And the older siblings are home from school at the end of a week. Everyone is puttering about the house on their chores. Our minds on the audio book rumbling over the speaker. And a bit of our old life comes back to life. It’s the bit that makes us an us. The bit of who we are that we take with us as each of us move off and go our way. The stories we share are part of our story. This moment will vanish, but the stories will stay connecting us.
Copyright 2019 J. A. Goggans
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I hate spiral notebooks! Ok, hate is a strong word. I really do not like them Sam I am!
And I have actually tried them!
Here and there,
And I do not like them
Anywhere.
No House, No Mouse, No box, No fox, NO!
I do not like them to unwind
I do not like them to unbind
I do not like them when they rip
And then the pages do not flip!
Ok seriously, I have been homeschooling now for 100 years or since 2009 whichever is longer. Spiral notebooks, workbooks, textbooks, and manuals never ever fair well. The covers rip, the spirals bend, break, or unwind. Then the pages start falling out. For this reason, I always buy composition notebooks even though they aren’t a full 8 1/2 by 11.
So, if this happens to you or in your house and you want to know what I have finally (after a 1000 years of trial and error, videos, and blogs) figured out, then keep reading.
Before:
This is what my book looked like before I started. It is in much better shape than some of our other spiral books, but still, it is falling apart. (P.S. I highly recommend Rightstart Math, if you’re interested in a review the curriculum comment below).
Materials:
You are going to need:
Binder clips (I recommend using at least two but I couldn’t find a 2nd)
A large needle
Dental floss
Packing tape
Regular tape
Glue– rubber cement works well. School glue can work too, there is also book binding glue on amazon, but both take longer to dry).
Card stock, or heavy paper, or a folder and or paper*
coffee (well maybe not, but if you’re like me you need the coffee).
*You will also will need a piece of paper or card stock to make a back spine of the book. For this book I used a piece of paper the color of the spiral spine. If the cover of your book is torn off and lost you will need some heavy paper or card stock to make a cover. For this book I used card stock for my front cover, I only need it to last 4-6 six more weeks. If the book needs to last a full school year (or longer) with daily use, then I suggest a school folder (the sturdier kind that have that slick finish on the front). You might also be able to laminate the original cover to make it last longer.
Procedure:
Step 1. Place a binder clip (or more) on the edge(s) of the book. It is easier if you have one on the two ends.
Step 2. Clip off the curled edge of the spiral binder that is supposed to keep the spiral from unwinding. (Though, if you are reading this you know they are a lie! Stupid things always unwind anyway).
Step 3. Unwind the spiral binder from the book. At first it seems like it will take forever but this only took me a little over a minute. Yes, I timed it.
(I tried to take a video but I can’t post videos on my blog unless I pay for an upgrade, but like 4 people read this thing, and half of them are my parents, so I’m not paying for an upgrade! I had to do a screen shot of the video and that is why it’s stupid and blurry.)
Step 4. Tape any torn pages. Placing tape over the edge gives you something to sew to if the holes are ripped.
Also, for the cover I put tape on both sides of the cover. You do not need to put tape on both sides of the paper pages.
Step 5. Pull out some dental floss about 4 times the length of your book. I used about three times today and I had to tie another piece on part way through. Thread the floss onto a large needle.
Un-spool about 3 to times the length of the book.
Tie another piece of floss on, if you run out before your finished.
Step 6. Thread the needle through the first hole on either the top or bottom of the book. Then loop it back through the same hole and pull tight.
Step 7000. Not really 7000 but I’m sure you feel that way. Sew through the holes skipping every 3 or 4 holes.
If you have tape on your edges of your cover, make sure you sew through the tape. (You can see how the pages not stacked perfect, that is because I only had one binder clip.)
When you get to the end sew back down the book the opposite way, alternating the stitches on the way back down. If the first time the stitch went up through the book, then the second time it should go down through the book.
To finish off the the end I stitch back up the book about 4 or 5 stitches in each hole to keep the floss from raveling.
Step 8. Tape the cover to the book.
Attaching a cover, if you no longer have the original. Line the cover up on the book as though it was open. If you have the cover, open the book, and tape the cover to the book the length of the book with packing tape. For added security tape the other side of the first page (cover page) to the 2nd page in exactly the same way as show below.
The back of my book with the original cover.
Step 9. Put a back binding on the book.
