CM Series - What Can We Do Once We Read A Book? Pt.III - Confident Learners Who Want to Creative

Notebooking helps to give confident learners a chance to be creative in their narrations.

If your child is a confident learner but not a fan of traditional chapter by chapter narration, how about allowing them to narrating by topic?  Notebooking is a learning tool that allows narration to take place in a standard plain notebook (in its simplest form) or on individual pieces of paper that can be kept in page protectors in a binder or duo-tang.  Pages can be designed in any number of styles providing users with writing lines, empty boxes for drawings or side notes, writing prompts, images or other decorative effects.  Pages usually focus on one topic - person, place, thing, event, or lesson.  Unlike narrating a piece of literature, narrating through a notebooking sheet allows learners to pull info and data from various sources into one entry allowing them to make connections or "leaps" on their own; narrating to the topic rather than only to a straight plot or story line. 

You will find a number of different notebooking resources on our blog and on our resource website.  We have encouraged even our very youngest child to use notebooking sheets from grade one and she has done so with much success.  Almost all of our notebooking sheets have been created out of necessity for our own children.  As their writing and narrating skills have grown, so have the complexity of our notebooking sheets.  From simple sheets with primary lines to notebook ruled line spacing, we try to include various levels to encourage all learners.  Because our children, and probably yours too, enjoy drawing, illustrating or doodling, we have been sure to leave spaces for drawing in almost all of our sets and pages.

We offer a variety of notebooking sheets in fun layouts such as a newspaper or block style, graphic organizers, and decorative and plain writing pages in topics including history, the saints, art, science and nature, faith and our ever popular Bible sets.  Our Bible notebooking sets accompany our Life of Christ Timeline for Children and are available in English or Spanish.  Each set has twelve different layout options for learners K-12.  They are also the perfect go-along for those using the Child's Bible History by F. J. Knecht 

If we are trying to encourage creativity, some may wonder why many of our sets seem to have the same styles?  That's simple.  One of our children envisioned a sort of personal encyclopedia of their work which could expanded and added to year  after year.  Having the pages look a bit uniform gives a very nice presentation in her notebook and since we generally do not make resources that we ourselves are not going to use, we have just continued on this path.  However, we do have different styles for our nature notebooking sheets and junior notebooking sheets.

Junior notebooking sheets are specially designed for younger learners who enjoy writing and would like to begin keeping a collection of their work.  These learners generally do not need coaxing to put pencil to paper and they enjoy being creative.  We have created various themed sets of these sheets as well.  Many of them will work perfectly if you are beginning to explore weather, simple science themes, fables, tales and nursery rhymes.

We hope this post inspires you to try something new in your learning days with your learner.  Be sure to search our blog for the latest posts and newly added resources for notebooking. 

Click HERE to see all of our Notebooking resources.

Blessings,

That Resource Team

Just a Quick Note:

Have a reluctant writer?  If your children can improve their drawing skills, you will almost undoubtedly find that they will want to use notebooking sheets that allow them to draw and illustrate details that can add life and meaning to their narrations.  If you are looking for a nice little resource to help teach drawing and penmanship to children K-6 while teaching about some basic topics, you may want to consider trying the Draw Write Now  series of books.  Our children really enjoyed using these books and return to them over and over to remember techniques for drawing animals, simple characters, and nature lore.

New Art Worksheets to Help Homeschoolers Learn About Colours

Let's learn about colours - primary, mixing, and creating new ones.

I read today in a junior science book about light, the most beautiful title of a chapter, "Light Means Life".  I immediately thought of our Lord Jesus, who is the light of the world, and how we could not live without Him in our lives.  Inspired to create something fun from our science reading lesson, I created these worksheets which allow children to create the glorious colours that our Lord designed while illustrating how light is so easily filtered.

There are three different sheets in this art worksheet set.  Using a graphic organizer featuring little lenses, learners will create colours and mix them using pencil crayons or plain crayons being sure to shade the lenses as directed using layers of colour rather than just one heavy colouring.

The first worksheet allows learners to mix any two colours they desire per lens pair to create a new colour in the overlapped area.  By simply colouring the circles one at a time and allowing smooth strokes to overlap a new colour will reveal itself.

