how we lapbook...(top 10 Tuesday)

This is our completed How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World lapbook.  This lapbook has work from all 3 children, so it was a joint effort lapbook.  Sometimes a whole lapbook is a lot for one child (especially younger ones), so for big units like this that we all do together we do a "community" lapbook.

The inside...

   There's so much you can do with lapbooking, so I thought I'd share some tips on how we have done it over the years.  There's pretty much no right or wrong way to lapbook either!

The top 10 list for lapbooking:

1.  Who's going to create it?  Most of the time I have the child create it from start to finish, adding one or two elements at a time.  But, there are times when I don't want it to take forever, or I want it done a certain way, so I just do it myself.  Meaning, I do all the cutting and layout.  That way it's all ready for them to just put their thoughts and discoveries in.  Sometimes I also work along side them, working together.  You have to be the judge for each child, and sometimes for each lapbook.  Some are harder than others.

2.  File folders.  Keep your eyes open for fun ones!  I've found a lot of fun prints on file folders at Target.  Really though, most of the time I just grab a plain color out of the huge box of file folders I bought a few years back.  I still have tons of them, and we lapbook a lot!  Buy a big box if you can!

3.  Finish it all if you can.  I expect my kids to complete a lapbook that they've started. It's always a great accomplishment to see a completed lapbook.  My kids love to look them over later and remember what they learned. 

4.  Unless they don't.  There are times when the lapbook just doesn't capture their interest.  In that case we toss it in the box of lapbooks to be finished someday, and move on.  We have quite a few unfinished ones.  Don't be afraid to ditch a lapbook if it just isn't working for some reason.

5.  Make your own.  If you can't find a lapbook for a certain subject, just make your own!  Do a google search, and find coloring pages and facts and pictures to add to a lapbook.

6.  Free lapbooks at Homeschool share.  An amazing resource for free lapbooks is at homeschool share.  I have done many lapbooks from there.  There are many other blogs, and websites with free ones too.  Most of the time a quick search for your lapbook topic will bring some up.

7.  Lots of writing practice.  Lapbooks are a great place for lots of writing practice.  Let your child use their own words where possible.  There are some great copywork elements in a lot of lapbooks too!

8.  Do one yourself.  Have you ever done one yourself?  For your favorite children's book.  You know, for fun.  Or, not for fun, but for another reason.  Maybe I'm the only one, but I thought it was a lot of fun.  I did a lapbook for Little House on the Prairie, and I thought it was kinda neat.  It gave me a feel for what it's like to do one.

9.  Kids love them.  My kids love lapbooking.  Sometimes I ask them what kind of lapbook they want to work on next, and they always surprise me when I do.  Even when I have a lapbook that they didn't choose themselves, they still seem to love that way of learning.

10.  A great way to keep school work!  And display it too.

Desiree

I am linking up to Many Little Blessings for Top Ten Tuesday.