (which, Charlotte Mason didn't seem to do until 4-5th grade when the child was capable of keeping such a bound book neat and tidy and had more control over penmanship.
I can also see the collections used as a helpful spine for history or science or nature study. They are very open ended but often comprehensive, so building your living books around the notebooking pages for a specific study would be effective, especially when living in a place where records/portfolios are required.
But, logistically, you are right. I find it very, very challenging to use the printable pages effectively.
I know that in the past, I have had my boys draw things for nature notebooks on looseleaf paper and then cut it out and paste it into a bound book. I know that my oldest would get very frustrated right now in keeping a bound book because, if he messed up, the "permanence" of it all would distress him. Looseleaf pages make do-overs easier for littler ones, which is probably one reason waiting until later Elementary to start the "official" books makes sense. |
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Did everyone see this post from Handbook of Nature Study blog: How to Organize Your Nature Study Notebook Pages. Fabulous visual, lots of great ideas to apply.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: April 10 2012 at 10:56am | IP Logged
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Thanks Jennifer! I missed this post. Organizing our Nature Study Notebooks is always a problem. I really like her suggestion of organizing by place. We don't have that many places we travel to, but we have different hiking trails that we go to and they are all quite unique (a park, a manicured garden center, a state park with nature trails, the river behind our house, etc.) I think this might be a neat way to organize. It would then be easy to compare the various flora and fauna that we see at each place. Plus, when we do travel we can add another tab for that location.
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I am wondering, “where was I when this thread started??” but then I thought back and we were getting ready for Lily to get her trach out...and when it popped up again, we were all sick  SO! Now, I am enjoying it with a girl running around loudly singing.....without a trach...and boys quietly doing work....without wheezing. Life is grand and so are all of those grand, grand notebook ideas! Thanks Ladies, I am so inspired! 
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pamajoyfulmoc
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What a lot of wonderful ideas about notebooking and commonplacing. Iron sharpens iron. I am so encouraged!
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CrunchyMom
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Bumping this on Thursday--I come back to this thread a lot for inspiration!
Mackfam wrote:
Grace&Chaos wrote:
Mackfam wrote:
| especially our new *Book of Firsts*! These are wonderful tools for the child to place ideas so that over time, connections may be fostered! |
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Without getting to off topic. I just read this somewhere else. Can you tell us what it is? I've heard of all the other notebooks, but this one I'm only guessing about  |
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From Charlotte Mason, Home Education, p. 54:
Quote:
| It is a capital plan for children to keep a calendar - the first oak leaf, the first tadpole, the first cowslip, the first catkin, the first ripe blackberries, where seen, and when. The next year they will know when and where to look out for their favorites, and will every year, be in a condition to add new observations. Think of the zest and interest, the object, which such a practice will give to daily walks and little excursions. There is hardly a day when some friend may not be expected to hold a first "At Home." |
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A Book of Firsts is really quite simple, and we've so enjoyed adding to ours this year! |
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I was thinking about this topic, trying to imagine implementing it, and I came across this post Nature's Calendar about keeping a phenology notebook.
Like a commonplace book, this is not an idea "invented" by Charlotte Mason, so there are some other helpful resources for how to go about implementing this if you Google "phenology" and "phenology journal." I've found that few people have blogged about or discussed this in Charlotte Mason circles, so these alternative resources might be helpful in fleshing out the details.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
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[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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DominaCaeli
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Thanks for bumping this, Lindsay! This is one of my favorite threads too. :)
I just wanted to add a link to our Calendar of Firsts.
We have also started a very simple timeline in a binder for these early years.
After reading this, I think I'll take the summer to make a small commonplace notebook for my daughter. She's still very young, but I know she would *love* to have a place to collect favorite poems, rhymes, and quotes.
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Celeste
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Mackfam
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Love your timeline and Calendar of Firsts, Celeste! AND....HOW IN THE WORLD did I NOT know that you have a blog???? I'm so excited to become a regular reader now! 
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Jen Mackintosh
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DominaCaeli
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Thank you so much, Jen! Angela (aingeal from this forum) and I are friends IRL and co-blogging. And having lots of fun. :)
We have been using our Calendar of Firsts for a few months now and I am already finding it a great tool in noticing the subtle changes around our home and neighborhood. And my children are always running in the house with a new entry to add! I can't wait until next year when we have all of this year's observations to compare with!
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Celeste
Joyous Lessons
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JennGM
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this thread, and I forgot to put in my Favorites, so I appreciate the bump!
