I Notebook...Do You?

Do you notebook?? {Is it okay that I just made that a verb??}  Well...all that to be said, I DO.  I notebook.  There.   I said it.   I notebook and I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!

I started out small this past year.  Dabbled in it, if you will.  I used Deanna's Interactive Reading Journals and they worked out beautifully.  I got my feet wet and I LOVED it.  I wanted to incorporate more interactive notebooking because I saw how much my kids LOVED it...and how engaged they were...and how they seemed to retain SO much more and make SO many connections while learning.  Not gonna lie...it was awesome.  

SO I spent the latter part of the year...in all that "spare time" I had...jotting down ideas to incorporate more notebooking in my little classroom and here's my first addition!  My littlest little who will be in Kindergarten this year has already started his summer notebook....and he LOVES it! 

Our little interactive alphabet notebook!!!  Such a GREAT way to start off the year!  I know my littles will be THRILLED!!!! 

I'm a HUGE advocate for setting a strong foundation in phonemic awareness and success with the alphabet is the first step. Every year my goal is to make sure my kids know all of their letters and letter sounds by November.  It's a very attainable goal when they're immersed in meaningful, hands-on activities that reinforce these concepts.  I know it's not always possible with EVERY student, but that doesn't mean I"m not going to try my darnedest to make it happen!  I had a little friend that came to me this last year only able to recognize 4 letters...none of them in her name...and no sounds.  I LOVE getting kids like that because I LOVE looking back at the end of the year to see growth and progress.  

She was riding the bus down Struggle Street for the first couple of months.  I was SO worried about her.  I worked to get that sweet baby where she needed to be and y'all...I die.  She was independently reading an 8 at the end of the year and knew all of her letters and letter sounds before Christmas break. We worked HARD and she did BIG things.  

I had her in mind when I created this little packet of notebook fun.  She would have loved it.  We would've worked on it together...in small group....a little bit every day.  We would've pulled it out during our Friday tutoring.  We would've worked on it for "dessert".  She would've eaten it up with a spoon :)  

I love that I can use these notebooks wherever I think they fit best.  Whole group.  Small group.  Independent literacy stations.  Morning work.  Wherever.  I know I'll model the heck out of it in the beginning and gradually release control.  I'm sure they'll be a hot mess while they're learning to use glue the right way.  I'm sure I'll even come home and ask my cabana boy to pour me a stiff one after trying to incorporate them in the beginning :)

What I really love is the flexibility it will give me to differentiate instruction.  I can use as many of the printables as I need or modify it to only use a few.  Some of my friends will be utilizing the majority of the printables, some of my friends won't need a lot at all.  I love that I can tailor their notebooks to fit their needs.

And I love that this little notebook will give them LOTS of opportunities to work with letters and letter sounds. I'm thinking of ways that I can even send these home in their guided reading folders at the beginning of the year in addition to their guided readers...thinking, thinking, thinking.  The curse of the teacher...we can't EVER turn it off!!!!!

I'm so excited to get back to the classroom and put these to use!!  But not before enjoying the next couple of months with my own two babies.  There's lots to be done before the start of the new year!  Having fun is first on my agenda :)

Speaking of the alphabet, I also created these fun little handwriting booklets for each letter.

It serves a dual purpose, really.  Obviously, I really want my kids to have legible handwriting.  We incorporate SO many hands-on fine motor activities throughout our days to help build and strengthen their little muscles, but they still need help with handwriting.  I also created these with my little phonemic awareness goal in mind.  These little booklets were also designed to help my kids with letter recognition and letter to sound linking.  I'm thinking about incorporating one-two pages each day during their literacy stations as a dessert...or maybe for a simple homework activity?!?!  Or morning work.  Not sure yet, but these will definitely be incorporated into our daily routine.  Somewhere :)

You can grab the letter A booklet for FREE by clicking on the pic below...

And if you're interested in trying out Interactive Notebooking Alphabet Style, you can check it out by clicking on the pic below.  There's even a little freebie in it for you, too!!