Created by Jimmie (contact me)
A homeschooling mom who loves to teach and learn, especially using living books and lapbooks.
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Spice up your learning by making lapbooks!
Lapbooking can be done by any learner-- from preschoolers to adults. With this educational method, you make mini-books covering details that you've studied. After making a variety of mini-books about a larger topic, all the books are put together in a large folder. The finished product is called a lapbook because it's large and covers your lap. The completed lapbook will serve as a review tool as your children refer to it over and over again. And if you have to keep a homeschool portfolio to document learning each year, lapbooks can be a very impressive addition.
What Are You Looking For?
leap right to what you need
In my effort to create the BEST lapbooking page on the Internet, this page has grown really long! That's good -- more resources all in one place. But if you're returning to find a particular link, it can be the proverbial needle in a haystack!
With these internal links you can "play leapfrog" to the most popular parts of this page, and hopefully, just what you're looking for:
Sample Lapbooks (Pictures!)
The Easiest Mini-books
Directions for Making Mini-books
Shape Books
Graphics, Clip-art, and Maps
Free Lapbooking Units Online
Where to Find Those Extras
Where to Buy Lapbook Kits
How I Plan a Lapbook
When I see that a new topic is coming up that would be good for a lapbook, (say for example, Vikings), I read all the assigned curriculum for it and make notes about what would be good mini-books.When I see a list or a process in the material, that is a signal to me of something that I want my child to remember and make into a mini-book. As I read, other ideas will come to me, and I may do research on the Internet to find more facts to study. To continue my Viking example, I may have a list of the following topics: Viking dress, Viking war including weapons, longships, longhouses, Runes, Viking exploration to North America, geography of Scandinavia, Viking mythology, Viking conversion to Christianity.
Then I take the chunks of information (the list) I've collected and consider what type of minibook would best fit the information. A layered book, a circle book, a jigsaw book, or some other type of book. I write all this down as my lapbook plan. If your child is younger, you will want to make the minibook ahead of time for them and then supervise them as they put the graphics, drawings, and text into each minibook. For older children, hand them the lapbook plan and they can create it all!
As we go along, I do consider the size of the mini-books and how they will fit onto the base. At the end of the study of that topic, we put all the mini-books onto the base. Most people use file folders, but you can also use heavy card stock folded to your liking. In that way, lapbooks can be as small or as big as you desire.
For more detailed instructions about making an animal lapbook, see this How to Create an Animal Lapbook page.
Sample Lapbooks
to give you the big picture
These links will take you to pictures of real homeschool families' lapbooks. You can get an idea of how varied and flexible lapbooking can be.
- Just Call Me Jamin's Lapbooks
- This mom is a lapbooking master! Her children make a lapbook about all kinds of topics from Passover to Chocolate!
- Jimmie's Lapbooks on Flickr
- The lapbooks we have made in our own homeschool are all posted at Flickr.
- Sophia Christian Academy Lapbooks
- A very organized site with pictures of 12 different lapbooks. You will find lots of inspiration here!
- A_BZN Mom's Lapbooks
- Most of these are early elementary or preschool level. Great examples!
- Duncan Homeschool's Lapbooks
- Here you will find pictures of their lapbooks, mostly created from purchased kits, along with websites they used for research.
- Our Homeschool Style: Lapbooking
- This blog is entirely devoted to lapbooks! This family has made lapbooks on bats, pets, dragons, hurricanes, butterflies, sharks, and much more!
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Lapbook Fever!
For more lapbooking videos, visit YouTube.
How Much Lapbooking Do You Do?
vote in this poll
After you've voted here, please scroll down to another poll about HOW you lapbook.
Flickr Photos Tagged Lapbooking
For more lapbooking photos at Flickr, visit the Lapbooking Group. And if you upload photos of your lapbooks to Flickr, consider tagging them "lapbook." They will show up here!
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byMaking the Mini-books
the heart of lapbooking
As you are studying your topic, whether it be Colonial America or Penguins, use the mini-books to reinforce the learning. In this way you can make a mini-book every day or so. Once your unit study is over, you will have a nice collection of mini-books to mount into a lapbook.If your child is very young, you can write or type the text for him. Many children enjoy typing the text for mini-books on the computer.
