Notebooking/Lapbooks

[timzwyf]

Is anyone here using notebooking and/or lapbooking along with the classical curriculum? How is working and how do you fit it in? I've done a couple of lapbooks and the kids are liking it. I've recently returned to the classical method.

 

Thanks,

Stephanie

[mom2denj]

I was actually looking at this website last night:

 

http://www.homeschoolshare.com/

 

It has several lapooks for the Ambelside Online year 0 books. Many of them are under the FIAR lapbooks.

[Halcyon]

Us! We do lapbooks a fair amount. My older son does them particularly for Science subjects that interest him (Geology and now, Chemistry) and takes a long time to complete them, filling in pages as we learn. My younger son makes them all the time, much less intricate of course! Again, we do these primarily for Science.

 

When we begin US history, I think it will be fun to do for various time periods.

[brasilmom]

I was about to start a thread and am glad that I searched first. So, for those doing a fair amount of lapbooks, here are my questions:

- How do you work on that with a 5yo? I mean, how much work do the child actually does?

- How often are you doing it and for which subjects?

 

My 5yo is not exactly artistic and just now is getting a bit more into drawing. I tried one lapbook with her about mamals. She enjoyed it, but after we did the study lesson she slowly removed the loose mini books and use as pieces for her games, plays, etc. So, I want to give it another try. We are reading Trojan Horse, so i would like to try a lapbook on that and eventually add on that as we get more into history. Where should I start? Help???

 

Thanks. Be well

 

Miriam

[Kates]

We've used lapbooks and notebooks for years; more lapbooks than notebooks, since they fit ds's learning style.

 

We just work them in as the research and project - instead of worksheets and tests, he lapbooks and presents. I've found that he retains the info much longer, can apply it at a deeper level, and really wants to work on his projects because he's proud of them.

 

I've used Hands of a Child for years - they have about 400 different units now, for PreK-12th, and will do custom units if you want them to.

[stephanier.1765]

My son is older but I still find using lapbooks is a good way to help organize information. It helps to break the whole into chunks so that he researches each chunk and can see how it all fits together as a whole when the lapbook is complete. It's not a method we use often but it is a nice way to vary his studies.

 

Here are pictures of an Iliad lapbook that he did recently:

http://daisiesanddominos.blogspot.com/2010/10/iliad-lapbook-pictures.html

[jujsky]

I was about to start a thread and am glad that I searched first. So, for those doing a fair amount of lapbooks, here are my questions:

- How do you work on that with a 5yo? I mean, how much work do the child actually does?

- How often are you doing it and for which subjects?

 

My 5yo is not exactly artistic and just now is getting a bit more into drawing. I tried one lapbook with her about mamals. She enjoyed it, but after we did the study lesson she slowly removed the loose mini books and use as pieces for her games, plays, etc. So, I want to give it another try. We are reading Trojan Horse, so i would like to try a lapbook on that and eventually add on that as we get more into history. Where should I start? Help???

 

 

My kids are 6 and 7, so not quite as young as yours, but young. We get a lot of our lapbooks from homeschoolshare.com I've also started making some of my own mini-books if I can't find ones that fit.

 

Some lapbooks come with optional, printed information that you can cut out and glue in the mini-books. Neither of my children are strong writers/spellers yet, so when that option is available, I use it. When it's not, I have them dictate what they want to write, write it on a white board, and then have them copy it down. I often have to draw lines for writing in the mini books to make the writing and spacing easier. I prepare all of the lapbooking materials ahead of time and store them in a gallon-size plastic bag to save time. When we are done, the kids help me lay it out and I glue most of it down.

 

We mostly use lapbooks for history and science, though there are many great language arts lapbooks out there too. We use them fairly often. We've been working on a very comprehensive lapbook on Rome since the beginning of the school year. It's going to be huge once we put it all together :001_smile:

 

For fun, we also use Download N Go lapbooks. I let the kids pick what they want to learn about (this is in addition to our regular curriculum) and then we do one. I have a review of one on my blog if you want to check it out.

[Carol in Cal.]

Steward Ship has a great book about notebooking. They regard that as primary, with lapbooking more optional and done at the end of a study. The main output is the notebook, and the lapbook does not always happen.

 

BTW, if you ever had a chance to hear Jennifer Steward speak, her workshops are great, and I actually think that they are easier to understand/follow than her books, which contain all the same info but are not quite as well organized.

[HSMom2One]

Since we use TOG with our classical studies, we use their pre-printed lapbook kits that correspond with the units of history we study. They are great hands-on tools that are a fun way of reviewing material that has been covered. They also work well as a creative outlet as my dd cuts, colors, pastes and assembles them together.

 

We try to work on lapbooks once per week, usually on Thursday or Friday as we review what was read and taught. It doesn't always happen that way though. Sometimes it ends up being a session to catch up on a few weeks' worth of the mini-books, but that's fun and worthwhile too. Somewhere near the end of a unit, we spend a whole afternoon finishing up that unit's lapbook. It takes longer that day because I also have my dd create her own custom cover with pictures cut from paper, photos and drawings that represent the theme of that given unit. She enjoys this part a lot!

 

I highly recommend lapbooks for lower and upper grammar age students, and also for some kids in the logic stage that love hands-on projects. Why, I suppose even some rhetoric level students would enjoy making them since it is kind of like scrapbooking in a way! :)

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

[brasilmom]

Thank you all for the replies and help. I am going and try to put one lapbook for the Trojan Horse together and see how that goes. I got a pack of folders at an estate sale recently, so I may as well use them.

Thanks again. Be well and happy halloween.

Miriam