Top 5 Reasons to Use Notebooking Pages in High School

Why Use Notebooking in High School?

Our Top Five Reasons

• 1. Personalized Learning. Notebook pages give students a place to record what they know and what they found  interesting from their reading. I always encourage my boys to go further as they find topics of interest. They learn research skills as they ask their own questions and then find the answers.
• 2. Encourages Creativity. Using notebook pages gives the opportunity for a balance of writing and artwork. My boys welcome the variety of ways you can build a notebook page including drawing maps or diagrams, finding images to include, or copying quotes.
• 3. Convenient Way To Organize Information Across the Subjects. Learning is not confined to just one particular subject in isolation. Notebooking can combine subjects to make an interesting follow-up project. Literature and History-Biography of an author or more in-depth information about the setting or character's time period in history. History and Science-Biography of a scientist or a timeline of inventions. Art Appreciation and History-Information about the art time period, other artists working at the same time, biographies, and other influences on the artist.
• 4. Budget Friendly. Once you have access to a few basic sets of notebook pages there is no need for workbooks or fill in the blanks type pages you use up and don't look at again. Notebooking pages can be printed on demand which frees up your time for other aspects of homeschooling.
• 5. Great for Review and Long-Term Retention of Information. Use notebook pages to review before college testing such as the SAT or SAT subject tests. Notebook pages can also be used to refresh your memory as you build transcript records or high school portfolios. My boys page through their notebooks for a quick review at the end of each term-much more interesting than reviewing a workbook.

Read more about notebooking in our high school years: Notebooking for High Schoolers.

You can also click over and see dozens of examples from our high school notebook pages on Flickr:
High School Notebook Pages.



Disclosure: Please note that I am an affiliate for NotebookingPages.com and I receive a small commission each time you click a link from my blog and make a purchase.

What To Do With Space?

Last week I told you about my oldest son moving out. Another milestone in our family.

This freed up a bedroom for Mr. B...the youngest in our family that has never had his own bedroom. The guys got together and repainted the walls of the room to freshen it up and I decided I would order some new blinds for the window. Mr. B has very little in the way of worldly possessions so it didn't take long for him to settle in to his new space.



Now that he is in the bedroom, the family room space that he used to call home is empty, really empty. I actually have no plans for this space yet since the whole moving out experience happened so fast. This is the first time in 25 years that I have had space in the house and all children in bedrooms. Weird. Exciting.


I am thinking of making this where we have our television/DVD player system (we own this already), shelves (own these already) for games and books, futon for seating, lounging, and guests. I don't want to put too much furniture out here because I like the openness. I already switched out the lighting...love the Frank Lloyd Wright look to this fixture and with two of them it really lights up this area nicely.

I would need a some artwork for the walls and perhaps another chair for additional seating when we all watch a DVD together. We don't have cable or satellite so the only thing we do watch is Netflix that we order or watch instantly. The lighting is bright enough that this space can be a reading area as well and when I open the french doors out onto the deck, we can make the space even larger when we have guests over.

I like the color combination in THIS ROOM. The floor matches our floor. The walls are fairly close. I am looking at the futon in the light blue and I could pull in some red with pillows and the artwork for the wall. I love this sort of art from Georgia O'Keeffe: Red Poppies. I could also use some red accessories. If any of you have any ideas for how to pull off the design of the room in my space....send me links. I would love to support other moms on Etsy or who have their own shops.

I love that I have space in my home but the memories of a full house are still close to my heart. Maybe I ought to do a portrait wall of the kids, perhaps some images of them as they grew up. Maybe a mix of artwork and images of the kids.....now my wheels are turning.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom 

Remember my curtain issue from a few years ago? I don't ever move too fast when I am designing a room so stay tuned for the future product.....keep me accountable!

Have You Ever Listened to Franz Liszt?

Soothing music for the soul....such images it brings to mind. Consolation No.3 by Liszt.

For more information you can read a children's biography at ClassicsForKids.