If your child is artistic, have him draw the graphics. But if drawing gives your child fits, then find some nice clipart for him to paste into the mini-books. Search the Internet for images related to your topic, or use some of the great links below.
What kind of mini-book to use? In the beginning, start small. Make some basic books and add your information into them. As you gain experience, you can venture out into some of the more complicated mini-books. See the links below for online directions for many types of mini-books.
Super Easy Lapbook
A simpler How-to Page
If this page is a bit overwhelming to you, and you're thinking, I'll never figure out this lapbooking thing," then try this easier how-to page I created for moms and teachers just starting out with lapbooks.-
A Super Easy Way To Begin Lapbooking : The Simplest Lapbook Ever
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So you've heard about lapbooking and seen pictures of other people's finished lapbooks all over homeschooling blogs. You're intrigued and want to make a lapbook with your own children. But where to start? How can you transform that plain, boring mani...
An Easy Way to Start
tackle a mini-book rather than an entire lapbook.
Choose one of the "easiest mini-books" below and make a few blank books. Then give them to your children to add text and images. It can be something you've studied in science or history, or it could simply be a creative story.
Once you and you children see how easy one mini-book is, the creating will go on and on. Once you have several mini-books about one topic, affix them into a file folder or large pieces of cardstock folded into a book shape.
The Easiest Mini-books
baby steps toward lapbooking
These links are simple directions with diagrams for easy to make mini-books.
- One Page Book
- The easiest book there is! You will be amazed that you can make a book with just one sheet of paper and a pair of scissors! Experiment with different sizes of paper or different colors.
- Layered Book
- Another easy book made with paper folded and stapled together. Easy but impressive. Try different colors of paper to make a rainbow book!
- Accordion Book
- This site calls this book an unfolding book. But most people call it an accordion book. It can open it up, down, to the left or to the right. You can decide! This book is especially good for timelines, steps in a process, or a series of events.
- Flip Flap Book
- A good mini-book standby. Vary your paper size and number of "doors" to fit your topic.
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Directions for Making Mini-books
- Making Books
- A short list of basic books with clear diagrams and instructions. A great place to start!
- Making Books with Children
- Directions for projects such as Who Am I Book, Index Card Book, and Step Book.
- Minibook Instructions for Lapbooking
- Another great place to start. This single PDF file shows seven different mini-books with clear directions and diagrams.
- Notebooking Pages
- Several mini-book templates with pictures.
- Mirkwood Designs
- This site offers templates for envelopes and cards that could be used as mini-books.
- Pop-up Book
- Be sure to go click NEXT to go through these four pages of directions for this fabulously easy but impressive mini-book. You can cut out paper shapes of whatever you're studying and attach them inside the layer pop-up. Add a cover made of another sheet of paper to the outside to finish it off.
- Flag Book
- This mini-book is a bit tricky, but the effect of the finished product is worth the trouble. This pdf file offers clear instructions with diagrams.
- San Diego Museum of Art
- The flag book PDF above comes from this site's education plans page. For several more of this type of advanced mini-books described with clear directions, scroll down to "Lesson plans for creating artistic books." You will find accordion book, flutter book, Japanese stab binding, pop-up book, star book, and tunnel book templates.
- Donovan's Templates
- Directions for several mini-books.
- Candle in the Window
- If you are still looking for more ideas, this is a very thorough list of links to even more mini-book directions.
- Art, Books, and Creativity
- PDF directions for seven types of books and paper folding projects. There is even a single PDF with directions for all seven! This site has the very fun and sophisticated tunnel book and flag book! There is also a new book I've never seen elsewhere -- a self portrait book.
- Fanbook Template
- This is a PDF template for a three part fan book. Make as many pages as you need for your minibook. Then use a paper fastener to connect all the pages at the bottom. This book opens like a fan. Store it in a pocket in your lapbook.
- Circle Book
- This is a PDF with directions for how to make a circle book.
- Envelope Book
- Another PDF file with directions for using construction paper and envelopes to make a book with pockets.
- Let's Book It
- Directions and templates (mostly in Power Point Format) for many mini-books are listed here.
- Three Square Mini-book
- I blogged the directions to this book using three squares of paper. A short video demonstration of it opening and closing is included. It starts really small and opens really big. It uses an origami fold called the square base -- a bit tricky, but worth the effort.
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Fun Papers for Mini-books
Making Mini-books from Online Software
for free, of course
With these online programs, you enter your data and your printer spits out a beautifully professional mini-book!
- Read Write Think Flip Book
- This is really neat! You can design a layered book (they call it a flipbook) of up to 10 pages online and print it! Using the computer may motivate a reluctant writer!
- ReadWriteThink: Stapleless Book
- This is an interactive tool for creating an eight-page book simply by folding and cutting. There is a front and back, so your book contents actually has six pages. You can choose the layout for each page.
Contest at Homeschool Share
If you like to make your own unit studies and/or lapbooks, you may want to enter this contest! There are some fantastic prizes and the opportunity to share your ideas with other homeschoolers! The deadline for entry is July 1, 2008, so click the picture and find out more details!
Enter your ideas for unit studies and lapbooks for PRIZES and "fame" on HSS website. (Click the graphic for more information.)
How to Keep Track of the Mini-book Options
There are so many different types of mini-books. How can you remember all the choices when planning a lapbook? Besides coming back to this webpage or buying a book, you can make your own reference lapbook. Make a lapbook that includes an example of each type of mini-book. If you would prefer, you can just put the mini-book examples into a ziplock bag. As you learn to make more mini-books, your reference kit can grow.Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com
- Lapbooking Reference Lapbook
- This homeschool mom made her own lapbook reference tool. It's a great example with pictures and directions!
Dinah Zike Idea Books
Lapbooking can absolutely be done without buying any resources besides the regular school supplies you already have. But Dinah Zike's books do offer a lot of helpful reproducibles and ideas. She is well known among lapbooking teachers and homeschoolers for her "foldables."If you want to buy ONE book for lapbooking, The Big Book of Books is my recommendation. It has many ideas and clear instructions for mini-books and other projects. A great resource that I have turned to time and time again.
Look for it at Rainbow Resource or your favorite homeschooling retailer. Or scour the used books listings online. My favorite places are VegSource's Misc. board and Homeschool Classifieds.
Shape Book Photos
After you see the adorable books, you'll surely want to make some of your own. Keep reading for links to shape book templates. Once you get the hang of it, you can make your own!
Ship Shape Book Outside
Cat Shape Book Outside
Cat Shape Book Inside
Fish Shape Book Outside
Fish Shape Book Inside
Knight Shape Book Outside
Knight Shape Book Inside
Volcano Shape Book Outside
Volcano Shape Book Inside
Bromeliad Shape Book (Rainforest Plant)
Shape Books
- Eduplace Shape Books
- Shape book patterns for barn, child, lion, mittens, shell, taxicab, treasure chest, and many more. These are PDF files. Each shape has a pattern with lines and one without.
- Preschool Express Pattern Station
- Shape book patterns for house, pumpkin, kite, fish, cat, turtle, and many more.
- Teacher View Shape Books
- Shape book patterns for turkey, shamrock, egg, heart, top hat, and more.
- Simple Shapes Coloring Pages
- Free printable templates for simple shapes; make many copies and staple together for a mini-book.
- Story It
- Categories of shape book templates include animals, holidays, plants, shapes, nature, Bible, and more.
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Use Notepads for Shape Books
Other Pages About Lapbooking
I've made some other webpages about specific lapbook topics: penguins, space, Thanksgiving, the human body, physics, 50 States, and more.The entire list can be found on the page linked below.
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Lapbooking and Unit Study Themes
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This page is guide to all my other pages of lapbooking, notebooking, or unit study themes. An entire list of all my pages here at Squidoo can be found on my profile page.
Graphics, Clip-art, and Maps
to decorate your lapbooks and mini-books.
We discovered a great timesaver that also makes the finished product more attractive: print your maps and images onto sticker paper. Then you can simply cut it out and stick it into the mini-book! No messy glue or tape!
- Karen's Whimsy -- Public Domain Images
- This site has a wealth of black and white images of traditional topics -- knights, renaissance fashion, flowers, angels, Ancient Egypt, victorian era, etc.
- World Atlas
- This is the greatest map site on the web! The choices are endless. If you need a map, you can find it here.
- DK Images
- Full color clip-art sorted by topic -- history, science, and more.
- Enchanted Learning
- This site has printables for almost any topic you might want to study!
- Utopia Portrait Gallery
- A selection of portraits of historical figures. The images in this collection are in the public domain.
- Discovery School Clip Art
- Nice gallery of clip art especially designed for educational uses.
- New York Public Library Digital Gallery
- This is not a cutesy clip art site but a serious, grown-up reference tool! You will find amazing images from many old books - everything from Ellis Island immigrants to art nouveau plants to military costumes. (Search this site with parental guidance; not all images are child-friendly or politically correct.)
- Clipart - ETC
- This is the clipart database of Florida's Educational Technology Clearinghouse. It has a nice assortment of black and white images from old books. Many historical and science related images!
- Clip Art by Phillip Martin
- Cute, cartoon style clip art images free for educational uses. Topics include Ancient Civilizations, Science, Math, Holidays, Native Americans, and Animals.
- Sources of Free Timeline Figures
- If you're looking for images of famous people or historical events, look at these online, free timeline figures.
- Learning and Teaching Scotland
- A wide variety of royalty-free images and photographs for education.
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The Lapbook Base
mount all your mini-books onto a large folder.
Some people use file folders, others use posterboard or cardstock. You can use any heavy paper folded into a shutterfold.To make a shutterfold, mark the (vertical) center of a sheet of paper lightly with pencil. Fold the outer edges into the center mark, creasing well. Voila! A shutterfold!
What if you run out of room? Add extensions to your lapbook. Attach additional pieces of cardstock to the inside top or bottom so that they can fold outwards. Or attach two shutterfolds together.
Links for The Lapbook Base
- Folding Instructions for a Lapbook
This site shows you clearly how to transform a file folder into the base of your lapbook.- Using a File Folder as a Base
- This example clearly shows how the file folder was opened and refolded so that the top edges now meet in the center.
- A Picture of the Shutterfold
- This is an eagle lapbook that shows the basic shutterfold shape.
- Another Double Folder
- This is a double folder -- two shutterfolds attached together to make a super big lapbook. In these examples, bright orange, legal-size file folders were used.
- Portfolder
- In case you need another view of the double folder, here is another page with clear directions for using posterboard instead of file folders.
File Folders
Other Lapbooking Resources
Giant Science Resource Book: Grades 1-6
This is a book I own and have used many times to find graphics for science related lapbooking. It includes these areas: life science, physical science, space science, and environmental science.
Amazon Price: $17.81 (as of 05/09/2008)
Used Price: $14.49
Easy Bookmaking (Grades K-3)
Amazon Price: (as of 05/09/2008)
Used Price: $6.00
Making Books That Fly, Fold, Wrap, Hide, Pop Up, Twist & Turn: Books for Kids to Make
Amazon Price: $9.58 (as of 05/09/2008)
Used Price: $7.71
Making Books Across the Curriculum (Grades K-6)
Amazon Price: (as of 05/09/2008)
Used Price: $14.35
Making Mini-books (Klutz)
Amazon Price: (as of 05/09/2008)
Used Price: $2.49
Evan Moor Resources
For a view of some completed projects, see this Flickr set by a homeschool family.
Projects are displayed in easy-to-make paper pockets, creating a comprehensive portfolio. Or you can affix them to a lapbook base. The book jackets shown here are only a sampling of the titles available in the Pockets series.
History Pockets: The American Civil War
This title is a NEW release! Look for the History Pockets: The Revolutionary War as well.
Amazon Price: $10.49 (as of 05/09/2008)
Used Price:
History Pockets: Ancient Rome, Grades 4-6+
Another brand NEW release!
Amazon Price: $10.19 (as of 05/09/2008)
Used Price: $9.20
Literature Pockets, Aesop's Fables, Grades 2-3
Amazon Price: $11.24 (as of 05/09/2008)
Used Price: $9.24
History Pockets: Ancient Civilizations, Grades 1-3
I have this title in the series. It not only has reproducible mini-books and other paper projects, it is also full of factual information that will save you time researching. Here is a review by another homeschooling mom. She also includes photos of her children's work.
Amazon Price: $10.19 (as of 05/09/2008)
Used Price: $4.99
History Pockets: Native Americans, Grades 1-3
Amazon Price: $10.19 (as of 05/09/2008)
Used Price: $6.00
Best Lapbooking Resources Delivered Via Email
freebies right to your inbox
- Yahoo Group -- Lapbooking
- Anyone who wants to lapbook starts here! This huge group is a massive powerhouse of experienced lapbookers. People are constantly sharing freebies, great links, free downloads, etc. through this group. This group is hosted by the "Premiere Lapbook Provider" Hands of a Child.
- Yahoo Group -- Lapbooking Made Simple
- This Yahoo group about Lapbooking is sponsored by Knowledge Box Central, a retailer of lapbooking kits. It's much newer and has fewer members than the Hands of a Child Yahoo group above, but is still a resource for lapbooking tips, delivered right to your inbox.
- Dover Publications Kid's Books Sampler
- Dover publishes great eductional books! If you sign up for this newsletter, each week, you'll get a link to free downloads of puzzles, activities, clipart, coloring pages -- all pages from their books. Download, save, or print.
- Dover Publications Sampler
- This is another Dover sampler, but it's not exclusively children's books.
- Dover Publications Design Sampler
- This Dover sampler focuses on clipart and graphics.
- Homeschool E-Store
- This store sells all e-format resources. But every week, they offer a freebie! Every now and then it is a Hands of a Child complete lapbook kit! Other times it's notebooking resources that can be easily adapted for lapbooking.
Free Lapbooking Units Online
These links will direct you to free online resources for making complete lapbooks. All you need is your own printer! Experiment with printing on cardstock, colored paper, and sticker paper for more variety.Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com
- Homeschool Share
- This is a great place to start for a free lapbook kit. Pick and choose among the list of topics and living books. Then select which printable templates you'd like to use. Voila! A lapbook, all for free. These freebies are created by other moms. I have contributed to this site myself! If you make your own templates, please consider sharing your ideas at Homeschool Share.
- Homeschool Helper
- This is another site where individuals offer their lapbook and minibook templates to share with others. Lapbooks include Lewis and Clark, George Washington, The Orchestra, The United States Constitution, and The Boston Tea Party. But new topics are constantly being added! So check back!
- Hands of a Child Freebie
- Hands of a Child, the lapbook kit retailer, offers a free quarterly lapbook for download in PDF format.
- Virginia Standards of Learning
- This page is full of "foldables" for United States History -- all are PDF files ready to be printed and assembled.
- Westward Expansion Printables
This is a thorough unit study on Westward Expansion in the U.S. (1803 - 1890). The PDF printables can easily be adapted into lapbooks.- Lapbook Lessons
- This is an entire social network just for lapbookers! As a member (free, of course), you have access to lots of free templates, videos, images, and a forum with experienced lapbookers. You can set up your own page, upload images, files, and even post blog entries.
- Preschool Sunday School Lapbooks
- Free Bible based lapbook ideas and printables.
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Beyond Mini-books
adding extras to your lapbooks
Besides mini-books, there are many things you can put into a lapbook. Usually, should be laminated so that they can be used again and again. You can put them into a pocket or envelope affixed to the lapbook.Here is a list of some possibilities:
Paper dolls or puppets
Jigsaw puzzles
Board games
Mazes, Crossword Puzzles, Word Searches
Flashcards
Realia - real things (coins, feathers, postcards, etc.)
Charts and graphs
Where to Find those Extras
Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com
- Waterford Press Games
- Mazes, matching activities, picture scrambles, quizzes, word games, and more puzzles all dealing with animals.
- NEW!! Create a Graph
- A very sophisticated but easy to use online program for designing graphs with your own data! You can even save what you create in various file formats to use in other applications!
- Game Boards to Print and Play
- Besides board game templates, this site has printable game card templates and spinner templates. Make your own games to match your lapbook theme!
- Homemade Board Games
- This blogger has collected great tips and links for homemade games!
- Jigsaw Puzzle Template
- This is a GIF image that will help you make your own jigsaw puzzle to go in your lapbook.
- Discovery School's Puzzlemaker
- At this site you can custom design puzzles of all kinds related to your topic. The puzzles include the standbys of crossword puzzles and wordsearch puzzles, but there's more! Mazes, math square, number blocks, hidden message, and even more choices!
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Great Science Adventures Curriculum
for lapbooking science topics
For a balanced discussion of this curriculum, see this Homeschool Library forum thread. (You do have to join the forum to read it though.)
For a thorough review, visit Eclectic Homeschool Online.