This year I feel was a "lost year" in following Miss Mason closely and I need the reminders to get me focused again.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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CrunchyMom
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Michele just put together a Book of Centuries based on the description in the Bernau PNEU article. It is very affordable at $12, though, it is blank just as those sold by the PNEU were. I love Michelle's, though, I'd already ordered the supplies to make my own. I think I will use a format similar, but I'm trying to decide if I keep it simple and make it blank or try to go ahead and fill in the dates as in Laurie Bestvater's version. Not sure if I have enough time, but I also think that since ds just turned 9, even though he is a rising 4th grader, filling in the dates himself could prove a little tedious. His handwriting is still on the large side.
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Lindsay
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4 lads mom
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I ordered Michele’s Can’t wait for it to arrive!
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AmandaV
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CrunchyMom wrote:
| Michele just put together a Book of Centuries based on the description in the Bernau PNEU article. It is very affordable at $12, though, it is blank just as those sold by the PNEU were. I love Michelle's, though, I'd already ordered the supplies to make my own. I think I will use a format similar, but I'm trying to decide if I keep it simple and make it blank or try to go ahead and fill in the dates as in Laurie Bestvater's version. Not sure if I have enough time, but I also think that since ds just turned 9, even though he is a rising 4th grader, filling in the dates himself could prove a little tedious. His handwriting is still on the large side. |
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Lindsay knows this, but for those of you who don't, Michele, has decided to offer a PDF of her new Book of Centuries for free on the MA site.
Mater Amabilis
Just scroll down and click on the image of the book of Centuries for the free pdf. It is portrait so that it can fit into a binder rather than being landscape like the one she is selling for purchase. I think I'll still buy the bound one since it looks so nice and sturdy, but this is such a great option.
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Amanda
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JennGM
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AmandaV wrote:
CrunchyMom wrote:
| Michele just put together a Book of Centuries based on the description in the Bernau PNEU article. It is very affordable at $12, though, it is blank just as those sold by the PNEU were. I love Michelle's, though, I'd already ordered the supplies to make my own. I think I will use a format similar, but I'm trying to decide if I keep it simple and make it blank or try to go ahead and fill in the dates as in Laurie Bestvater's version. Not sure if I have enough time, but I also think that since ds just turned 9, even though he is a rising 4th grader, filling in the dates himself could prove a little tedious. His handwriting is still on the large side. |
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Lindsay knows this, but for those of you who don't, Michele, has decided to offer a PDF of her new Book of Centuries for free on the MA site.
Mater Amabilis
Just scroll down and click on the image of the book of Centuries for the free pdf. It is portrait so that it can fit into a binder rather than being landscape like the one she is selling for purchase. I think I'll still buy the bound one since it looks so nice and sturdy, but this is such a great option. |
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I bought mine at the IHM Conference. It is sturdy and just perfect.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Erin Lewis
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Betsy wrote:
I just posted this on the orgional thread, but I will repost here.
I was unable to find exactly what I was looking for in a Nature Book of Firsts, so I decided to create my own. As one think lead to another I ended up creating a Catholic version that combined many of the traditions of flowers being named in honor of Mary and the Saints.
In my research I found that many of the flowers that we associate with Saints or Mary came about because that particular flower was in bloom during that Saints feast day......in other words it was a sort of Catholic Nature Book of Firsts.
I posted my Catholic Nature Book of Firsts at scribd.com. I hope that you enjoy! |
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Bumping this thread up again - I see that has been done many times already! 
I have just read through the thread and love the ideas and information! I would love to be able to access this Catholic Nature Book of Firsts, but when I follow the link it says the document has been removed.  Can anyone help with this? It sounds like it would be perfect!!
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Erin
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Erin Lewis
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Okay, answered my own question... if anyone else is looking for it, here is the link: http://www.immaculatadesigns.com/designsrescource.html
Yay for Google!
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Erin
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Grace&Chaos
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This is one of my favorite threads because it's about one of my favorite subjects
I just got in the mail yesterday a copy of The Living Page Keeping Notebooks with Charlotte Mason by Laurie Bestvater (you can also purchase on her site) I'm so excited! I've read through the preface and on my way through Ch1. It is not a how to of CM but talks specifically about 'notebooks' and their place in a CM education.
Any one else had a chance to look at this book? or Plan on adding to their reading list?
Would love to discuss it
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Jenny
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Mackfam
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Grace&Chaos wrote:
This is one of my favorite threads because it's about one of my favorite subjects
I just got in the mail yesterday a copy of The Living Page Keeping Notebooks with Charlotte Mason by Laurie Bestvater (you can also purchase on her site) I'm so excited! I've read through the preface and on my way through Ch1. It is not a how to of CM but talks specifically about 'notebooks' and their place in a CM education.
Any one else had a chance to look at this book? or Plan on adding to their reading list?
Would love to discuss it |
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I'm reading it, Jenny. I got it for Christmas.
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Jen Mackintosh
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: Charlotte Mason's Notebooks