Enjoy!

Thinkwell Government Course - Quick Review

We opted to use the Thinkwell Government Course online with Mr. A last year and I will go that route with Mr. B this year for the bulk of his government credit. This is an online course that can be done independently. Lecture, notes, and follow up tests are all done online and Thinkwell calculates scores and keeps track of where your child is in the course. The Thinkwell website says that this course is equivalent to a one semester college American Government course. You can view the Table of Contents and more details on the Thinkwell website.

I know that my normal method of offering a high school course is much more in-depth and this was probably the most un-Charlotte Mason thing we did all year but it really was a course we just wanted to get through quickly and with as little fuss as possible. Thinkwell served a purpose.

• No preparation on my part or my son's. He could fire up the website and work independently.
• I did not purchase the printed notes but we did end up printing them out on our own and putting them into a big binder. I knew we would use them twice so I didn't mind investing the paper and ink.
• I printed the Table of Contents and each day Mr. A would mark the date next to each section he finished.
• I would keep track of his quiz and test scores on Homeschool Tracker which was an easy task by looking  at the student records on Thinkwell.
• Mr. A didn't mind any of the instructors for the course. He told me that he thought they did a good job of keeping the course moving along and they gave just enough information to get the points across.
• Mr. A many times would pause the video and have me come over and listen to sections that he found interesting and then we would talk about them.
• Mr. A worked one hour a day (occasionally a little longer) and it took him about 12 weeks to finish the entire course.
• I purchased my course through Homeschool Buyers Co-Op for a reduced price and I felt that the money was well spent. We had covered quite a bit of government throughout our Tapestry of Grace studies and this course capped off the experience very well.

Here is a video clip on YouTube which is an excerpt from one of the Thinkwell videos:

American Government-Freedom of Religion

This gives you a little taste of what the course is like and how they approach the material. There are a lot of references to Supreme Court decisions and current events.


As far as price and value, it must be noted that you buy a subscription to a particular Thinkwell course and it lasts a year. One student will be able to use the course and take the tests. I honestly wish there was a "second student discount" so I could just reset the course and let Mr. B take it this year. The Homeschool Buyers Co-Op has a complete FAQ section for Thinkwell. I waited until there was a group buy and I paid $68.75 for the course. You can purchase the course and wait to start the subscription until you are ready. It does not start the minute you purchase the course which is helpful in planning.

Sometimes you encounter a subject that you know is valuable but you have no expertise or experience and Thinkwell is a great option for those of us who want to cover the material with as little fuss as possible. I decided it was a good taste of what a college lecture class would be like for Mr. A.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Harmony Fine Arts Homeschool Art - Grade One Ebook Plans Now Available

I have been promising to do this for a long time now and they are finally finished. Harmony Fine Arts Homeschool Art Plans for Grade One are now ready for you to download as an ebook. I know I have said that there would not be any changes to the resources, artists and composers studied, or format and I was almost able to keep to that promise.

The only major changes to the ebook plans for Harmony Fine Arts Grade 1 plans are as follows:

• I eliminated Giuseppe Verdi and added Franz Schubert in the Music Appreciation Option. I just have not been happy with Verdi for a long time and wanted to give younger students a better listening experience as they start out with classical music.
• I added YouTube videos for every suggested listening suggestion in the Music Appreciation Option. The new ebook plans now have a better explanation for listening to classical music and optional online listening using a YouTube playlist. Super easy now!
• The new Harmony Fine Arts Homeschool Art Grade One plans now include one art print for each artist as a reference or resource for printing/viewing. (Ebook version only.)
• The new Harmony Fine Arts Homeschool Art Grade One plans now include two artist notebook pages to print for an optional notebook page.
• Please see this entry about acquiring the Oxford First Book of Art. 

Everything else is the same as the original print version of Harmony Fine Arts Grade One plans. If you previously purchased the print version and now desire the ebook version, please email me and we will get those plans to you ASAP.