Features of Great Science Adventures:
* Multilevel teaching for K - 8
* 24 lessons, with one reproducible minibook for each
* Detailed explanation of all activities
It is suggested that you complete 2-3 lessons each week for an 8-12 week unit study.
Great Science Adventures the World of Tools And Technology
I have this title. It's a great resource for lapbooking! Not only does it have reproducible minibooks, it also has reproducible graphics and directions for making your own minibooks. We are using it as a resource for our physics lapbook.
Amazon Price: $22.00 (as of 05/09/2008)
Used Price: $17.00
The World of Space (Great Science Adventures)
Amazon Price: (as of 05/09/2008)
Used Price: $17.95
Other Lapbooking Tools
extras that make lapbooking a bit easier
I highly recommend you buy either a long arm stapler or a swiveling stapler like the blue one pictured. If you are going to make a lot of minibooks, it will be an often used tool.We also have a laminator that we really love to use for lapbooking! Although by no means an essential tool, a laminator can add a bit of durability to your lapbooks.
Ideas:
laminate wordsearch or other puzzles and attach a vis-a-vis pen for write on/clean off fun
laminate game boards and game pieces
laminate puppets, postcards, matching cards, vocabulary cards
Xyron XRN900 Creative Station with Permanent-Adhesive Cartridge and Idea Book
Create sthttp://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/01aiSoIhU7L.jpg
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/01aiSoIhU7L.jpgickers, magnets, labels and laminate items up to 9" wide. Easy load cartridge and removable cutter.
Amazon Price: $79.99 (as of 05/09/2008)
Used Price: $40.00
Xyron XRN510ATP Creative Station Multi-Use Crafting Machine with Permanent-Adhesive Cartridge
Create stickers, magnets, labels and laminate items up to 5" wide.
Amazon Price: $39.99 (as of 05/09/2008)
Used Price:
50008 Itoya S-2 Swivel Desktop Stapler
I have a swiveling stapler similar to this one. We use it a lot to bind minibooks on their "spine." It makes a much neater appearance than simply stapling the side of the book.
Amazon Price: (as of 05/09/2008)
Used Price:
Lapbooking is a Tool
a reminder
Of course some things you study and some of the things on your lapbook plan will not make their way into mini-books either because you ran out of time or you later decided it just didn't "work." That's okay!
Even if your lapbook has just four or five mini-books, if there was learning happening, then it's a successful lapbook!
Still have questions? Visit the Lapbooking FAQ page.
Where To Buy Lapbook Kits
if your creativity or time is short
- Hands of a Child
- As their website says, "The Premiere Lapbook Provider Since 2002." Their kits are downloadable e-books complete with graphics, directions, and pictures of the finished project. They offer lapbook kits on a wide variety of subjects and for many ages.
- Knowledge Box Central's Lapbooks
- This site has e-book, CD-rom, or pre-printed lapbook kits for history, math, art, foreign language, even home economics, and MORE.
- Live and Learn Press
- Another retailer of dowloadable ebook lapbook kits.
- Homeschool in the Woods Time Traveler History Series
- Time Traveler CDs provide more than just a lapbook kit -- these are an entire unit study. A main element of the unit study is a lapbook that you create from the printables included in the lesson plans. Amy Pak, the artist who creates the Homeschool in the Woods timeline figures, has used her distinctive artistic style to create these unit studies. Her materials are not fluff but great research combined with excellent quality hands-on projects and mini-books.
- Evan Moor's History Pockets
- These are not exactly lapbooks, but are similar and would be a good introduction to the activity. For a view of some completed projects, see this Flickr set by a homeschool family.All you need to create the pockets is included in the book. Includes titles on Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt, Colonial America, and more.
- Evan Moor's Literature Pockets (Primary)
- Similar to History Pockets, but the projects are about books and stories -- fables, folktales, fairy tales, and Caldecott award
winners. - Stewardship's Unit Studies
- This site sells a title called Everything You Need to Know About Flapbooks. (Flapbooks is another name for Lapbooks.) It comes with a sample Flapbook which contains many different types of folds. The instruction booklet will take you step-by- step through how to make different folds, pockets and flaps. It also is full of ideas and ways to use Flapbooks.
- FIAR Fold-and-Learn©
- Five in a Row curriculum offers kits for some of the picture books in their curriculum.
