Mars and I have been easing into notebooking, particularly for Science. She doesn’t really enjoy writing because she finds it exhausting (you would understand why if you could see the amount of Arabic homework she has to do on a daily basis!) and also for reasons I have stated earlier. Still, she has agreed to give it her best shot and upon seeing the notebooking sheets I’ve prepared, seems really excited as well, alhamdulillah. It helps that Science is her favourite subject – there are numerous topics we can delve into, not to mention the multiple ways in which we can process, collate and present the information.

Notebooking is a useful tool for teaching students how to organise their material and thinking. In addition, they will be able improve their reading and writing skills. As a Charlotte Mason homeschooler, I ask Mars to narrate back or retell what they have learnt. In this way, I can be sure that we have covered all the bases and that she fully comprehends the lesson. Notebooking is also a form of narration – I like that it gets her to write and saves me the trouble of recording her narrations :P I have prepared her some sheets but I hope that in time, in shaa Allah, she will use her talents and creativity to personalise her notebooks.

Here’s an Astronomy Notebook I am sharing with you. Nothing fancy – I’ve kept it really basic so it’s easily adaptable. Pages have not been numbered so you can print and arrange them as you see fit. The notebook includes pages for:

• the cover
• references on the universe from the Qur’an and Sunnah
• individual planets and other celestial objects
• new words (word bank)
• a discussion on astrology and Islam’s position
• illustrations and descriptions

Download by clicking on the image below.

Imaan.Net's Astronomy Notebook

Feedback will be greatly appreciated :)

Postcards for the swap have been mailed out and now comes the waiting game :) We hope to receive 5 cards internationally – kids are really excited about this!

Mars is doing alright in English alhamdulillah – I am quite satisfied with her reading, grammar and vocabulary but she needs to do a little more written work, so I’ve collected a few more English resources. We are continuing with Worldly Wise 3000 – rather traditional but this will probably be helpful for her PSLE in 2013 (the dad man is not budging on this even though I’ve launched an aggressive campaign against it :P).

We are also using Charlotte Mason’s Simply Grammar: An Illustrated Primer by Karen Andreola this year as well – perfect for my daughter who adores the vintage illustrations.

We are also stepping up on copywork – Mars is getting increasingly frustrated with her less than neat handwriting. She wants to do cursive, but I really think she isn’t ready. I know some families begin writing with cursive so I am tempted but also very torn. Any advice? We’ve also been doing note-taking during our rainforest unit study. She has been summarising our discussions and will transfer her notes to a rainforest journal in shaa Allah. Hopefully this gives her more writing and spelling practice.

I was also very fortunate to meet Sushma when I was in Singapore – she doesn’t homeschool but is a curriculum and book junkie much like yours truly :) She passed on many of her used materials to me at a discount. One was Natural Speller by Kathryn L. Stout. I was initially put off by the layout – it looked like it contained nothing but endless wordlists, but it is so much more than that. It also teaches dictionary and grammar skills and even Latin and Greek word parts. Quite a gem for S$5 ma shaa Allah :)

I’ve found a few other spelling resources online as well which may suit some of you :)

• Spelling It Right
• AAASpell
• Canwest Canspell
• 28 Rules For English Spelling
• The Basic Cozy Spelling Course
• Kidspell
• All About Spelling’s free spelling lists
• Marilee’s Spelling Pages
• Carol Goodrow’s spelling printables

… a printer!

We have two black and white laser printers that work well… just not with my laptops. I’ve lots of good resources that I know my girls will enjoy, but I can’t get them printed! It has been close to a year that we’ve struggled with this issue (good thing Ms M is auditory?!) so if you know of a good, solid model that will stand by us, then please let me know.

Thank you… carry on :)

Just watch this.

Pretty much cannot be bothered to talk about why I homeschool or how much I like it… pretty much cannot be bothered to research about approaches, methods and what not… pretty much cannot be bothered to discuss approaches, methods and what not…

Still homeschooling… still enjoying it… but I’m over some phases if you get my meaning.