*32 Weeks of Plans - 8 artists and 8 composers. (See sample for a complete list.)
*Three Options for art and one for music appreciation. (See sample for Weeks 1-4.)
*Links to internet sources for viewing artwork, additional activities, and YouTube listening. (See sample for how much depth this gives your study if you wish it for your family.) Ebook version has clickable links.
*Ebook and Print editions include two generic artist notebook pages.
*Ebook format includes art prints to view and/or print out for your personal use.
*Resources can be seen on my Amazon.com Listmania List.

Ebook Version $17.44 - Link will be sent within 24 hours to your Paypal email address.

Print Version $19.95 plus postage

If you order from Rainbow Resource, you may get the old plans. If this happens, email me and we can make a switch. Also if you have a Grade 1 plan now and would like to trade it in for a new version, please email me as well. I know that some of you purchased the Grades 1-4 Bundle and if you are wanting to trade in your Grade 1 plans from that purchase for the new version, please email me.

I am totally flexible and will work with you if you communicate with me:
harmonyfinearts@yahoo.com

Life Changes and Trying New Recipes

How was that for a title?

I stacked up Mr. B's books for the coming year and was determined to get his schedule input into Homeschool Tracker so I could have his weekly checklists done before we headed into August. My heart was just not in it yet so I lined the books back up on the shelf, waiting for another time when I was ready to dig in and get it done.

In the meantime I have been busy doing lots of stuff around the house and yard. My oldest son (Mr. D-24 years old) moved out three weeks ago into his own little house. It happened pretty fast so I still haven't totally accepted that he is out on his own. I am really happy for him and I know that it will be a great experience for him to gain some independence but I miss him. I know he is but an hour's drive away...still miss him.



One way to cope with change is to get busy with some new ideas. I have some projects that I have been working on during those hot afternoons of the last few weeks. I shared my lavender wand, I finished my first ever knitted dishcloth (thanks to YouTube), and I have been working on sewing some cute cloth napkins since our current sets are looking pretty ragged.



I have been diligently working in my own nature journal....page a week so far. I love the process of nature journaling and it gives me great pleasure to thumb through the journal and see all the completed pages. (You can see my Flickr set HERE...my 2011 images.)

Eating is always a good coping mechanism as well and the energy of trying something new makes me feel happy. I have made it a goal to try one new recipe a week and that has been a lot of fun! Since the weather is so hot, many of my new recipes revolve around salad preparation. I wish I had taken photos of everything to share but I didn't. Here is a short list of things we have tried:

Homemade balsamic vinaigrette

Asian Noodle Salad - we add grilled chicken to the top to make a dinner salad
Candied pecans - for my salad creations. The linked recipe is actually a tasty salad idea but we use feta instead of blue cheese. The combination of balsamic vinaigrette, pecans, and cheese is out of this world.
Rosemary bread - I did a variation of this recipe for my breadmaker....the fragrance as it baked!
My next recipe to try: Classic Caesar Dressing from my online friend Jami at the Oregon Cottage.

Cheesy-Chicken-Tortilla Lasagna (made with homegrown tomato and cilantro) Big hit with the guys!
Thai Peanut Chicken and Noodles - Another smashing success with the guys!
Black Bean and Grilled Chicken Quesadillas - I sort of make up my own recipe but this one is close.

It looks like I have been on a "chicken" theme but honestly I love being able to fire up my George Foreman Grill and cook chicken without heating up the kitchen too much. If it is really hot, I take the grill outdoors and cook outside. Perfect for a summer evening. Most of the time I change a recipe to use ingredients I have from my garden or in my pantry....I have never been one to stick too closely to a recipe, well maybe the first time but then when I make it again I change it up.

So what is on the plan for the rest of the summer? Gardening is still going strong and the flowers are just about ready to all burst out in color which means it will be time to start my art projects. I want to try my hand at sewing a new skirt. I do still have some writing going on for Harmony Fine Arts (grades 1, 7, and 8). There is always that empty space to fill out in the family room. Watch for a post about the space soon.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

How To Set Up a History Notebook Using a Timeline and Notebook Pages

I am busy getting ready for my high school age son's study of Modern History. We sat and discussed how he would like to document his reading and research and his choice was notebooking and a timeline. I knew just where to go for some help!

Having a membership in NotebookingPages.com's Treasury is like having a whole notebook page store at your fingertips. I literally found what we were looking to use in a matter of two minutes. We decided the Book of Centuries pages were perfect and using the Modern Times set I printed out, hole punched, and inserted his whole first term's pages quickly and easily. I know lots of my readers also use NotebookingPages.com's Treasury and I thought I would share how we are using Book of Centuries pages and you could adapt the idea to your family. These pages would work with any grade level.



Here are a few of the ways we used the pages.


I printed the title page and spine for the binder cover and this is why I like using the clear view binders. Doesn't it look great? He will eventually fill in the cover once school is under way.


I then went back into the Modern Times set and printed the timeline pages for the 20th century. I hole punched the pages so they are side by side. He will fill in the dates and either draw or use images from the internet to decorate his timeline as he goes through his week's reading.


Then he is going to pick two events or topics each week to complete notebook pages for and these will be filed by topic in the back part of the binder under the tabs.


The Book of Centuries comes with these wonderful divider pages and I added a notebook page on the facing page for my son to make a "table of contents" for each section.



I also added sections with blank notebook pages for the spine history book and the DVD course he will be watching. He will keep notes, maps, quotes, and sketches in these sections each week.

This was a quick and easy way to set up his history narrations for the year. If he needs more pages, I will just pull up the NotebookingPages.com Treasury, the Book of Centuries, and find an appropriate page to print for his work. Note: There are Book of Centuries sets for all time periods you might need in your history study.

If you would like to read more about how I use notebooking pages in my high school plans, you can read my Notebooking in High School Squidoo lens.

Hands-On Homeschool Blog Carnival - July 11th Edition

I am hosting the Hands-On Carnival this time around. One good thing about having a smaller carnival is that you can read every entry to find something that will inspire you in your homeschooling. I added a few of our recent hands-on learning experiences at the end of the carnival...some from this blog and some from my other blog. Enjoy!

Shirley Ann shares her carnival entry  Seeing Stars *** posted at Heart of Wisdom Homeschool. Check out their lovely suncatcher stars.

Shirley Ann also writes about their puppet production. Read All The Worlds A Stage... posted at Heart of Wisdom Homeschool and learn more about it.

Have a reluctant or emerging writer? You will be interested in Jessica's Story Cubes posted at factorydirectcraft.com.

Jennifer presents Homemade Books from Brown Paper Bags posted at Teaching My Baby To Read. This is a great, inexpensive way to grab some interest in reading and have some creative fun at the same time.

Maureen shares their Tot Time–Strawberry Fun posted at Homeschool Mo . So much strawberry-ness going on at their house!

Nikki has written Making Maths Moments. posted at Our Journey in Him. What a great hands-on math or living math unit using the calendar.

Karyn presents Story Starter Blocks posted at Teach Beside Me. Another great idea for using craft cubes.


My daughter Amanda creates a Matisse collage using paper and glue. This is an easy and fun project for all ages. To learn more about Matisse, you can click HERE.



My contribution to the carnival is our Handicrafts-Appropriate and Essential to High School? where I share our leathercraft activities and how handicrafts have benefited my high school age sons.


We have had a great time making timelines over the years and I gathered a lot of different ideas into one post. This one is featured in my entry Book of Centuries Notebook Pages.



How about one of Mom's hands-on projects? I have been busy learning how to use my new watercolors. Here is one of my entries from my nature journal: Watercolor Quick Sketch. Moms need some hands-on fun too!

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Hands On Homeschool Blog Carnival using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index page.

