<A quick and random post, but an important part of reclaiming (or just claiming, really) our homeschooling.>
At the beginning of the school year, I’ve usually sought out a lined spiral notebook for my daughter’s schooling. Granted, these are easier and cheaper to find in the fall, amidst shelves of fresh school supplies. They are also the type of notebooks I knew as a student and as a teacher in schools. Students write their work on lined 8 1/2″ by 11″ paper, right? I know the practical reasoning for this as a classroom teacher – when collecting work, the uniform size of these sheets makes it easier to stack and store papers without misplacing any. But it wasn’t until yesterday while browsing the cute journals in Marshall’s that I realized there was absolutely zero reason I need my daughter to be using a standard school notebook. While I occasionally use these standard spiral-bounds for my own writing when they’re around and I need something, they are definitely not my preference. I prefer big, blank pages for writing as big or small as I’d like and covers that make me happy. So, even though I do think it’s important for my kids to still use lined paper while they’re specifically practicing printing and cursive (at least for most “school” purposes), I love the idea of them finding notebooks that make them happy to open and use.