Posts Tagged ‘notebooking’

Government Activity Books for High School

Monday, May 8th, 2017

government-activity-books-for-high-school

I received these Government activity books from Dover Publications for free and was compansated for an honest review.

Since we have been studying Government in our homeschool this semester, I was overjoyed to find these Government activity books for high school! These hands-on activity books are perfect for all ages, but especially for high school students who are studying Government.

You all know how I love hands-on learning. Well, these Dover Publications books include pop-up Presidents, a 3-D White House model, and activity books that include other hands-on craft ideas. There are coloring pages that can be used for notebooking, along with word searches, crossword puzzles, and code breakers.

Government Activity Books for High School (video)

In this demonstration video, you will see many fun activities you can add to your study of Government:

Presidents Paper Models

These eight paper models of famous United States Presidents include George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Jackson, Theodore Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, and Barack Obama. The models are easy to punch out, since they are perforated. You can glue them together, and they look like a group of presidential penguins!

pop-up-presidents

Writing assignments can include skits between two of the Presidents. The skit can be acted out with two students in front of an audience. You can pair up Presidents who might have had opposite views on different issues to make your dialogues more interesting. Since George Washington owned slaves, for example, he could talk to Abraham Lincoln about the Emancipation Proclamation.

Barack Obama could re-define the Constitution and say it is a living document, and see if George Washington rolls over in his grave. Yes, you could make a pop-up gravestone to go along with this particular skit to promote interest from other teens who are taking Government class.

You could even have a time warp cocktail party where all these Presidents are milling around with a glass of punch in their hands, trying to make small talk with each other. Ah, yes. This is what comedy shows are made of!

presidents-paper-models

White House Paper Model

We also put together a 3-D White House model. This is good for high school students, since the cutting and pasting is too complicated for small children. If you set aside several nights to put together the model, you will enjoy the process more. Hold the pieces that you are gluing together for at least 60 seconds before releasing. Two minutes is even better. If you are chatting with friends or listening to music, putting this model together is even more enjoyable. I think it is totally worth it to have a 3-D model of the White House for kids to look at.

white-house-model

High school teens can do further study with library books and present a report about the White House in front of a co-op or classroom. Younger kids can do a White House LEGO model like the simplified one we did several years ago. We learned about what each of the rooms of the White House contained. Some day I would love to take my kids to a tour of the actual White House!

white-house-paper-model

Government Coloring Books for Notebooking

You can use these Government coloring books for notebooking. Simply color the pictures with colored pencils, and then cut and glue the pictures and information on black card stock paper. I always prefer black paper because it causes the kids’ work to pop. It really does showcase the artwork.

government-coloring-books-for-notebooking

You can also have the student write a report on a President and include the report in the Government notebook. Or include coloring pages from the Alexander Hamilton Coloring Book, and describe the situation depicted in the drawing. You can assign it from a first person point of view to make the teen feel like he or she is standing in that time period and experiencing the event themselves.

Dover Publications Giveaway & Discount Code

government-activity-books

Wouldn’t you be excited to win a copy of these fun Government activity books? Ten winners will receive this entire 8-book set (shipped to USA/Canada only)! Why not enter the drawing below:

Dover Publications American History Books

If you do not win this giveaway, you can still purchase these fun materials from Dover Publications at a 25% discount with the code WHBO. Discount expires on June 30, 2017.

Bible Notebook

Friday, August 5th, 2016

Bible-notebooks

Today I will show you how to put together a Bible notebook with your children. These notebooks are great for homeschooling your children for Bible class. You can also use these binders for Sunday School or for any other purpose, such as a personal Bible notebook for you as a parent.

Video Demonstration of our Bible Notebooks

Here is a video demonstration where I show you what we included in our Bible notebooks:

Sections to Include in a Bible Notebook

Bible-sections-for-notebook

We divided the notebook into seven sections:

  1. Scripture memory: Print out the Scriptures that you want your children to memorize. You can use their AWANA verses from church, or have them memorize a verse to overcome specific sin in their lives. Psalm 23 and the Lord’s prayer are good places to start.
  2. Narrations: These are summaries of different stories from the Bible. Your child re-tells the story, trying to remember as many details as possible.You can print out notebook pages with pictures online, or just use regular notebook paper.

