How to Create a Homeschool Master Binder
February 24, 2021Guest post by Frank Hamilton.
Are you new to homeschooling or face difficulties in organizing the educational process? It’s time to create a homeschool master binder. What is it, and how can it help you? It is your ideal glider and learning guide. This simple still effective tool will allow you to always have everything at hand instead of constantly searching for a list of tasks and to-dos.
What Items Do You Need To Create A Master Binder?
“Making a homeschool binder is not only a money-saving idea. It also has room for personalization. You are the first and the only user to know which sections are quite necessary and which ones are not needed.” – says the research paper writing service team that knows about students’ challenges firsthand.
Sometimes ready-made homeschool binders do not have a lot of space for notes, the necessary sections, and so on. Creating a binder with your own hands will allow you to get an organizer that will fully meet your needs since you will be able to quickly add and retrieve the necessary files in the way you need. What do you need for a homeschool master binder?
- Binder
- Printing paper
- Layout templates
- Decor elements
We suggest choosing binders of A4 format in order to make it easier for you to work with templates for pages. Smaller binders may not be very convenient to use.
You can create page layouts yourself or find suitable ready-made templates on Pinterest. If you want to design each page yourself, then you can do it in Microsoft Word. If you want a more interesting design, you may easily do it with the Canva app that comes for free and is very intuitive and design-rich. Thus, you will be able to come up with a really personalized and individual design, add interesting elements, and so on.
What Sections Should You Prepare For A Homeschool Binder?
If you do not know which sections you should prepare for your binder, then below you will find the list of standard sections that are always needed.
Academic Calendar or Schedule
Educational planning is important for those who study at home. Therefore, this is the first section to start with. Here you can make a markup with months and days and add a page for notes in case you need to add some essential and urgent information.
If your state requires you to attend school, create an attendance calendar. A standard calendar picture may be suitable for this task, so you may highlight the days of visiting with a color.
Weekly Tasks
It is very convenient to prepare tasks for the next week on Friday or weekends. This will allow both you and your child to stay updated on the pre-planned assignments. If you have more than one child, you can color this section so that each child can quickly find their to-do list.
Performance Assessment
Not all parents add this section to the homeschool binder, but it will allow for timely tracking of the child’s success. Regular testing and results recording will allow the whole family to understand whether they are on the right way or they need to return to the previous topics and repeat them.
Educational Plans
This section is very important for parents as you always have the lesson plan before your eyes. Designate goals, texts, tasks that you will use. Here you can use both your official curriculum and make a brief overview of each lesson in a convenient format for you. If you have more than one child, prepare such plans for each child accordingly.
Other Activities
A list of creative tasks may be one more section of your handmade binder. Perhaps you saw an interesting master class on creativity and so on. Make a short lesson plan and place it on the homeschool binder. You can also use this section for a list of educational films, excursions, and so on.
Homeschool Books
You may also add a book section and constantly update it. In addition to books, you can print helpful articles that you might get back to later. In such a fast flow of information, finding the article you read a few weeks ago can be a daunting task. Therefore, printed articles in your homeschool binder will always be at hand and can also be classified according to topic or discipline, just like books.
The above categories are considered a must-have for each homeschool binder. Remember that you can add to your planner any sections you want and need. For example, some add schedules for visits to doctors, vacations, and someone adds a section with the necessary purchases for education. The homemade binder has no limit on the number of sections, so you can add whatever you consider necessary and effective for your homeschooling process.
How Can You Decorate A Binder?
Decorating your binder is one more part of the job and can be a pleasant pastime for the whole family. How can you decorate your homeschool binder? Below you will find three cover decor ideas.
Put Your Family Photo On a Cover
Why not add a family photo to your homeschool binder? Choose a suitable photo and laminate it so that the photo is not damaged. Glue the photo or use double-sided tape. Then you can decorate the cover based on the style of your photo.
Use the Decoupage Technique
Want to decorate your binder cover nicely but cheaply? All you need for this technique is a napkin, brushes, Mod-Podge, and varnish. The essence of decoupage is that you can transfer an image from a napkin to any surface quickly. How to do it?
- Cut out the desired napkin pattern and separate all the napkin layers.
- To glue the image, glue the place where the picture will be. Apply a minimum of Mod Podge to allow the pattern to catch onto the surface.
- Apply the picture to the desired location.
- Dampen the brush with Mod Podge and start brushing over the image so that there are no wrinkles.
- Make sure the whole picture is covered with Mod Podge.
- After complete drying, apply varnish, for example, acrylic.
Decorate Your Planner with Stickers
The easiest way to decorate is stickers. You can find them in the nearest One Dollar Store. This activity is great for younger children, so there is no need to put in a lot of effort.
Should you decorate your binder? Of course, since this is a great opportunity to personalize it and spend time with your child allowing them to show their creativity and individuality. By the way, you can use all the ideas at once to decorate the homeschool master binder.
Wrapping Up
Creating a homeschool master binder is essential for effective planning of an academic year. Your binder will be a guide to keep you on course and not lose something important. What’s more, it can be a time-organizing tool not only for your child but for the whole family.
More About the Author
Frank Hamilton has been working as an editor at essay writing services. He is a professional writing expert in such topics as blogging, digital marketing, and self-education. He also loves traveling and speaks Spanish, French, German, and English.
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