For this project I used ordinary paper because I wanted to keep the binding the same color as the spiral. I did not have card stock the right color. I folded the paper in half and glued it together. For sizing take a scrap paper and folded in over the book to estimate the size needed for your book. Since I folded my sheet of paper in half, the size I used was 8.25 in by 11.
To attach the back spine to the cover, spread glue the length of the book about 2-3 inches closest to the spine. If you are using rubber cement also cover about half of the paper for the spine with glue as well.
Then place the paper spine on the back of the book.
Cover the rest of the paper spine with glue. Once again, if you are using Rubber Cement make sure to put glue on along the front edge of the cover about 2-3 inches in (or however wide your spine wraps around.
Step 10. Tape the spine onto the cover. Then cover the spine with tape.
I like to cover the spine with packing tape and tape it to the cover, so that it holds well and doesn’t wear or rip.
Step 11: Add a title to you cover if you do not have the original cover and you done.
This only too me about minutes to an hour and that is with stopping to take pictures and remind my boys to stay focused on their chores.
Outside of book:
Inside of the book
Other Projects:
Last fall I did something like this to my teacher manuals. It took a lot longer because I wanted them to be able to last for more than one school year and maybe even be able to pass them on when we are finished with them. I used a glue specifically made for book repair. I ordered it from Amazon. It’s very similar to white school glue, though it smelled a little bit like fabric stiffener. The basics are all the same, clean with warm water and it takes about 24 hours to dry. I spent a lot more time to glue the edges of the pages to the new back spine of the book. This helped keep the pages from tearing out. I also glued the covers to folders which makes them even more sturdy. The project was more difficult and time consuming. But as I stated: I HATE SPIRAL BOOKS! And I did not want another school year wrestling with them everyday trying to keep them in one piece.
If you have any questions about how I fixed my son’s workbook, or how I made my teacher manuals comment below.
If you would like a PDF of these instructions to print, first comment below requesting a copy, second subscribe via email to this blog so I will have your email to send the copy to you.
Copyright 2019 J. A. Goggans
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I sat watching the spring leaves flutter in the woods. Are they rejoicing like the old friends coming together for a reunion? Movement and excitement floats in the breeze. Those leaves have never seen each other though. They can’t be old friends and they are way too familiar to be strangers. The leaves don’t know anyone, they are so young they don’t even know themselves. The trees aren’t new, but they knew their forest friends for a long time. No, it’s the trees themselves that are having the reunion after a long winter. Standing so close to each other all that time without really being able to play—it’s a strange kind of loneliness. Or do they slumber during that time? And is it really all that strange? Is it not the worst kind of loneliness in a crowed that doesn’t speak to you? That won’t greet you? That doesn’t even see you? I suppose underground they have been keeping up with each other but it’s been cold and much too dangerous to get out. Now they are playing and taking long deep breaths after losing their lungs all winter. They are happy.
Summer leaves are much calmer. I suppose they have learned a thing or two about who they are by that time. The trees can certainly breath slower now that they have caught their breaths. There is little to say or catch up on. In the summer you can feel their presence in their stillness like breathing watchful giants. There is this kind of fullness in the summer. No longer is there a reunion. They are unified in knowing silence–intimacy that allows for quiet thought–quiet but not shallow thoughts.
How painful it must be to say good bye in the fall. And fall it must feel to them. The trees gasp for air and let out one last exhale after another as each leaf turns its glorious shades. They scream in color as they lose connection to their branches. And spend the winter in black and white. One by one their voices die with each breath of the wind.
When the last leaf falls the forest is plunged in to what must feel like darkness to us–a cold, dark, lonely slumber. And they look forward to the yellow light to call them up and out. Oh, what a day of rejoicing that will be! They will sing and dance in victory over death. But now, death is all around them–bareness and isolation. Yet deep, deep down they feel each other is still alive.
One day the wind will blow a new song and the yellow light will sing to them, “Wake up! It’s time to meet again!” The party starts and they dance together once more.
Copyright 2019 J. A. Goggans
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Darkness reigned outside unbroken yet by the approaching daylight. The Jones family house sat still in the silence of the waning night. However, those in it were sleeping fitfully. The phone rang loudly next to Jenn’s head interrupting her restless sleep. Her right hand had fallen asleep, so she groggily reached for the phone with her left hand. Her fingers reached the heavy base of the phone on her night stand and felt without looking for the receiver. Rolling to her back, she put it up to her ear, her eyes still shut. “Hello?”
