Notebooking For Preschool & Kindergarten?

Disney Countdown: 109 Days


After one week of notebooking, I knew that was the way for us to go.  It was amazing to see the spark back in Julia's eyes.  Plus - it was evident at the amount of information she was really learning because she now speaks about  so many things from her readings and research. 


Science is a favorite subject for Julia but I had her bored her to tears with a workbook!  She loves chemistry and we had this book for over a year without even opening it up.  Now she is learning about the periodic table and enjoying it!!!

Now my thoughts went to Hope.  Is it possible to notebook with her since she is only doing preschool/Kindergarten work?   Would Autism be an obstacle to this kind of learning?

Then I had a moment of epiphany. 

When I was searching for a binder for Julia to use, there were none to be had anywhere in the house.  I found it odd - I knew I had a couple of extra ones from last years Staples sales.  Where could they have gone?

The answer was Hope.  Over the past year, one of her therapists had thought it would be a great idea to have a visual to help her learn language in a very personal way.  So she started to make up different books for Hope.

There was the answer to where my binders had gone - as well as the answer to whether she could learn through a notebook system.  And the answer was - YES!

The first book that they created is an "all about me" book.  It has some of Hope's "favorites" listed along with her family and friends.

The next book is themed after Disney's Doc McStuffins - The Big Book of Boo-Boos.

Hope is not yet able to make her wants and needs known to us - that includes telling us what hurts her.  It is a guessing game to say the least trying to figure out what is wrong when I know she doesn't feel well.  So this book is to help her be able to let us know when she doesn't feel good. 

The next notebook is her cookbook.  Time in the kitchen is invaluable!    We all love to cook in our house and Hope is definitely showing an interest too.  She likes to scramble eggs and make French Toast.   It's great to share such a special time with her.

The next book is the latest creation - The Big Book of "Why".  Again, Hope can't answer very simple questions yet.  So this book is to help her begin answering "why" questions and introduce the word "because" into her vocabulary.

So it looks like notebooking is the way to go for us!!!  I'm so excited!  Even in the short amount of time we have been using it, I find it amazing what a positive difference it has brought to our homeschool.