Ballet and Dance and Music - Memories and an Awesome Video

Ballet is one of those things that I was never able to try as a young person. I have two children that were involved in ballet for many years and every year around this time I get nostalgic about recital time.

I was researching Tchaikovsky for my Harmony Fine Arts Grade 2 revision and got sidetracked watching all kinds of ballet. The one above Swan Lake - Pas de Quatre is amazing! The dancers are so perfectly in sync and it must have taken hours and hours of practicing to get this piece so absolutely beautiful. Even if you are not into ballet, take a look at the technical skill of these dancers.

Miss Amanda loved this costume....sparkly.

Here are some photos of my two ballet dancers. Brings tears to my eyes how sweet these times were and how long ago they seem now that they are so grown up. We live in a very small town and there is a very small ballet studio so Mr. B was the only boy dancer. There were benefits to that since it meant they found boy parts for him that were usually pretty major.

Wizard of Oz production. My niece was Dorothy and Mr. B was the Wizard. My niece went on to be a Dance major at San Francisco State....she is an awesome dancer and was a perfect Dorothy. The other character in the photo is Toto the dog.

He was the Wizard in Wizard of Oz and he was Johnny Appleseed the year they did a Storybook Ballet. He always enjoyed the extra attention. He soon moved to a jazz dance class and there were other boys in that class so he got to dance some fun stuff in the recital those years.

Thanks for indulging a little reminiscing. I would go back in a minute to relive those crazy busy recital days.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Mother Culture: Lavender Wands

I am a huge fan of the fragrance of lavender and I have filled our front yard with several different varieties. I have English lavender, Spanish lavender, and French lavender. The bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds love the variety and since it needs very little water it fits right into my drought tolerant front yard.


A friend of mine showed me a lavender wand a few years ago and I forgot all about it. She mentioned it a few weeks ago and asked if she could come over to cut some lavender to make fresh wands. She uses them to freshen drawers and storage spaces. I told her she could come over and gather as much as she wanted. I was impatient so I looked up online how to make a wand for myself and decided to try it with some supplies I had on hand.

Here are the directions I used: Make A Lavender Wand.


Here are a few photos and my results. I used what we call English Lavender and instead of ribbon (which I didn't have a long enough piece) I used seam binding in a green color. It was a little stretchy but it worked. I am going to get some pretty satin ribbon to make some more wands soon.










The hardest part was getting the weaving started. I used 18 stems of lavender and I think next time I will use more to make a thicker wand.

What a great way to spend a hot summer evening and great results even for a first try! It smells heavenly!

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

High School Literature: Things I Wish I Had Done

Douglas Iris from our Oregon Trip - Read more HERE.

1. I wish I would have kept a master list of every piece of literature that we have read. This would also include poetry and Shakespeare. I am having a hard time remembering which child has read which books in their high school years. A master list would have been helpful, perhaps a column with the title, one for the author, and then a column to check for each child when they finish. (I think I could have done this on Homeschool Tracker so if you use that program check into how you could do that automatically.)

2. For each book we read, I wish we would have kept a short one paragraph summary of the plot, high points, or list of characters. I am especially bad about remembering which Shakespeare story is which as I look back over the list we have read.

3. I wish we had kept a notebook page for EVERY author we read, organized alphabetically in a binder. This would be such a great reference. I also would like to have a list of the books we read for each author, perhaps on the back of the page. Which books by Dickens have we read? Which books by Jane Austen? This would have been helpful.

4. I use LibraryThing to keep track of our home library but I am finding that I have not kept it up-to-date. I really wish I had kept on top of all the ins and outs of books so I could easily find out if I already own a book and it is tucked away on a shelf somewhere. I ended up with duplicate copies of several books this year, what a waste!

I am so sure there are other things but those are the ones that are glaring at me as I plan Mr. B's school year. He is the last of four homeschooling children and by this point things are beginning to blur a little and better records would absolutely have made my job easier.

Hope this helps you in your homeschool planning for the future.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom