Monica_in_Switzerland Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 I am not a big craft person, but I see a that I can either purchase or find lap books for a million different topics, even SOTW. I don't believe school needs to be "entertaining", but I don't want it to be dry either, and I'm afraid ours is a bit dry. :-) I really like the idea of having a tangible keepsake of our studies, especially the SOTW lap books from Hannah's Homeschool Helps for example. Here are my questions: - Do they aid in retention? - Do your kids enjoy flipping through them after completing them? - Do you have any favourites? And if you tried them and didn't like them, why not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gentlemommy Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Totally depends on your kids...mine are generally not responsive to mom-directed activities. Lap books, science experiments, history projects...ect. Don't get me wrong, they DO them, they just prefer to come up with and execute their own ideas. As for the lap books, we tried. They look so cute, so fun, so entertaining. Sigh. Here was the reality (for us anyway). My oldest, who is writing phobic, felt overwhelmed at all the little booklets she was expected to write/fill in. Often, there was either way too many lines, leading to 'fillers', or way too few, leading to one word answers. Writing things down, regardless of how cute the cut out/fold was, did NOT help her retain a thing. Then came my younger two. While the lap books I selected were age appropriate for their ages (things like Cat in the Hat or Little House), they weren't able to actually cut, fold, or fill in the answers...meaning I sat there cutting, folding, and glueing while they got bored and ran off. 😕 Also, no retention from them. Basically, it created more work for me, and they got nothing or very little out of them. 😔 I tried, I really did. And I bought a ton of different ones. They look great! And I love that they become a cute little keepsake. However, for us, they don't work well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Nay for ME! They take too much time! When I decide to go artsy, we do better with Waldorf style main lesson book copywork. I draw something with a caption, and they copy it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Depends. Most of them get a clear NO. Too much time, not enough learning, it becomes 'get it done' work and not enjoyable at all. However, there are the odd occasional times we have done one - like the time we worked on learning the presidents as a side part of history. Every new era, we did ONE president in ONE activity of a lapbook. The end of the year saw a grand total of ten items in the lapbook, but it was a good memory aid over the year and wasn't overwhelming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historically accurate Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 We do about 1 or 2 per year. We usually take January and study one topic, and we'll often do a lapbook then. Sometimes we'll do one over the year (last year my oldest did World Religions and completed the booklets throughout the year as a wrap-up). My writing-phobic child likes having just a little booklet to fill in rather than a big blank sheet of paper. I usually do the prepwork for elementary age, meaning I cut and gather all supplies -- they simply write and do the final pasting. We keep all the booklets in a baggie until they are all complete and then they put them all on the lapbook. I've also used bits and pieces in co-op classes, although I haven't done an entire lapbook there, but my children have made complete lapbooks with other teachers. It's one of those things that you just have to try and see if you have children who retain the information this way. As everything, it works for some and not for others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted August 9, 2015 Author Share Posted August 9, 2015 Nay for ME! They take too much time! When I decide to go artsy, we do better with Waldorf style main lesson book copywork. I draw something with a caption, and they copy it. Can you tell me a little more about a Waldorf Main Lesson Book? I do like that idea and it seems like doing the actual drawing themselves (copied from mine) would help retention... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 I just printed one out for the girls, ds never went for that kind of thing but they love coloring and such so we are trying it out. Now, I didn't print out the whole thing, only the parts I thought they would like and didn't think were a total waste of time and ink. How it works here is I get them started on something like that and they finish it on their own. My 5yo begs for such things, she loves it and dd really gets into it too, so I'm trying various things trying to find the most worthwhile for us to spend our time and that they enjoy and I guess if they want to spend time coloring pages about Japan there are far worse things..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 We did them for science a couple of years. I found that if my kids enjoyed the topic, they could enjoy the lapbook. However, if they didn't want to do the topic (in 95% of the cases), they didn't want to do anything - including a lapbook. My dd#2 just decided to throw out all but one (animal) lapbook from two years worth of science. That one, she said, still gives her joy. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 You could look at something like Great Science Adventures Discovering the Human Body And Senses by Zike (she has a whole series) as sort of a compromise. Not quite as writing-driven and workfilled as a lapbook but still nice to look at, a little something. I have a friend who's very no muss, no fuss, and she just sold me her set now that her kids are grown. Ds has SLD writing, so doing tons of writing isn't his reality. She said he'll love it. I like that you pretty much just copy it and it's open/go. :D Lapbooks were one of those things I always felt sad about not doing all the way. When we did Time Travellers, we just dissected it, doing each activity and putting it onto a notebook page. Lapbook would have been better in that case. There are a couple other ways to go that are also nice with the ages you have. -make little books--so instead of making a whole lapbook in a folder, just make ONE thing Big Book of Books and Activities: An Illustrated Guide for Teacher, Parents, and Anyone Who Works With Kids! has lots of ideas for things that you can do just as *one* book. We did this more often and it was pretty satisfying because you could actually get it done and have a nice little project -anything by Michael Gravois--LOVE, LOVE, LOVE his stuff! Spectacular State Report Projects-For Any State!: Ready-to-Go Templates and Easy Instructions for 20 Fun-Filled... Here's one to get you started. -anything from Mrs. Renz's site--This lady won Disney teach of the year, and she shares!! http://www.mrsrenz.net/forteachers/bookprojects14.htm This is a link for her book projects (LOVE, used right at the age where your oldest is, HIGHLY recommend), but she has tons of other cool stuff. Don't go crazy. Just pick one thing to try, kwim? Or what I did was pick 6-10 (I forget) of the book projects, pick the instructions, and put them in a folder. Then, when we got to that point in our plan, we could just pick one and implement. Honestly, they were some happy memories, not clutter. They tend to bring together a bunch of skills and have an element of creativity. They're free and FABULOUS. I think we basically spent 3 weeks on one (iirc), so it was basically one a month. They weren't so time-consuming. It's just that it wasn't the only thing we were doing for LA. We were working on them maybe a couple hours a week for three weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GypsyHomesteader Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 We have done lapbooks. My main complaint is the organization. I don't like they way the lapbook, when I purchase them, are set up. However, I just do it the best way I can. We don't do them all in one sitting. We space it out. I use it as a craft project. I use other things in the lapbook to make it more crafty. Like glitter, washi tape etc. Yes, I do all the cutting out. Yes it can be tedious depending on the topic. But, I don't do all the cutting out at once. My kids really like to do them. I just morph them into what we need. Someone complained about the lines... too many or not enough. If that is the case then ignore the lines. Have them write it on their own paper and then cut it out and glue it into the booklet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purduemeche Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 We love the idea of lap books and did them plenty when we only had one child in HS. Now with seven in HS, we simply don't have time. We rely on draw and caption and coring maps as mentioned above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UCF612 Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 I love the idea of them and possibly there are some that would be amazing. We attempted one in 1st grade for geography/history but it was a flop. My son did it without complaint but in the end it didn't have any real use. He didn't retain anything from it and never even remembered it existed unless I told him we were adding to it. Possibly it was just not a good choice for a lapbook or I failed at implementation but I don't plan to try again anytime soon. I'm sure there are some kids who would thrive on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyacinth Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Other than the "Show Grandma and Grandpa your lapbook" appeal (which isn't to be minimized, mind you), lapbooks weren't a big hit here. Too much cutting, pasting, and writing for my non-crafty boys. We did a few over the years, but I decided not to pursue them in the future as the work involved doesn't align well with our limited time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 We did them for years. My son really enjoyed them. http://www.handsofachild.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 My boys did not love them. Little dd did. IMO, it is a multi-sensory way of being exposed to material. Little dd is very crafty and loves to read, so lap books are right up her alley. But my boys think of the few lap books I did with them as hours of their lives they will never get back. :lol: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curlymom Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 We like notebooking but not lapbooking. Lapbooking has too much cutting and pasting for us. The few we did really got in the way of the actual learning and comprehension and turned into messy craft projects that really didn't get looked at again. Notebooking works for us because they still get the pretty page, without cutting and pasting, and are able to give all of their attention to providing a creative response, rather than assembling a paper project. Lapbooks seem to be popular so they must work for some kids, just not mine. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Google "Waldorf main lesson books" and then click "images". If you want to learn more about Waldorf main lesson books, start a new thread. People here never tire of talking Waldorf methods. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted August 9, 2015 Author Share Posted August 9, 2015 Thank you everyone! I think the answer seems to be... We'll just have to try it and see if it works. I'll take the good advice of not printing out a million to start off... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 My boys did not love them. Little dd did. IMO, it is a multi-sensory way of being exposed to material. Little dd is very crafty and loves to read, so lap books are right up her alley. But my boys think of the few lap books I did with them as hours of their lives they will never get back. LOL I'm trying to remember how many I tried with ds. I can just remember the one, on the book Ping, at which point I realized that I was doing everything and he could care less. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 My ds is not a fan of crafty stuff or writing, my dd likes it - to a certain extent. We did the SOTW ones. I did the cutting, they did the rest. We could do about 3 chapters at a time, so every few chapters we would spend some time reviewing as we put the lapbook parts together. I tweaked a few to better suit my tastes. They would bring them out for the grandparents, the tactile/visual stuff has been slightly helpful in retention. Now that younger dd is putting one together, my older two got theirs out and read through them again. After the two years of SOTW, I put together notebook pages for the next two years. I have a folder where I keep the next ten or so chapters printed out. Then once in a while when I'm talking people through math I will pre-cut a few chapters'worth of parts. It is going much more quickly with one student than two! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitterpatter Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 I don't see many that are up to my design, educational and time standards. DD is also writing phobic (and cutting challenged). Finding ones for very young students is challenging. I designed an owl one for her to complete when she was 5-6 (just shy of six, I think). I designed it around a nonfiction easy reader and made it as user-/age-friendly as possible. Even so, it took more time to complete than I would have like. My goal was for her to read the book, look up the information for each section in the book, and more or less complete it herself. (Not 100 percent interdependently, but with me sitting primarily on the sidelines. I read the directions to her, etc.) Overall, it was a successful project. I would like to design more for her, but I'm so stretched for time. Makes me sad, as it was fun and satisfying for me. http://bluehouseschool.blogspot.com/2013/04/its-owl-week.html 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Um_2_4 Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 We use lapbooking sets to make interactive notebooks. I am doing geography this year. On her own, DD is still working on the american girl lapbooks and reading along with them. I do some activities for FIAR (not all). Last year I used some for Chemistry. I usually copy and pre-cut all the pieces, so it is more an assemble and complete activity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel Yell Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 I am not a big craft person, but I see a that I can either purchase or find lap books for a million different topics, even SOTW. I don't believe school needs to be "entertaining", but I don't want it to be dry either, and I'm afraid ours is a bit dry. :-) I really like the idea of having a tangible keepsake of our studies, especially the SOTW lap books from Hannah's Homeschool Helps for example. Here are my questions: - Do they aid in retention? - Do your kids enjoy flipping through them after completing them? - Do you have any favourites? And if you tried them and didn't like them, why not? 1. They did not for my children. 2. Absolutely not! When they did them for co-op classes they tried to pitch them in the trash on the way out the door of the last class- I needed them for portfolios! 3. Nope! :glare: I have three very very different girls. There were only two things that they have been 1million% in agreement on, and that is their hatred of Saxon math, and lapbooks- with lapbooks being the most fiercely hated. Spending money on lapbook kits was a waste of money for me, having the kids themselves do all of the cutting/pasting/coloring etc. was a waste of time, and for me to do the prepwork was the purest form of torture. My girls have actually refused to take group classes with a beloved teacher on a favorite subject with close friends based on the fact that the class description said "Lapbook." We found plenty of ways to 'liven up' our homeschool. And nothing gets a research paper jump-started faster than saying "Well, you could do a LAPBOOK instead!" :ack2: :leaving: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umsami Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 My son really enjoyed the one he did on the Vikings....because he was totally obsessed with Vikings at the time. We also made runes and such. But...the next one we tried held zero interest. Now that I'm homeschooling four, I think I may try and do one lap book per year... as long as the kids are interested. I don't see myself having the time to do more. I can see DD and DS2 really being into them, though...so I may have to re-evaluate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmichigan Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 We have done the TOG lap books, but we pick two units to do for the year, or picked pieces to make two units, not each and every one. We did some FIAR ones when they were little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
school17777 Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 We didn't do any at home that I recall, or actually we didn't finish any at home. The kids made several in co-op classes though. Ds's first time in b&m school in 8th grade, he was assigned a poster/project in history class. His poster was terrible. I made him redo it in a lapbook. The teacher had never seen anything like that and was impressed and said that if he turned in his poster (she had seen him working on it), he would've failed. I think the kids made them for school projects every once in awhile rather than the poster thing that teachers seem to like to assign. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingaway Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 I adore them. Coloring! cutting! pasting! Woo-hoo! And my kids hated them. Acted like they were being tortured. Sadness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitterpatter Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 There are other kinds of foldables, if you don't have time for a lapbook. We're using some science Tab-Its from this TPT seller this year. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Simply-Skilled-In-Second/Category/Tab-Its I liked her Flip Flap books too, but decided the Tab-Its would be a better fit time-wise for us. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Simply-Skilled-In-Second/Category/Flip-Flap-Books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Nay for us. Busywork that doesn't really aid in learning or retention for my students. Mine would rather narrate, act it out, make a model. And then move on to playing outside (Ds) or readong a book (Dd). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamiof5 Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Nay for us. We have more than enough going on and no time to do it all...would add busy work for us Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 Cut and paste lapbooks that you download and cut out and color in or fill out are such a huge waste of time IMO. When I first started homeschooling, these seemed like they were all the rage and the vast majority of them are just as gag-worthy as the most mind numbing public school, check off that we did "science" worksheets. Even the ones that are like half decent worksheets are still basically just worksheets with a lot of extra cutting and pasting. If the goal is to teach cutting and pasting, then, okay, sure. But if the goal is to teach the topic, I do not get it. We did try our hands at DIY'ed lapbooks last year. One of the projects in Partnership Writing is for kids to make their own about a fairy tale or tall tale. My kids chose to do myths instead, but same basic idea. They decided what would go in it, they wrote the whole thing, found the images, drew the pictures, decided on the layout, etc. It was okay. I still wasn't super keen on them, but that felt to me like it had value. They had to come up with a plan and carry it out. It was more like them doing a project board or making their own powerpoint or something along those lines than doing a worksheet that, for some inexplicable reason, required that its pieces be cut up and pasted into a folder with little folding bits. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 Cut and paste lapbooks that you download and cut out and color in or fill out are such a huge waste of time IMO. When I first started homeschooling, these seemed like they were all the rage and the vast majority of them are just as gag-worthy as the most mind numbing public school, check off that we did "science" worksheets. Even the ones that are like half decent worksheets are still basically just worksheets with a lot of extra cutting and pasting. If the goal is to teach cutting and pasting, then, okay, sure. But if the goal is to teach the topic, I do not get it. We did try our hands at DIY'ed lapbooks last year. One of the projects in Partnership Writing is for kids to make their own about a fairy tale or tall tale. My kids chose to do myths instead, but same basic idea. They decided what would go in it, they wrote the whole thing, found the images, drew the pictures, decided on the layout, etc. It was okay. I still wasn't super keen on them, but that felt to me like it had value. They had to come up with a plan and carry it out. It was more like them doing a project board or making their own powerpoint or something along those lines than doing a worksheet that, for some inexplicable reason, required that its pieces be cut up and pasted into a folder with little folding bits. That was the only reason we ever did them, and it didn't really help. :laugh: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremmy Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 We made a couple when I only had 1 kid. I found that things were much easier when I did all the cutting and let him do the gluing. I still love the idea but 1. we have no room to store them even if I knew we were going to go back again and again to look at them, and 2. they really do take forever. I do know some people who just love making them and it really works out well for them though. I sort of wish I was like that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted August 12, 2015 Author Share Posted August 12, 2015 Ok, ok, I'm starting to think NAY! lol. Thank you for all of your tried-and-true experiences! I'm going to look into the Drawing through History books and the Waldorf lesson book idea (thanks Hunter) instead. Thanks for the insights! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitterpatter Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 I think you just have to know what you want out of one. To me, a well-designed lapbook that is based on a specific book (or two) might be worth it as an alternative to a report/essay. Being able to comprehend and synthesize information are important skills and a lapbook might be a good choice for someone who is writing-phobic or doesn't yet have the skills to write an essay. For science, I can see a lapbook as a mini science fair display of sorts. Unfortunately, I haven't seen many out there that tempt me. I can't remember your children's ages, but if you're looking for something a little crafty for history, Evan-Moor History Pockets might be worth looking into. Also, I'm getting ready to purchase this ebook. It might be worth a look. http://teacherexpress.scholastic.com/40-fabulous-social-studies-activities-mkt-34445 I also very much like the idea of this book. Wish I would have discovered it last year, as we're already through most of the topics. Wish there were others. http://teacherexpress.scholastic.com/read-draw-remember-american-history-activities Ok, ok, I'm starting to think NAY! lol. Thank you for all of your tried-and-true experiences! I'm going to look into the Drawing through History books and the Waldorf lesson book idea (thanks Hunter) instead. Thanks for the insights! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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