The second worksheet gives learners the chance to create and mix new colours with just a bit of formality.  Gentle colouring and blending unveils new colours within circles.  Warm (reds, oranges, yellows), Cool (blues, greens, purples) and Neutral colours (blacks, whites, greys, browns) are noted for new colours as well.

The last art worksheet uses three different lenses and asks learners to colour the circles as instructed while creating new colours from primary colours.  It is a fun, easy and unique way to use Venn diagrams.

Simply download and print out to these worksheets to begin creating some fun with colour.  This resource is available in UK or US English.

Click Here to download the UK version of this resource.

Click Here to download the US version of this resource.

Blessings,

That Resource Team

NEW - Claude Monet Montessori Cards and Notebooking Pages

New printables to help learners come to know Claude Monet.

Whether you have a hands-on learner or a writing fan, we have something beautiful to share with you to bring art study to life.  Download a set of six Montessori cards featuring pieces from Claude Monet as well as a seven page notebooking set to accompany the study of Monet and Impressionism.

The Montessori cards feature some of Monet's most popular works including a few depicting his "Lilies" series.  Simply print out cards on cardstock and cut apart on the lines.  Look through the pieces to notice similarities and differences.  For something simpler, print and cut out two sets of cards to play our favourite concentration style matching game.

If your learner enjoys writing or uses notebooking to learn, then our seven page notebooking sheet set may be useful.  Pages features the artist's portrait and some famous pieces from Monet including the signature work of Impressionism.  Lines are simple and allow for relaxed writing. Some sheets have spaces for doodles, drawings or writing in fun facts.  These are just a few sample pages below.

We hope you find these printables fun and useful for your art study.

Click Here to download Montessori Art Cards featuring Monet.
Click Here to download Monet and Impressionism Notebooking Sheets.

Blessings,

That Resource Team

New How Do I Serve? Art Narration Cards

New art narration sheets help children discern the value of servitude

When we were little children we often dreamed of what we were going to be when we grew up.  Depending on where you lived and your cultural background, you had a whole slew of ideas that probably changed as you grew older.  Most children are directed to be in careers that provide good incomes, comfort in life, and in some cases, prestige.  But as children of the Lord we know that we are put here to know, love, and serve Him and each other.  Period.  He doesn't specify our careers or how we are to serve except to say as He does in Matthew 25:34-46 that whatever we do for the least of our brothers that which we do for Him.  Today we offer resources that help children think about how each person serves one another through their chosen occupation.

These sheets directly correspond to the How do I Serve? Oversized Monthly Calendar which we shared yesterday.  As you discuss the daily occupation graphic from the calendar you can ask children about the importance of the occupation to the community at large and how that is connected to servitude of the Lord and others.  These sheets are colourful and simple to use for just about any age.  Simply print out the sheet, fill in and finish the picture using the graphic provided as a starting point.  When completed, have the children write about how the person is serving, what is going on in their picture, or reiterate a portion of your family discussion.  Fold in half and glue when completed.  Learners can then share with each other their finished cards.  You could bind all cards on the left with brads, half a file folder, key ring, or a spine of some sort to create a book of their writing and artwork for the month.  These are great for Charlotte Mason style learners beginning to use narration or those who need to show proof of learning in the form of writing samples.

There are three sets in this collection totally 31 different sheets.  We hope these sheets help stimulate some excellent Christian discussions.  Don't forget to look up the Bible verse mentioned above (Matthew 25:34-46) and read it together as a family.  :)

Click Here to download set 1 of How Do I Serve Art Narration Sheets - 10p.

Click Here to download set 2 of How Do I Serve Art Narration Sheets - 10p.

Click Here to download set 3 of How Do I Serve Art Narration Sheets - 11p.

If you enjoyed this activity you can see similar resources and samples HERE.

Blessings,

That Resource Team

Teaching Catechism Using Math, Dictation, and Art - Really :)

Teach the truth's of the Catholic Faith using math facts, dictation or copywork and art

Inspired by our faith and our children's love of drawing, we created this resource that can help children of different age levels begin to learn the unique and rich details of our Catholic faith while reinforcing simple math facts, practicing dictation skills (or copywork if you or your learner don't use this skill yet) and honing drawing skills.