A distant voice said, “Hello.”
“This is Jenn, who is calling?” she mumbled on cue thanks to the phone etiquette her mother had ingrained in her as a child. The training took control in her sleep-deprived state.
“Mom, come home,” said the still distant voice. She opened her eyes with a gasp. She saw that she was speaking into the wrong end of the phone. She clumsily turned the phone over with her left hand, the coiling cord tangling and twining in her hair. “Hello?” she repeated, but her only answer was a dial tone.
“Jeff, I think something is wrong with one of the kids!” Jenn urged. Whether it was because Jeff had already also been awakened by the phone call or because of the edge in Jenn’s voice, he was out of bed in the ready stance before she even finished her first sentence.
“I think one of the kids was calling me on the phone! Please go check on them!” But he was already in the hallway.
Now fully awake, she sat up trying to think. Was that all part of my dream? It seemed like she had been dreaming about the kids needing her or calling for her. But she was actually holding the receiver and she really thought that she had heard the phone ring. As she detangled herself from the phone cord she thought, Maybe I accidentally bumped the plunger and hung the phone up as I was picking it up off the base. Then maybe I dreamed the rest?
She had just set the receiver back on its base when the phone loudly rang in the silence of the morning. Startled, she snatched the phone up. “Hello?!”
“Jenn?” said a man. His voice carried worry.
“Dad?” Jenn said in surprise. Her father was not someone who generally called just to chat on the phone.
“Jenn, uh, I was just calling to see how you were doing?” Her dad replied sounding less worried.
Wondering what prompted this concern so early in the morning she asked, “I’m fine, Dad. You?”
“Oh, I’m OK.” He paused. “Do you remember what today is?” he asked.
With an inaudible sigh, memories quickly tumbled back. “Yes, Dad, I remember.”
“I just had a dream,” there was another pause. “A dream you were in the truck, too.” Jenn heard a catch in her Dad’s voice. He was clearly fighting for control. “It seemed so real, I just wanted to hear your voice.”
Jenn felt a painful tension grow in her own throat that made it difficult to talk. She tried to swallow the lump and forced her voice to sound normal. “I’m OK, Dad. I’m here.”
“I remember that Chris had wanted you to go with him, but couldn’t get ahold of you,” said her dad. He sounded far away now, but in a different way than the far away voice sounded before. Jenn didn’t say anything. She didn’t know what to say. She waited. Listening to the silence. “In my dream, you got the phone call—-it was very vivid—-Jeff and Carrie were in the dream but not the boys—-of course….” As if this was an obvious conclusion to his dream, as though dreams were logical and followed their own rules. His voice trailed off.
Jenn steadied her voice. She didn’t know what to say, but she felt it best to state the truth. “I missed the call, so I wasn’t with him.” But as she said it a strange feeling crept deep in the pit of her stomach that was not nearly so steady and calm as her voice. It was a weak feeling, kind of like the way a lie might make you feel. She never could lie to her Dad.
“I’m here Dad,” she said, not changing her tone. That statement gave her more strength, though it did not erase the other feeling.
Jeff walked back into the room as Jenn was saying goodbye to her dad. “The kids are fine, what’s going on with your dad?” Jenn recounted her conversation with her dad and what she heard, or thought she heard, when the phone rang the first time.
Jeff sighed in relief, “So, you think it was your dad calling both times?” He slumped back into bed.
“I’m not sure. I didn’t think to ask him,” she said.
They sat in silence. Jenn wondered about what she had told her dad, “I missed the call, so I wasn’t with him.” How could that be a lie?! She had a similar feeling recently, when Matt had acted like he had forgotten who their cat was. She had done the same thing that day, stated the truth. However, the statement felt like an incomplete truth. What was more, the expression Matt made showed he had taken the statement that way–-as though it was not quite true, but he didn’t know how it could be false. But why? she thought.
“GOOOOOOOD MORNING, LISTENERS! IT’S JACK AND JILL IN THE MORNING! BRINGING YOU THE TUNES FROM MOON TIME TO NOON TIME!” The radio alarm rudely announced that the morning had begun.
And as I shut the door I heard the thousands memories of him adding those words echoing in my mind; tumbling into each other like falling dominos into one moment. This moment.
