Name: CHEC Rocky Mountain Homeschool Conference
Start: 2025-06-12T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-06-14T23:59:59-05:00
Location: Denver, CO

Tagged: Laurie Bestvater, Notebook keeping

This topic has 36 replies, 19 voices, and was last updated 11 years ago by TailorMade.

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April 7, 2014 at 2:06 pm
Claire
Participant
There is a new book out … The Living Page by Laurie Bestvater …. and there are a lot of blogs discussing the book. I guess I’m not putting this together with CM. I don’t think I’d ever heard of keeping all these notebooks, using only black pens in the BOC entries, etc. It sounds like a whole new set of rules!
Does anyone else do this? And if so, is this more of an organizational thing or an actual method of CM? I think I recall some talk on here of keeping all the work from any given subject together in notebooks or binders in order to see a year’s progress. Is that the same thing?
Can anyone at SCM shed some light on this?
April 7, 2014 at 3:36 pm
marmiemama
Participant
I am still learning more and more about CM and am only recently hearing and learning about the Commonplace notebook idea. Does this book sound like that idea? Plus fleshing out Nature Notebooks and BOC?
This also reminded me of some old spiral bound books that I got when I first started incorporating more CM ideas…Cindy Rushton’s book Notebookjng! Yes You Can Be a Binder Queen.
For years my kids had “interest” notebooks. They would add facts, quotes, thoughts, drawings and observations to a notebook binder on a topic of their choice. Some of the ones they did were: presidents and their wives, I Love Lucy, Beatrix Potter, candy, Narnia, Disney princesses, composers, etc.
Do either of these ideas sound like what the book details?
April 7, 2014 at 4:32 pm
MamaSnow
Participant
I have read the book, and I loved it. (When I first got it, I read the whole thing through in just a couple of days, now I am re-reading it slower to more fully consider the ideas and how we can start to use them in our school). The type of notebooks she discusses are primarily the nature notebook, commonplace book, and BOC, although a few other notebook types are mentioned too. She did a lot of research both in CM’s writings and on what was done in CM’s training college and schools and gives a lot of really wonderful details about how CM really intended these books to be used, why they are beneficial, and practical examples and ways to get started. “Notebooks” as CM intended (as laid out in the book) were meant to give a student a ‘blank page’ on which to respond – to take ownership of their own learning, to give a place to make their own connections, to help develop the ability to wonder and attend. The idea of notebooking set forth in this book is not at all the same idea as the notebooking commonly used in the homeschooling community today – it is far more than coordinating printables or a gathering of student work from the year into a binder to show progress. I would say the notebooks described in this book are really more akin to personal journals than the idea of “notebooks” that most of us have.
Anyhow…it really was wonderful and thought provoking for me, if you get a chance to read it I highly reccomend it.
Jen
April 7, 2014 at 4:40 pm
marmiemama
Participant
Thank you so much Jen for the detailed description of the book! Sounds great!
April 7, 2014 at 4:45 pm
Sara B.
Participant
Completely agree with Jen’s description. I loved Laurie’s book. It really helped me see what we can improve and what we can start up and what we had “wrong” with what CM had actually intended. I plan to include a lot more notebooks next fall when we start up school again. Some I may even begin implementing now.
April 7, 2014 at 4:48 pm
Mysterious Lady in Pink
Participant
Sara B — what do you mean by “a lot more notebooks”? I haven’t read the book (obviously I should!) but when I read Jen’s description, I didn’t feel like that’s what she was saying. I am intrigued but do not want to get out of control with this, lol. I love notebooks and all things paper, but they do not necessarily love me!
Would love to hear some specifics from those who have read it regarding what changes or additions you plan to make.
Off to add it to my Amazon wishlist….
April 8, 2014 at 2:11 am
Sara B.
Participant
Laurie goes through every single notebook mentioned, even briefly, by CM in her books. Some had more than 1 name, and she does mention that, but she does list out all the notebooks mentioned and what she’s found out about them in her research of all of CM’s writings, the PNEU articles, the things at the teacher college, etc. Most are briefly mentioned – a paragraph or 2. Some are a couple pages of description. And a few, namely the nature notebooks, the history charts/timelines/etc, take up multiple pages of explanations and actual samples from teachers-in-training. The book mostly focuses on those because that’s where the most information is found, and plus, I suppose, that’s what most people are trying to implement and trying to get a feel for what CM meant by them.
My notes are downstairs in the office now, and I lent the book to a friend, but maybe tomorrow I’ll have a chance to go through and list the notebooks she discovered. There are quite a few of them, and her charts in the book are extremely helpful. Definitely get the book and read through it! 🙂
April 8, 2014 at 3:09 am
marmiemama
Participant
Just ordered mine from Amazon! Looking forward to it!
April 8, 2014 at 5:27 am
sheraz
Participant
I got my copy a couple of weeks ago. I am excited to read it and “see” what Charlotte’s notebooks can do for our school!
April 8, 2014 at 7:12 pm
RobinP
Participant
Just getting caught up in posts after illnesses. This is a wonderful book. You might be interested in a book discussion of The Living Page going on now at this blog.
http://wildflowersandmarbles.com/2014/02/06/the-living-page-discussion-1-2/
April 9, 2014 at 7:59 pm
Anonymous
Inactive
Those of you who have read The Living Page, if one were to buy one book on CM’s methods aside from the original volumes she wrote, would you recommend this new book The Living Page or would you recommend going either with A Charlotte Mason Education or More Charlotte Mason Education first? Or would you choose something different than all three of those?
April 10, 2014 at 2:41 pm
RobinP
Participant
I think it would depend on how much you understand CM’s philosophy. Without that, all her methods become just another list to check off. Nature study—check. Narration—check. If you have that in place, then The Living Page would be a fabulous addition. If not, you can’t beat For the Children’s Sake.
April 11, 2014 at 2:29 am
Anonymous
Inactive
Thanks Robin. I’m still working my way through her volumes. But I’ve read Volume 6 and portions of two other volumes. So for additional reading, I’m looking for more on the application side of things. Sounds like The Living Page would be that.
April 11, 2014 at 2:55 am
marmiemama
Participant
My copy just came today! Excited to begin reading. 🙂
April 11, 2014 at 3:21 am
waynesweakervessel
Participant
Mrs. K. I’ve read The Living Page (twice) and it’s an excellent book. However, if you’re looking for application and you’re just starting out I’d say the Katherine Levison books are going to give you a better picture of what a CM education really looks like in today’s world. I feel that The Living Page is geared more for one that has already applied the methods and wants to take it to the next level like Charlotte did. Just my .02. 🙂