Creating an Interest-Led Learning Binder
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You know those days where you don’t want to do a full day of school, but you do want to give your kids something engaging or hands-on to do?
I’ve found there are so many days like this. I’m exhausted, feeling burnt-out, I’ve got some extra work on my plate, I’m behind on chores or have phone calls to make, or we have an appointment mid-day that would interrupt our school day rhythm but we could still do a morning lesson. I could go on! Sometimes I find it hard to get into our curriculum on those days because it feels too involved, but something supplemental works as a stand-alone activity that still inspires learning.
The homeschool world is full of creative, fun printable resources for any interest we might want to follow! It took me a while to warm up to the idea of how and when to use these, but now that I have a system to use them in our home - they’ve become an adventure we all love. I tried out the printing services of Family Nest Printing to finally get these resources off of my computer and in use in our homeschool, and the result has ended up being a go-to resource for me on those harder days!
Get Those Printables Off Your Hard Drive
Over time I have collected all sorts of cute and creative printable activities to do with the kids, but my problem is that I’ve never had a system for them! After gathering up all the different files into one PRINTABLES folder on my computer, I spent some time carefully uploading them into the Family Nest Printing “Custom Print Order” form. I specify that I did this carefully because each file has different needs, and Family Nest has many printing options.
Upload your file
Specify how many pages are in the file
Color or B&W
Double-Sided or Single-Sided
Paper Weight (they even print on cardstock! I can’t do that at home!)
Coil Binding (with covers!)
Lamination
3-Hole Punch
I went through my files and printed as many things as I could, from things I might not normally have been able to print as nicely at home, like solid-color flashcards that should be printed on cardstock, to simple black and white coloring sheet freebies I’ve downloaded over time.
Though it took me some time to decide how to print each type of file, the process was super easy, and I was able to add over 20 files to my order with no problems.
Printing Books
As an example of their pricing for a more complicated print job, one of my Kids Bullet Journal Planners with 53 pages (one for each week of the year, plus a cover page), double-sided full color, spiral bound with a white coil and a laminated cover, was only $14.18!
The Activity Binder
When my big lovely box of printables arrived, I organized them all into a big Better Binder. This binder will be something I can pull out and the kids can flip through and select activities from when they’re bored or I need to work or we are having a low-key day and they need a quiet time activity.
Rather than planning all sorts of activities or unit studies around these resources, I am keeping this binder of printables as something they’re free to explore. I know everything in it is enriching in some way, and if they’re selecting the activity because they’re interested in it - they’re more likely to benefit from it! I was able to absolutely PACK a large Better Binder full of activities for around $70. That value is huge to me, knowing this should last through the year!
If your printables seem kind of random, try sorting them into broad categories like “creative” (for coloring, tracing, cutting, inventing, art, etc.), “skills” (like language arts and math activities), and “topics” (for anything else that is more of a topical study, like history, science, nature, etc.). I didn’t separate the activities by age for my girls (5 & 8) because they will naturally be drawn to the ones that are more fit for their skill range. And often, they both want to do the activities together anyway.
I am thrilled with the quality of printing, the prices, the options, the packaging and shipping, and the customer service from Family Nest Printing! I wholeheartedly recommend them for your homeschool printing needs.
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