Does anyone make their own worksheets?

[Sarah CB]

Is there a particular program that you use to make them in? I'd like to make some worksheets for my kids to learn their Taekwon-do theory. There are definitions to learn, historical facts, longer memory pieces (like the student oath), etc.

 

If you made your own worksheets how did you do it?

[quark]

I've used either MS Word or Powerpoint, and sometimes both.

[Vida Winter]

I make my own on the spur of the moment when math practice for a certain type of problem is needed. No program necessary, just written on blank paper.

[Hunter]

I write my own out by hand.

 

I studied the handwriting instructions in WRTR and improved my handwriting enough that I am confident about it.

 

I often fold pieces of paper into squares, and sometimes I just tell the student what to write/draw in each square.

 

I went months without a printer and researched a lot of vintage, Principle Approach, TWTM 1st edition, and Waldorf methods, and I became a whole new teacher.

[Lori D.]

During the elementary years, I just hand-wrote in a spiral-bound notebook, which helped me limit the amount of work to just one page. Lots of spelling pages and working with words, but also handwriting pages, and then dictation pages similar to those in Sonlight. I would spend an hour or so on Sunday writing out worksheets for the following week while watching a movie or something on a DVD. ;)

 

PS -- ETA

The benefits were very much like what Hunter expressed above:

- very specifically targeting what each DS needed to learn / practice

- by writing it out, I was really "learning" it and very familiar with the next week's school work

- improved my own handwriting! :D

[Holly]

I've made some very simple ones with Word. They are usually tables for them to fill in. Otherwise, I give them a blank (or semi-blank) paper to write or draw on.

 

For memorization, we usually just use index cards.

[Farrar]

I agree with others than when it's just for one kid, I usually just handwrite them into their notebooks.

 

When it's for both or for a group, I use whatever will work best - Word, Pages, Open Office, whatever. I've been making worksheets for a long time. If you have an iPad, it's nice to use Notability to make worksheets. I'll hand write them out, doodle on them, include little pictures or cut and paste words when needed and then print them as pdf's. It's really useful.

[stripe]

I used to use StartWrite, but I have gotten tired of having papers everywhere and am having my kids do everything written on paper, in a composition book so it doesn't get lost. Much happier.

[jenn&charles]

I use Photoshop or MS Word. Sometimes I just write them out by hand.

[Sarah CB]

I agree with others than when it's just for one kid, I usually just handwrite them into their notebooks.

 

When it's for both or for a group, I use whatever will work best - Word, Pages, Open Office, whatever. I've been making worksheets for a long time. If you have an iPad, it's nice to use Notability to make worksheets. I'll hand write them out, doodle on them, include little pictures or cut and paste words when needed and then print them as pdf's. It's really useful.

 

Thanks. I do have an iPad so I'll play around with Notability. I am making them for my three boys but I also thought about sharing them with the other Taekwon-do parents. There's quite a bit of theory they have to learn and I find it boring and difficult for them to just read and memorize. I thought if there were some exercises they could do with the theory information in the form of interesting worksheets that it might help make the learning process more smooth. I've seen examples of other WTM sheets - notebooking pages and other stuff - and some of it looks so professional. That's kind of what I'm hoping for.

[Sarah CB]

I use Photoshop or MS Word. Sometimes I just write them out by hand.

 

Could you explain how you used Photoshop?

[jenn&charles]

Could you explain how you used Photoshop?

 

I create a new document and then create a worksheet with text and graphics. Some of the graphics I create myself using a digital tablet and pen (Wacom) directly in Photoshop using the drawing tools. Others are just clipart I paste into the document. I basically use whatever graphic arts / Photoshop skills I have to make things. I heavily use the "layers" feature in Photoshop to more easily manipulate shapes, text and graphics.

 

You can see some examples of things I've created below. I used Photoshop for these because they are graphic intensive. If I'm just making a handwriting worksheet, I use MS Word as it's quick & easy and doesn't require any layout other than typing in text.

 

The stuff I made (featured below) requires a program with more layout capabilities, which is why I used Photoshop. They would be a huge pain to try to create in MS Word.

 

 

 

 

Let me know if you have any specific questions about Photoshop. It's an invaluable tool for making worksheets / help sheets, etc. I really wouldn't want to be without it. If you've never used it though - it has a huge learning curve. It's not just something you can sit down and make something without understanding how to use all the various tools, layers, etc.. It's also very expensive (I use the full program, not PS Elements).

 

P.S. All the worksheets shown above are available free on my website. ;-)

[Meriwether]

You can see some examples of things I've created below.

 

Very cool.

[skeeterbug]

No one has mentioned Publisher, so I will. :) I've used it to make many printables. If you already have it as part of MS Office it's worth taking a look at, much easier (for me) than Word. I used to use Excel, but now only Publisher.

[Amy Jo]

I'm not sure if it fits, but you might look at something like Quizlet. You can use the website, but you can also print out the set of problems in a variety of ways. It would be easy to share with other parents too.

[mom31257]

:lurk5: