So I bought a little composition notebook for $0.50 at Staples.

I have only a pen and a black ink printer at my disposal until my supplies come in…but, here’s what I’ve got so far:

(Underneath the flaps in the first section…totally wrote the variable expression under the numerical expression flap, but that’s why this is a draft, right?)

(the flaps on this page are cool because they open TWICE!)

And the PEMDAS foldable

(Very much inspired by the one at Math equals Love)

Suddenly I feel saddened that this is all I have when we’re so close to school, but then I remember that the real versions will have colored paper, markers and highlighters.

My draft is pretty boring, but functional.  I also wanted to see how I would do on paper usage.  So far, not bad.  In practice, I know that some of these activities will take up more than a single page, but since this is just a draft, I’m trying to organize everything as efficiently as I can.

So far, these foldables are very specific to my book, so I won’t be sharing.  If you’d like to make your own, this tutorial from A Turn to Learn is AWESOME!

Another thing I like about this format, is that I really get to think about what happens to the notebook over days spent on the same section.  In a class like Intro to Algebra, where we sometimes spend 3 or 4 days on a topic, it’s important to make sure that each day is meaningful.

Five more sections in Chapter One…here I go!