Fun With Glue

[traceroo]

Today... now this is very exciting, so brace yourselves... today, I made something prettier by gluing pretty paper to it! Exciting, I know. Ian gave me a paperback notebook a month or so ago, random swag from some corporation, I think. I like notebooks -- I have far more than I'll ever use, but still, they make me happy. Today I finally got around

Comments

[candyce]

You'll have to help me with the gluey stuff. I have lots of notebooks but they're never EXACTLY RIGHT for the project I want to do. Lane and I want to start a hiking journal to chronicle our adventures in Colorado every year, and it just seems unfit to talk about awesome scenery and waterfalls and pushing your ass up a mountain in a plain notebook.

For history tests (and foreign languages too), I highly recommend flash cards. In my US History AP class in high school, a class which prided itself on kicking everyone's butt until they could effectively pass their ridiculous AP test to get college credit, our teacher required flash cards, and they really do help. For rote memorization type stuff, it's really effective. They don't teach you to connect events or think for yourself, but boy will you memorize every term, president, and event. They were even color-coded, because color-coding makes everything better. I would be happy to help you out. I minored in history and wish I would've had the guts to major in it.

Flash!

[traceroo]

Rats, I'm really sad to admit that your suggestion about History flash cards is a really great idea. Grrr. I really don't want to do this! It's annoying, and I want a real education, not just rote memorization, but... but... shucks. That's a smart plan to get the A!

When you're hiking, is it easy to open a journal which opens like a book? Or is a spiral-bound journal that can fold over on itself more convenient for writing and holding at the same time?

Trace

Re: Flash!

[candyce]

Well... I realize that not everyone is as huge of a nerd as I am (although I think the world would be a better place if they were ;-), but in addition to flash cards for rote memorization use, I have another tool you can use if you're interested in actually deepening your understanding of history: the DBQ!!! This is the dreaded Document-Based Question, where you are provided with some random historical documents and must write an essay using those for references in response to an open question. We had to do these for the AP test but I don't think actual college classes usually have to. They can be hard for people to get the hang of at first, but I personally find them much more interesting and useful than memorizing who fought what war when. Here's a website that talks about them and gives a lot of links for practice if it's something you're interested in trying (or if you get really bored of chores). I like them because not only do they give you a better understanding of history, but also a much better understanding of how later

Re: Flash!

[traceroo]

The easiest thing here is just to buy one of those notebooks that has an elastic attached for a pen. Barnes & Noble has a really nice selection of fancy writing journals. That's easiest and will have the best selection.

If you really want something homemade, however, then maybe a spiral notebook is the way to go. Use a pen with a clip on it, and just attach that into the spiral. When all is said and done, you can glue pretty paper on the cover with Modge Podge. If you put another coat over the top as shellac, that might help preserve it from getting dirty or wet or otherwise mussed while hiking.

Thank you for the link to the DBQ. I'll look into it!

Trace

Thanks, teach!

[traceroo]

Hey, I started making flashcards for the current study unit. I can tell already that this is going to be a huge help to me! Thanks for the reminder that studying is more than just reading the material and jotting a few notes in the margins.

Trace