And Grief thought it his turn to take control.
And I wrestled back control as I walked down the hospital hall.
Copyright 2019 J. A. Goggans
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The boy talked with his friend on the way to class.
She laughed and it was real.
He saw it and his heart thumped unexpectedly.
He walked in to the classroom, with more than friendship in his heart.
Copyright 2019 J. A. Goggans
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By the time the family of seven began to look for a new home they had been slowly outgrowing their tiny home for the past decade. At first they were a small family and the three bedroom house felt spacious after living in a one bedroom apartment. However, it was really only the size of a small apartment. One and one made three, then four and so on and their diligent mother reorganized their home to make space for each one. First she gave up the office/guest room for a nursery. Then the mother and father traded rooms so that the three boys could have the biggest room and they took the next smaller room that had been the nursery. This worked for a while. When the youngest came (who was the fourth boy) there was no more space for any more beds. They moved two of the young brothers to a bottom bunk together. They were still very little and could fit sleeping across the bed instead of lengthwise. However, as time grew on, so did the boys legs.
They longed for a house.
They searched for a house.
They found a house.
They packed up their crowded possessions.
They crowded them into a moving truck.
They unloaded them into a spacious new house.
When the family of six moved into their new house they were thrilled. The house had more rooms, more bathrooms, and more breathing room. Things were different though. No one could quite figure out the sensation. Was it that they were spread out more? Maybe that was it? Probably that was all.
The house certainly had different noises. Houses settle and creak in the temperature changes. This new house was no different. It was hard to get used to it. At night, especially, the noises tended to bother everyone at first. Plus everyone admitted to having crazy dreams. Matt, at bedtime, was convinced that someone was knocking on his closet door. It wasn’t really a closet at all, but an unfinished attic room used for storage. Each night he leaned boards against the door to make himself feel safer. One side of his room was empty. He had been so used to sharing not just a room but a bottom bunk. The change actually felt lonely instead of freeing.
One place that especially bothered Matt was the foyer. It was a small perfectly square little room with no windows and a coat closet. It was a little claustrophobic, though he didn’t know what claustrophobic meant. There were two doors into the little foyer. The outside door and the inside door which opened into a larger hallway that immediately opened into the living room. The room was actually more of an air lock than an inviting foyer. This setup worked well because the Jones family had a cat and Cat, as he was imaginatively named, was very intent on getting outside and exploring. The practice the family quickly began to use when they moved in was to open the first door and shut it behind them before opening the next door. This kept the cat from escaping past their legs into the great outdoors. Recently, the only light bulb in the foyer went out. This meant that even at noon on a sunny day, the tiny room was pitch black when the doors were shut. This was what especially scared Matt, his imagination seemed to run wild to the point he just couldn’t stand to go in there. He was convinced he heard noises in the dark just as he was convinced he heard strange things at night-time when he went to bed.
This afternoon the family was getting ready to go to an annual Labor Day Cookout at a friend’s house.
The kids had started in a new school,
And ridden a new bus,
And found new friends,
And joined new teams.
Everything was so different. Everyone was looking forward to this night. It was the sameness they were looking forward to. They did like their new home, and they had settled into their new schools. But lingering in the pit of their stomachs when all was quiet was funny feeling that their family had changed drastically. That should be normal, right? Families are always changing. Unless a family is a television cartoon, families need to change.
The afternoon was filled with commotion before they left for the cookout. Jeff was cleaning the van inside and out. Jen was making potato salad to share. Carrie wanted to make brownies to bring. The boys: Matt, Charley, and Chad were outside searching for snips, and snails, and puppy dogs tails.
Once the snails were safely stowed away in cargo pockets and the food packed away (not it pockets although though one brownie might have been slipped in without immediate notice) they were ready to go. Or they should have been ready to go.
Charley the youngest couldn’t find his shoes.
Chad couldn’t find his shirt.
And pretty soon Matt was in trouble for sneaking brownies.
There was chaos and scrambling and yes, everything seemed normal. Eventually, Chad put on one of Matt’s shirts he found in the dirty clothes (not that he told his mother) and eventually the shoes were found. (Well actually Charley settled on two mismatched shoes).
Jeff was the first out to the van. Carrying the potato salad in his one arm
He opened the first door,
Blocked Cat with his foot,
Shut the door behind him,
Fumbled in the pitch dark for the door handle of the outside door,
Opened it,
And headed out to the van.