Here is how this resource works.  Print out the sheets needed.  There should be one sheet used daily. You may choose to use a plain notebook instead of our sheets and that's perfectly fine.  (See same at left.)  Just use a ruler to create the margins needed. 

Announce the number for the day.  Ask your learner if they can think of anything from their catechism knowledge that could fit the criteria.  For instance the number four could prompt - 4 authors of the Gospel, 4 marks of the Church, 4 weeks of Advent, etc.  Give leading prompts if needed. Announce the answer, read the passage and then give a short explanation of it. This is an excellent time for catechism lessons to unfold. Don’t be afraid to take some time and really explain the truth of the faith. We have purposely included some vocabulary terms with which children may not be familiar.  Read the passage again twice for dictation. Read it through once for content and then a second time for them to write it out.  You could treat this as copywork instead of dictation using a blackboard, whiteboard or other paper. 

Next ask them to draw a picture that goes with the truth they just wrote down.   Lastly, ask them to either write the addition fact family for the number or the multiplication table that goes with it.

We have tried to include everything you may need to complete this activity.  This is fun and can be used as quickly or as slowly as you desire.  We have included multiple options for writers in our line spacing options.  We do this to accommodate as many learners as possible including those who are just learning to write, practicing cursive, or have trouble controlling with motor skills. 

(Sample sheet from our set which includes 6 different page offerings per file)

 

We want all children to know and love their Catholic Faith!! :)

Click Here to download this resource with an emphasis on Number Fact Families
Click Here to download this resource with an emphasis on Multiplication Facts/Tables


 
Blessings,
 
That Resource Team

Pater Noster (Our Father) Hands-on Resources

Help learners learn the Pater Noster - Our Father in Latin

Today we offer the Little Latin Pater Noster hands-on learning fun.  Contributed by Michelle over at Thinking Love, No Twaddle, this resource is laced with fun and is as complete as it gets.  Use the sheets for a number of neat learning activities weather you are a Classical Learner, a narration lover, or CCD Catechist.

Michelle offers a few ways that this resource can be used.  She suggests that you could:

• Print off sheets and let the child practice cursive on the grey letters.
• Cut out the cards and get the family working out which order the Latin ones go in and which English ones go alongside in a matching play style.
• Check out and further investigate the art and artists presented for discussion and art appreciation.
• Make a scrapbook with construction or sugar paper (or even posh scrapbook paper) and stick the prayers in.
• There’s a note book page for those who can write the prayer out freehand.

(Sample pages)

   

It is always neat and fun to see how someone could take one thing and use it in so many different ways.  Oh the joys of homeschooling!  Thanks, Michelle for helping us put the fun in learning for other Catholic homeschooling families.

Click Here to download the Pater Noster resource set.

Have a wonderful week!

Blessings,

That Resource Team

Set #2 - History of Early Man - Children of Adam

Learning more about Early Man

Here is the next set of pages in the History of Early Man resources that Michelle over at Thinking Love, No Twaddle. has been sharing with us.

This set, Children of Adam, continues on from the first set. This family discussion type lesson set includes historical reading, go along online links for further exploration of topics, art and picture study, as well as introduces readers to our Holy Father of the past, Pius XII and his work, Humani Generis. So much here and lots to learn. This is a multi-age lesson but older readers will find much to think about and ponder here.

(More sample pages)

Thanks so much for sharing, Michelle!

Click Here to download this history resource, Children of Adam



Blessings,

That Resource Team

New Big Book for Mother Goose in Prose by L. Frank Baum

Mother Goose isn't just for wee ones.

As part of our new Big Book collection we offer Mother Goose in Prose by L. Frank Baum.  We are actually using this as a resource for slightly older children as part of our CM (Charlotte Mason) style learning year.  As we have a child who hates poetry, prose and the like, we thought that this would be a great way to study simple poetry and prose, practice copywork and art, and discuss virtues and morals all at the same time.  Educational multi-tasking, eh?  (We love when learning works out that way!)

