I have been *meaning* to try out lapbooking for a while. It's one of those items that has been on the fun list but never quite makes it to the done list. New to the term? Lapbooking, basically, is the creation of a small book that has lots of different fun information about a subject/particular book/whatever you want. They are generally done by using file folders that you glue or staple together to create a larger book that folds out. Think of it as a cross between adult scrapbooking and a mini "science fair" board for kids.
A Journey Through Learning sells lapbook kits that you can either download or purchase in an already printed format. They are very reasonably priced. The one that we have been looking at, The Earth, is $13 for the electronic version and $21 for an already printed version. You get a collection of activity sheets (~40) that your child colors/cuts out/puts together as well as informational pages that you read as you put together your lapbook - that's the study guide portion of the product. If you want to make your experience meatier, without too much extra work on your part, you can use the great list of suggested resources in the back of the unit to find supplemental materials to expand your study!
The lapbook we received is designed to be completed in about a month if you do one page/activity a day. This is easy to do and is as quick or slow as your child makes it. I have one that's happy to dash a small amount of color on the page and call it good and another that will happily spend 30 minutes coloring and enhancing their product of the day! We've had the best luck working on the lapbooks when we either end or start our school day with them - they're a nice way to unwind and get some enthusiastic quiet time out of the kids.
What did we think? This was a gentle introduction to lapbooking. All the work is already done for you, you simply download it and GO! My kids have enjoyed it. Reading the study guide and completing sections of the lap book has led us, naturally, into more conversations about earth science and this in turn has inspired some fun learning moments! The kids have enjoyed the extra art/craft types of projects that lapbooking provides and I haven't heard any complaints when it's time to pull them out - always a good sign.
The cover page was supposed to be a drawing of all the continents, but Bentley thought that was a bit overwhelming and made an executive decision to simply draw Australia... it's a very nice looking Australia, though!
The product provides a nice level of detail without getting TOO detailed for younger kids. The pages can be printed in color (or on colored paper), but I chose to go with black and white so the kids would have more fun coloring projects to do.
I like that A Journey Through Learning also has a number of lapbook products designed to work with popular programs from Classical Conversations to Veggie Tales. If you have never tried lapbooking I think that A Journey Through Learning provides products, at a great price, to try it out in an easy and stress free way. If you're a pro at lapbooking? Probably still worth a look if you're into lapbooking.
If interested in more information you can click here to check out more reviews and takes on lapbooking. Other members of the This Old Schoolhouse Review Crew reviewed this same lapbook and three others as well.
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