Commonplace book or just a journal

[elegantlion]

I'd like ds to start one of these for school. I keep a few journals, but most of them are topical. One for writing, one that started as a nature journal and has turned to a reflective journal.

 

My goal is to have ds pull out quotes from books, interesting tidbits that happen in the year and write them down. I'm not looking for deep intellectual thoughts completely. He could write down "It's only a flesh wound" and I'd be okay with that. I want to create a good habit. I also want it handwritten, not only to practice handwriting, but to create something with more permanence.

 

Should I have him set it up like a commonplace book arranged by category (that we would make up as we went along)? Or should we simply do a chronological journal? I like mine done chronologically because you can look back and see what happened in a particular time of your life, but I also like the idea of categories.

 

It has to be simple or we won't do it, I do know that.

[Kfamily]

I think that this is so personal that I like to allow a lot of freedom with my older dd. Her assignment sheet requires her to make one entry (at least) per week and that she must choose from her books for school. I do allow her, although, to ask me about other books she reads for pleasure and to use these for entries too. And since these often lately are very good quality books they work just as well. I ask her to include an excerpt of prose or poetry that was interesting to her.

 

On the other hand, we are using CW Maxim this year and this book has the students keep a commonplace book that is divided into the progymnasmata categories. So we're doing both kinds. :001_smile:

 

And as if that wasn't enough....:lol:...she keeps a literary terms notebook which contains a literary term definition, an example and room to add more examples from literature as she reads it. (This latter part being something we haven't been as good about.)

Edited July 10, 2012 by Kfamily

[elegantlion]

I think that this is so personal that I like to allow a lot of freedom with my older dd. Her assignment sheet requires her to make one entry (at least) per week and that she must choose from her books for school. I do allow her, although, to ask me about other books she reads for pleasure and to use these for entries too. And since these often lately are very good quality books they work just as well. I ask her to include an excerpt of prose or poetry that was interesting to her.

 

On the other hand, we are using CW Maxim this year and this book has the students keep a commonplace book that is divided into the progymnasmata categories. So we're doing both kinds. :001_smile:

 

And as if that wasn't enough....:lol:...she keeps a literary terms notebook which contains a literary term definition, an example and room to add more examples from literature as she reads it. (This latter part being something we haven't been as good about.)

 

I like the idea of making it an assignment. I can do that! Thank you.

 

Ds is reading a lot of manga this summer, those would be fun entries. :lol:I'm hoping he'll add drawings to his as well

 

What kind of notebooks do you use? Pretty bound books or something you put together?

[Kfamily]

I like the idea of making it an assignment. I can do that! Thank you.

 

Ds is reading a lot of manga this summer, those would be fun entries. :lol:I'm hoping he'll add drawings to his as well

 

What kind of notebooks do you use? Pretty bound books or something you put together?

 

Her personal commonplace book is very pretty...a large spiral bound book we found at a bookstore with blank lined pages. But, the book for CW is just a plain black composition book and her literary terms notebook is plain and spiral bound. LOL!

[TippyCanoe]

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[elegantlion]

Her personal commonplace book is very pretty...a large spiral bound book we found at a bookstore with blank lined pages. But, the book for CW is just a plain black composition book and her literary terms notebook is plain and spiral bound. LOL!

 

I like my moleskin, but I know ds will want something spiral. He's also kind of a paper snob, maybe a nice sketch pad would do.

 

Dd and I both keep commonplace books modeled on ones we've read that were kept by British writers. I noticed what dd was already doing -- writing out pages and pages of favorite quotations, drawing favorite characters -- and gave her a spiral bound notebook to keep it all together.

 

I agree that I would give as much scope as possible for individual organization and meaning-making. Dd keeps her notebook chronologically, going by what she happens to be reading or thinking of, so she skips back and forth between books as she makes connections between them while writing the quotes. I go through one book at a time copying quotes as I go. So they reflect our completely different mental compartments!

 

Here are a few other suggestions for the kinds of things that could possibly go into such a notebook. She has yet another set of questions/kinds of elements to put into a literary notebook.

 

http://lauragraceweldon.com/blog-2

 

Oh, thank you. I love the life list idea.

[TammyS]

I bought for my son, a couple of years ago, "The Dangerous Boys" Day book. It's a nice thing with good paper, pictures/quotes/events of interest for that day, and space for him to write in whatever thing he would like to include for the day. More a day book than a journal or commonplace book, but it might be something enjoyable to start with.

[elegantlion]

I bought for my son, a couple of years ago, "The Dangerous Boys" Day book. It's a nice thing with good paper, pictures/quotes/events of interest for that day, and space for him to write in whatever thing he would like to include for the day. More a day book than a journal or commonplace book, but it might be something enjoyable to start with.

 

I didn't know they had a journal, thanks. I'll check it out.