Bible-summary-pages

3. Hymns: These are the great hymns of the faith, like “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.” Have your kids learn the songs. You can find the hymns and sing along with the YouTube videos. Your children can write out the words on a notebook sheet of paper, looking at a hymn book for the printed words of each song.

hymns

4. Character: Define a character quality and ask God to help you grow in that quality. Write down ways that you show that quality throughout the day.

5. Drawings: Draw pictures of different Bible stories, choosing a scene that stands out in your mind. To see each of my children’s drawings, check out my series: 31 Days of Drawing through the Bible.

notebooks-for-Bible

6. Time Line: Find a Bible time line printable or make up your own time line, drawing pictures to represent each Bible story. The one we used was from {affiliate link} Reproducible Maps, Charts, TimeLines, & Illustrations.

Bible-time-line

7. Maps & Charts: Color maps from Scripture stories. Print out charts outlining each book of the Bible. We used the ones from the same book where we got the time line. You can have an 8th section with the outlines of each book of the Bible, and the 7th section can be for maps and charts contained inside different stories from Scripture. (Watch the video above to see how we put together the notebook sections.)

Bible-maps-and-charts

Decorating Your Bible Notebook

Bible-Notebook-cover

Make sure to buy a binder that has a clear pocket in the front so that you can insert a decorated card stock paper into it for a beautiful cover. Print out the words “Bible Notebook” from your computer printer, and cut out the words and glue them to the cover page. Decorate it in any way you wish. We snapped a photo of an open Bible with our reading plan to decorate the front.

Bible-notebook

If you enjoyed this post, you will love the Bible section of the Unit Study Treasure Vault, where we have hands-on activities and exclusive videos for every book of the Bible!

Modern History Notebook

Monday, September 14th, 2015

modern-history-notebookThis post contains affiliate links. I was compensated for my work in writing this post.

Today I will be showing you our modern history notebook that we put together during our study of American history. We made two notebooks for the year: one for the Civil War and one for the true modern culture starting at the turn of the century. In our series on modern history, I have shown you many hands-on activities, field trips, and themed parties that help to bring this time period to life. Now I will focus on the written work.

all-american-history-notebook

We used the charts and maps from All American History, Volume II. I liked the fact that my kids had to color and cut out the flags of the different countries involved in the wars. World War I and World War II are especially important to keep separate and are often taught in the schools one after the other. I purposely spent longer than a week (3 weeks!) on World War I so that the kids understood trench warfare and early airplanes. I did NOT want the two world wars to blur together  in their minds.

World-War-II-map

As you can see in the demonstration video at the bottom of this post, we decorated the cover of the modern history notebook with 3-dimensional stickers from World War II. We divided the binder into different sections:

Take a look at our finished Modern History Notebook:

Winter Nature Hike Scavenger Hunt (free PDF)

Monday, January 21st, 2013

winter-nature-hike

When the snow is falling softly outside and the children are squealing with delight, why not go on a winter nature hike scavenger hunt? Bundle up the kids along with their snow boots, and go to a nearby trail. A beautiful sunny day is ideal, but even overcast days can be delightful, especially if it’s snowing. Let the children enjoy the snow falling onto their faces. Let them listen to the wind blowing through the trees. Then let them find the following items, and snap a picture of them. At home you can make a scrapbook of your nature hike.

If you have older children and they have nature journals, they can sit (they’ll need waterproof snow pants) and sketch the different items on the list. Later they can add color with colored pencils or watercolors.

winter-nature-hike-scavenger-hunt-3Here are some items that your children can look for:

  1. red berries on trees or bushes
  2. bird flying or perched on a branch
  3. pinecone (find several kinds of cones)
  4. winter-nature-hike-scavenger-hunt-4animal tracks (different kinds)
  5. bare branches on deciduous trees
  6. evergreen tree (several kinds)
  7. large rock (or specific rock like granite)
  8. cumulous or stratus clouds
  9. winter-nature-hike-scavenger-hunt-5frozen pond or puddle
  10. squirrel, deer, or other mammal
  11. a good view (climb a hill or mountain for best views)
  12. fallen tree
  13. thorny bush
  14. leaves-in-snowmoving water (stream, waterfall, or melted snow trickling off a rock)
  15. feather (try identifying what bird it belonged to)
  16. moss (collect different kinds)
  17. evidence of insects (look under fallen logs or rocks)
  18. fallen-logweeds
  19. an icicle
  20. fallen leaves or pine needles

 

You can print out a copy of this scavenger hunt here: