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Alternatives to Interactive Notebooks

Interactive notebooks can be a lot of work for homeschool parents. There is a lot of prep that is required before your kids get to sit down and learn. But there are great alternatives to interactive notebooks. Limiting the cutting and gluing for you. Get the benefits without the work.

graphic book laying open on desk with text overlay

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Alternatives to Interactive Notebooks

Interactive notebooks can be a great learning tool in your homeschool. It is very hands-on for your kinesthetic learner. But again, a lot of work. For some, it is too much for them to do. I get it! It’s a lot of photocopying, cutting, and gluing.

What is An Interactive Notebook?

Interactive notebooks are based on composition or spiral-bound notebooks but go beyond simple note-taking. This tool helps children manipulate information and organize it in a way that makes sense to them. Interactive notebooks are not workbooks, and they are not scrapbooks.

Because they can be intensive for teachers you might want to consider one of these alternatives to interactive notebooks.

Digital Interactive Notebooks

It is an interactive notebook, on your computer or device. No cutting or gluing involved, no mess, nor all the time spent photocopying and cutting.

A digital version is a background with movable pieces. I have shared an image of my freebie below to give you a better idea. Each letter block is movable, but the rest is one piece.

graphic book laying open on desk with text overlay

Graphic Notes and Doodles

This is the way to learn and take notes for an artist person. Think back to your notes in school and the doodles you made while listening to a teacher.

The only real prep you need is to print out a template, easy-peasy.

Without the pressure of structuring a completely blank page, learners can maximize the benefits of the connection of both brain hemispheres. They can still do sketches, creative lettering, coloring, embellishments,  interactive tasks, and more as they take information about the topic they are learning.
 
This way, kids get all the advantages that come from blending linguistic input and graphic input. 

There are a lot of different options available on Teachers Pay Teachers for every subject.

Thanks for reading!

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Digital Interactive Notebooks for Homeschooling

Interactive Notebooks for Kinesthetic Learners

Reasons to Skip Traditional Interactive Notebooks