Do your children keep a book of mottoes?

Viewing 11 posts - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • Wings2fly
    Participant

    I noticed in the free curriculum guide for LA handwriting that for grades 4-12 an optional book of mottoes is suggested. My oldest will be grade 4 next year but I don’t see him being ready for this yet. I will continue with cursive copywork (transcription) and use Spelling Wisdom for dictation.

    How will I know when he is ready for a book of mottoes? How can I encourage him to keep one? Any ideas? How does this look/work in your homeschool?

    Also, what is actually written? Should things like the date, author, book title, personal thoughts/opinions be included? Do you separate into categories?

    HollyS
    Participant

    My DD is finishing up 5th and we still do copywork.  I’m not sure when we’ll add a Book of Mottoes (maybe 7th?), but I don’t see her being consistent with one at the moment…she is very happy doing the absolute minimum amount of work, so I can see it not being used.  She’s also still working on her cursive writing and I definitely want her to be consistent with that!  

    I did start keeping one myself and add to it everytime I come across an interesting quote.  I found a nice, but inexpensive hardcover book at the dollar store.  I just write the quote and who said it or the Bible verse.  I don’t organize them into categories.  I’m not sure if this is the “correct” way or not, but that’s how I’ve been doing it.  

    missceegee
    Participant

    My dd12 has a book of mottoes. Next year, 7th, I expect it to become a staple of her week.

    pslively
    Participant

    My daughter, aged 12, is keeping a Commonplace Book. I have absolutely no say in what she chooses to put in there and I never “check” it. Once a week, we have a family meeting and she shares things from her book. We talked about this together several times over a few months before she started doing it. I also showed her a couple of websites for inspiration. When we were reading Great Expectations together, I would share with her from time to time some of the things I was writing down. Pretty soon, I noticed she was writing in her book regularly.

    I have not done any extensive reading on the Book of Mottoes so I cannot speak authoritatively about what it should or shouldn’t be, but I believe it is comparable to a Commonplace Book. I did not set any expectations or rules for her book. Rather, I tried to inspire her to think of it as something that could be kept for her whole life and something that was wholly her own. She does not categorize it, but she does write down the title of the book and the chapter from whence the passage came.

    My own books are categorized. I actually keep separate books for Science, Education, History, Theology, and Literature. I find this to be easier for me because without this system I would be paralyzed by not knowing where to write something and I would end up just not doing it.

    By the way, my son, who is 11, is definitely not ready for this. He is just doing written narrations for now and no copy work. His handwriting is fine and he hates copy work, so I think written narrations are best for him. He also does prepared dictation with Spelling Wisdom. I think I will know when he is ready, just as I knew when my daughter was ready. I could see a maturity in her, a sense of wanting to spread her wings and take some responsibility for her own mind-nurturing. I’m sorry I don’t havesomething more practical to tell you about determining their readiness.

    TailorMade
    Participant

    Two of our older children (highschool and older) keep a BoM/CPB. I have one that I’ve been keeping for years. I Did something similar to pslively. “Hey, Mom, what are you doing?” demonstrations and encouragement. After a time, I’m sure the rest will begin one, too. It’s not a mandatory thing at our house. It’s a personal project type of thing.

    Becca<><

    missceegee
    Participant

    Pslively put it well. My dd was ready at 11 to dabble with her BOM and I see that growing in her and know that she will take flight with it in the coming year. My ds9 will likely not follow that same path and its ok.

    my3boys
    Participant

    Our oldest boy (8th grade) has a BOM and I told him it’s a place to put meaningful quotes/scriptures/passages to him.  I do have it on his schedule to not forget about it and to be looking for those nuggets of inspirations in the books he reads.  He adds to it weekly or when something inspirational hits him, but I do not check it or even ask him about it.  I want him to feel as if it is personal, like a diary, and not something that Mom is going to judge for his choices. 

    His younger brother may start one in the fall as he is moving out of copywork.  Most likely he will be doing SW, the occasional dictation from his daily readings, written narrations, etc.  If we find out he’s just not quite ready, then we’ll take a pause for awhile and try again.  I will add it to his schedule just so he knows he can write those passages down that are important to him and feels accomplished in doing so.

    Janell
    Participant

    Simple blog posts from CM Help about Commonplace Book:

    http://www.charlottemasonhelp.com/2009/07/commonplace-book-or-copywork-for-older.html

    http://www.charlottemasonhelp.com/2010/10/on-commonplace-book-need-to-keep.html

    I was inspired to give my children black pens (some prefer gel pens, others fine sharpie markers) and ivory cardstock bound together (proclick punch and spines with laminated covers). Our nature journals are similar in style. Both commonplace and nature journals are used regularly.

    blue j
    Participant

    My girls do keep a BoM. This is separate from any copywork that is done and is generally pulled from reading they do during the day. I have also started a BoM.

    Sara B.
    Participant

    All 3 of my 1st grade & up kids keep a Commonplace.  I don’t separate out from a Book of Mottoes.  CM has several different little books you can keep.  It’s easiest to just keep most of it in the same thing.  🙂  My younger 2 (ages 8 and 6) only draw pictures, although my 8yo will write something once in a blue moon.  My oldest (10yo) goes back and forth between drawing, writing Bible verses, writing a poem, copying a quote, etc.  I still check them for now, but next year my 10yo (5th grade then) will be on her own with it.  I am thinking about not checking the other 2, I know I shouldn’t be or have to, but I’m not ready to let them go quite yet…  🙂

    Wings2fly
    Participant

    Thank you for the ideas. For this year, I will start my own book of mottoes and talk about it with them as an introduction and model for them to follow and watch for when they have an interest in keeping their own.

    I would like to keep them separate, but keeping up with 4 or 5 books would not be easy for me. I have a hard time now keeping up with where my planner is at. I would like to keep something like a 5 subject notebook, but nicer looking like a journal. Does anyone know of such a thing?

Viewing 11 posts - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
  • The topic ‘Do your children keep a book of mottoes?’ is closed to new replies.