Using My Fellowes Comb Binding Machine to Make My Own “Workbooks”

A Fellowes Star Plus 150 Manual Comb Binding Machine has been on my wish list for a long time.  I decided this was my splurge for back to school this year.  I am so glad I bought it!

I am creating my own little “workbooks” for Caroline (for lack of a better word).  I decided not to purchase a complete curriculum in any subject area since all of it felt like overkill.  Instead, I am utilizing things I create, find online, buy in stores, etc.

So our current little book I’ve put together for this week has fall-themed poems I’ve printed off from online, phonics pages, math pages, and a bunch of information about the season of autumn. The poems are for Caroline to read aloud. The phonics pages are things I’ve created myself, pulled from various workbooks, and online resources that fit with what we’re working on right now.  The math pages are the same.  Some I’ve created, some are from workbooks, and some were downloaded.  The last section is from a freebie I got on online at some point and saved. I added this section because Caroline has been interested in the hemispheres, the changing light outside, and China having daytime when we have night. This section is material I will read to her and we’ll look at the various diagrams and talk about them.

The other little book I put together for the next few weeks is about maps.  It is actually a section from Scholastic Success with 1st Grade Workbook that I picked up at Costco over the summer.

I did not intend to use everything in the Scholastic workbook when I bought it. I simply pull out the things that work for us.  One section is about maps and since Caroline has been really into maps lately, I decided to do a unit on it. I pulled out the fifty-ish page section and put it into a little book with the binding machine.  I put on plain cardstock covers and let Caroline decorate them. I thought about putting a graphic on the cover and laminating it, but didn’t. I might do that with some booklets I make in the future.

The thing I like about binding the little books as opposed to notebooking is that this is much manageable for a small child. We do use a three-ring binder for our calendar time and it always seems awkward.  The plus with the three-ring binder is you can pull things in and out.  The positive about the bound book is that I have an easy piece to drop in Caroline’s file as proof of what we’ve done and it takes up a lot less room. I also think the little bound books have the cute factor that three-ring binders lack.  And in our house, the cute factor can count for a lot.