To use this resource simply print out, fill out, fold in half and bind on the left using a method of choice - folder, comb bind spine, rings, duo tang, or ringed binder.  The pages require a picture be drawn, the story retold and the original rhyme copied into it's own space for each story.  Do them all or just one.  The needs of each family are different.

A Note From Mama:  If you have never read this title before, you are in for a real treat.  Baum attempts to explain what the Mother Goose rhymes could actually mean in a realistic sense.  I fondly remember my mother reading these prose stories to me growing up, but I couldn't remember any of the plots or settings.  So noticing that I had not one but TWO hard cover copies of this book at home, I began to reread it.  I started with Little Boy Blue and was hooked.  That such a young child could be so virtuous and sacrificing was a real joy to read.  As I proceeded, each story had something that could be used as a tool to exemplify behaviour one way or another.  In Hey Diddle Diddle the Cat and the Fiddle, a little boy learns that heeding the advice of one's parent is a far better choice than succumbing to his own will.    And you'll never guess just how the cow manages to jump over the moon.  Very ingenious on the author's part.

We hope you enjoy this work.  We considered doing a PIY version to share but it would be too large a work and fairly pointless for us since we already had two copies.  It is very easy to find online.

We will be sharing many of our Big Books as we organize our forthcoming learning year.  We hope that many of the works we have selected will also be of use for your family too.

Click Here to download the Big Book of Mother Goose in Prose


Blessings,

That Resource Team

July 4 - Story Starter Art Cards Featuring People

More drawing and writing fun with our Story Starter Art cards featuring people.

Most children love to draw and ours are no exception.  Since the animal sets were so well received we decided to do more of them.  This time we focused on having people as the centre of the cards so that story writing could include pronouns quite easily without feeling forced.  We have selected people of various ages doing various activities so we hope that there is something to appeal to all learners.

These sheets are easy to use.  Have learners finish drawing and colouring the picture as many details of the setting have been left out then have them write a story about the picture.  Fold in half to create half-sheet cards.  Laminate to preserve.  Children have lots of fun trying to guess the plot of stories written by others.


Some helpful tips for using these resources may include:

• Vary writing tasks by having your child draw a picture first and then write the accompanying story and another time have them complete it in the reverse order - write the story first then draw the picture.
• If felts are to be used for artwork, have your child draw and colour the picture before folding the paper in half to avoid disappointment from bleeding ink.
• If writing a paragraph is too difficult, have your child simply write a sentence or two about the action or main character in the picture.
• Consider setting a time limit to the activity to keep a balance between the time for writing and the time for drawing.
• If you are using this resource with more than one child at a time, encourage sharing by taking turns presenting the finished products when the activity is completed.  It is good for children to see how others interpret the same information in their creation of different plots, settings, or characters. 

Click Here to download our People Themed Story Starter Art Card set.


Blessings,


That Resource Team

June 28 - Animal Themed Story Starter Art Cards

Encourage writing or narration with imaginative art cards.

We are very excited about this new resource we created from the ideas of our kiddos.  This simple sheet of paper turns into a narration writing card that displays the artistic talents of the writer when completed.  This is perfect for the Charlotte Mason method educator or any child who likes to write or draw.
Each card begins as a sheet with a black and white animal graphic of some sort.  The learner then completes the picture by adding some of the following:  a background, details, objects, horizon line, shading or shadows.  Then the artist fills it in with colours using any favourite medium - coloured pencils, gel pens, felt tipped markers, or crayons will work fine.

After completing the drawing, the artist flips the paper over and becomes a writer. :)  Using the lines provided, children create a story or provide a description of their picture.  We have used this line spacing style to encourage new young writers or those writers who are attempting to master cursive writing.

Upon completion of both sides, fold page in half and glue.  Laminate to preserve.  These cards can be easily used in games such as:  guess what's going on in the picture or read the story a loud and ask players try to match the picture to the story they just heard.  It is lovely to see how children create such unique pieces with the exact same starting point.

BTW - If card learning really isn't your thing, you could easily create books with a collection of these cards bound on one side with a comb-bind spine, key-ring or put it into a duo-tang cut in half.

Click Here to download our Animal Themed Story Starter Art Card sets.

Enjoy!!

Blessings,

That Resource Team

June 6 - New set of Artist Learning Cards

New set of artist Learning Cards available.