“I got the brownies,” called Carrie. And she headed to the door.
She opened the first door,
Blocked Cat with her foot,
Shut the door behind her,
Fumbled in the pitch dark for the door handle of the outside door,
Opened it,
And headed out to the van.
Chad, found his Frisbee and with much pleading for his mother to “Go get in the van,” as she turned out lights and locked doors, he too headed out.
He opened the first door,
blocked Cat with his foot,
Shut the door behind him,
Fumbled in the pitch dark for the door handle of the outside door,
Opened it,
And headed out to the van.
Charley was trying to tie his shoes. He wasn’t very good at it but he did not want anyone to help him, “I can do it myself!” he exclaimed. Matt was having to change his pants as a consequence of hiding brownies in his pockets. He came down the stairs and stopped at the door. He did not want to go in their alone. Although he did not at all want Charley to know why; he waited on him to finish tying a Gordian Knot on his shoes. (Well, only one shoe the other was Velcro.) When Charley was ready
Matt opened the first door,
Blocked Cat with his foot…
Then an ugly little part of him woke up, an ugly little monstrous part of him grinned a sneaky grin. If we are honest, that little monster sometimes wakes in all of us. He let Charley go in first and shut the door behind Charley. But he didn’t step in with Charley. He held the door shut and suppressed a snicker. Charley, wasn’t particularly afraid of the dark, but he was not quite five yet and he had a hard time opening the door on the other side.
Matt waited to hear Charley freak out.
Matt waited to hear Charley fumble in pitch dark for the door handle of the outside door,
Matt waited to hear Charley open it,
Matt waited to hear Charley head out to the van.
He did not hear any of those things. He did not hear anything.
“Matt, go get in the car,” called Jenn.
“I don’t want to step in the dark,” he said, which was true but now he was also thinking that Charley was waiting for him.
“Ok, I’ll hold the cat so you don’t have to shut the door behind you.
Matt, opened the door, looked confused as he stared into an empty foyer. He dashed through the room as fast as he could go, slamming the outside door behind him. As he passed through the room, he was sure he heard breathing that was not his own.
Jenn set the cat down in his bed, “There you go Charley,” she said to the cat. She walked into the foyer leaving the door open so she could see. She reached into the coat closet. It was empty since they had only moved in that summer, and they had not unpacked their coats yet. Her summer hat was in there and she pulled it off the top shelf.
She pushed the cat out of the foyer,
Shut the door behind her,
Fumbled with one hand in the pitch dark for the door handle of the outside door,
Opened it,
And headed out to the van.
Matt was standing right out side the door looking guilty. “Where is Charley?”
“What do you mean?” asked Jenn.
“l thought I heard him breathing in the foyer when I ran past, he must be in the closet.”
“I was holding Charley for you remember, and besides I just got my hat out of the foyer and there was no cat,” explained Jenn.
“Cat? I don’t mean Cat, I mean Charley!” Matt said confused and that little monster inside him that made him grin just moments before, now began to accuse Matt. Guilt rose in Matt’s throat.
Jenn looked at Matt hard, she did not know what game he was playing. She firmly believed it best to tell the truth when she was confronted with possible deception even if it was to state the obvious. “Charley is the cat. You love Charley the cat. You even named Charley the cat because we didn’t get to name Chad, Charley when he was born.”
Matt said nothing. It was so like his Mother to state the obvious when He was being naughty. It usually irritated him. Now, though the truth stuck to him. He remembered now about Charley the cat, he remembered wanting to name his brother Charley but instead naming their new kitten Charley five years before. However, he also remembered a little brother named Charley with knotted miss-matched shoes and a cat named “Cat.” Though that memory began to feel like a memory from a dream and like a dream the details quickly faded as he tried to remember them. As they faded , they were replaced with a sickening sense of loss.
Jenn and Matt loaded in the van. Matt was confused as though he had just woken up from a nightmare that he couldn’t quite remember. If he could only remember the dream, or the… what? The feeling of fear and guilt stayed but the memories felt like a vapor.
Chad clutched his Frisbee.
Carrie gazed out her window daydreaming.
Matt felt miserable.
Jenn buckled her seat-belt.
Jeff backed out of the driveway.
The family of five headed to the annual Labor day cookout.
Rough Draft ¶aragraphs 