Joshua, though an avid writer, has always been reluctant when it comes to notebooking. This has never been attitude but rather expressed as personal preference, something that weve dealt with light heartedly. Through various negotiations we have agreed to come to a compromise. Our vocab has been the biggest thing. He understood certain words to mean one thing and I used them to mean another.
Our compromise is like this . We store all our written work in binders. (He doesnt do Notebook Pages for his Notebook!) His preferred style is paragraph writing, report writing nothing creative, nothing anything like scrapbooking and we dont call it Notebooking we call it written assignments.
Mind you I did get a little softening of the “heart” when he listened to Cindy Rushtons presentation to Teenagers on Notebooking but he still maintained his style was not Notebooking. He got a big kick out o hearing that Matthew Rushton and his sister were as different in their presentations and he and his sister, Jess are.
Tonight He tells me, Ive started notebooking Isaac Newtons style and he shows me 3 mini spiral bound note pads.
What do you mean youve started Notebooking? I ask, trying to keep my voice nice and level.
Well, he replied, Isaac Newton kept notebooks of all the things he found interesting it worked for him so I guess it will work for me!
Mmmm replied a stunned mother!! What have you written? He read a portion from a book on Knights where the author is comparing the hierarchy of the Knight society, of medieval times, with Business society of today. It was a very interesting couple of paragraphs that had a lot to think about in terms of business ethics today. Josh told me he was copying the whole thing down.
He continued to tell me he also has started a Nature / Science Notebook (I wont even start to tell you the story of disinclination with Nature Journals!!!) He has copied a recipe for blue paint (something along the lines of berries and alum water) from Medieval times.
The temptation was strong . Do I tell him that is what I am on about? . Do I tell him he is doing copywork? . Do I tell him that it appears that he has a new style? (tongue in cheek!) . Do I?? Do I??
No . I dont! I let him continue to think that he is copying Isaac Newton a scientist whom he obviously has some time for and I keep my happy mummy smile to myself and my cyberspace friends!
Great story.
Does Josh read your blog?
That is so cool and you are so wise!!! Just how you have written it will be such a treasure to present to him one day. One of the reasons I love blogging and, of course, scrapbooking!!!
Love,
Melissa