We have a new set of quick fill-in style Learning Cards.  They feature artists William-Adolphe Bouguereau and Pompeo Batoni.  We have also put a new little graphic at the bottom right hand corner to help identify each person as an artist.  This is something new we are trying to help our children categorize their Learning Cards.

Be sure to check out our entire collection of Our Learning Cards using our resource links or by searching our blog.

Click Here to download our new artist Learning Cards set.

Blessings

That Resource Team

June 5 - William-Adolphe Bouguereau Montessori Cards

Oh, if homeschooling were only this peaceful all the time :)

I was totally moved by this painting (at left) that I came across in the Wikicommons gallery the other day.  It was entitled Song of the Angels and it was painted by the French, Academic painter, William-Adolphe Bouguereau.  I thought it was so beautiful that I wanted to see more works from this artist.  I found many more beautiful pieces, which lead me to create this set of six Montessori cards featuring a self-portrait of the artist, three religious pieces and two others. 

Simply print out cards, cut apart, and explore.  We will soon have Learning Cards to help children better explore art through simple guiding questions and exercises.  Visit us daily or subscribe to our blog to keep up with our new daily resources.

Click Here to download the artist William-Adolphe Bouguereau Montessori card set.

Blessings,

That Resource Team

June 2 - Sacred Heart of Jesus Montessori Cards

Heart of Jesus,  full of goodness and love, have mercy on us.

June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  What better a way to begin this month than by pondering this beautiful tradition of our Lord through pictures.

Today we offer a set of Montessori cards based on sacred art depicting the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  We have included some well known versions as well as some lesser known representations including St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Louis Gonzaga.  We have even added a card for children to colour their own version of the Sacred Heart.  Laminate these up and you have reinforcement for Church tradition as well as art lessons.

Enjoy!

Click Here to download our Sacred Heart of Jesus Montessori card set.

Blessings,

That Resource Team

May 15 - Our Lady Match-up Game

What is your favourite title for Mary?
Our Holy Mother Mary is known by many titles. Many of them correspond to her apparitions around the world at various times in our history. Introduce young Catholics to Our Lady with this matching game using titles and classic images of our Holy Mother. Although there were lots of titles to choose from, we tried to select some popular titles (Our Lady of Guadalupe and Our Lady of Fatima) as well as some lesser known titles (Our Lady of Bethlehem and Our Lady of Charity) as well.

Simply print out, cut apart, and match up titles to images. It's fun, easy, and a great way to study art as well as learn about our Faith. There are a total of 9 sets to match-up.

As a side note, this would be a neat little time filler for CCD classes as well. Many times in our CCD class we will take the last 10 minutes and put out games we have made and have children travel from station to station completing the games. This is a great review for reluctant writers or special needs learners who ordinarily wouldn't respond well to timed written tests.

Click Here to download the Our Lady Match-up Game.

That Resource Team

May 12 - Set of 6 Madonna and Child Montessori Cards

Montessori cards are a great way to encourage natural learning for your children.  We have found that cards of any sort are always a hit in our little homeschool.  Download this neat set of 6 Montessori cards of the Blessed Mother Mary and Baby Jesus from various classic artists from different time periods.

To use this resource, simply print out and cut apart the six cards on the lines.  It is better to use heavier bond paper or laminate the cards to extended use.

Print out and prepare two sets to play a small round of concentration.

If you've never used Montessori cards before, here are a few ways that you can use these sets of cards:

• 
  
  Compare and contrast the people in the pictures - hair colour, clothing, etc.
• 
  
  Note and discuss the backgrounds in the cards or the positions of the subjects
• 
  
  Talk about the depictions of the Baby Jesus in comparison to your child's vision of what Baby Jesus would have looked like
• 
  
  Play concentration/memory games
• 
  
  Layout all six cards and mentally select one to use, then give your child clues to your selection.  Clues could include mediums used in the pictures, picture details, artist bio details, or time period notations

These are just a few of the ways that you can use these cards.  We hope you find them useful and a fun change to your homeschool.  Find more Montessori Art and Catholic sets in our collection of printable resources.

Click Here to download our set of Madonna and Child Montessori art cards.

That Resource Team