- Interactive Notebooks by Liliput Station
- Liliput Station offers lapbooking kits (called Interactive Notebook) FREE here!
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How do You Lapbook?
Do you buy kits or do you prefer DIY?
Books from Scholastic and Teacher Created Resources
U.S. History Little Books: Famous Events
NEW! This book features reproducible foldables about events in American history. Look for the famous people version at Amazon.
Amazon Price: $11.69 (as of 05/09/2008)
Used Price: $3.29
Easy Make & Learn Projects: Human Body (Grades 2-4)
I own this book and used it to create several mini-books for a lapbook on the human body. This is a great resource and is well worth the money. It's reproducible, so it can be used over and over and then re-sold when your children are past the suggested age frame. View a limited preview on Google books.
Amazon Price: $8.76 (as of 05/09/2008)
Used Price: $2.61
Colonial America (Easy Make & Learn Projects)
See the limited preview at Google books to see if this book is right for you.
Amazon Price: $10.36 (as of 05/09/2008)
Used Price: $5.99
Success With Reading: 15 Fun-To-Read American History Mini-Books
Amazon Price: (as of 05/09/2008)
Used Price: $24.76
25 Read & Write Mini-Books That Teach Word Families
Amazon Price: $8.76 (as of 05/09/2008)
Used Price: $6.82
Now That You've Finished
What to Do With the Lapbook?
Find a place to store you lapbooks where they can be accessed again and again.We store our lapbooks on a shelf. And I've found that they get a lot of love! My daughter loves looking at them! And in that way, the learning goes on and on! She doesn't realize that she's reviewing facts that she's studied and already forgotten.
We have often used them as a reference when we are studying. "Hmm.. what was the order of the digestive system tract? Hey, let's look in the Human Body Lapbook; we have a diagram of it!"
My daughter also enjoys showing them to visitors. What a great way to document the learning going on in your homeschool! A lapbook is a project that your child can be proud to show off time and time again.
Lapbook Storage
The Wayzley Academy has a clever idea for storing lapbooks using recycled cereal boxes. Cheap and creative!
The View from the Hill Blog uses duct tape to file lapbooks into notebooks! A very creative solution to storage!
Other options to purchase are below.
MAGAZINE FILES BLACK
These are a basic and inexpensive way to store lapbooks made from standard or legal sized file folders.
Amazon Price: $9.98 (as of 05/09/2008)
Used Price:
Rubbermaid(R) Global Quick File, 10 5/8in.H x 16 7/8in.W x 6 5/8in.D, Clear
I store our lapbooks in a crate like this. They stick out of the top, just begging to be taken out and read again and again.
Amazon Price: $13.50 (as of 05/09/2008)
Used Price:
More Handy Lapbooking Tips
- Fine Print
- Fine Print is a free printing program that enables you to have a lot of control over the sizing of graphics and other printables. It even has a booklet setting!
- Primo PDF
- This is a free download of Primo PDF. With this software, you can convert files into PDF format withtout spending big bucks on Adobe software! Then you can share your files with other homeschool families (see next link).
- Homeschool Social Network
- A place to find forms, worksheets, and project templates made by other homeschool moms (and dads, I guess). Once you've made some files useful for lapbooking and converted them into PDF format, you can upload here too!
Leave a Comment
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Thank you, Thank you! I am new to this concept and you just made my life so much easier. There is so much great information on one place! I will definitely be sharing this website with my friends!
Posted May 08, 2008
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eccles1
you love to teach and it shows what a great job ! Posted May 06, 2008 |
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amandaquerque
Excellent Resource! We can't wait to get started on our own! Thank you for adding it to the BIG LENSES Group! Posted May 05, 2008 |
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kellywissink
Hi Jimmie! Posted April 28, 2008 |
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SharonMay
Thanks so much for this information on Lapbooks. My son has a huge school project to do and didn't know how to set out his information. Now he does. This is a great idea. Thanks for the links too. Posted April 24, 2008 |
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EliteClubs
This lens is great, very informative, thank you. Posted April 17, 2008 |
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LSBarton
Great Lens! I diden't know a thing about lapbooking. Sounds interesting. I'll have to come back again. I'd love to have you visit my lens Scrapbooking! Posted April 14, 2008 |
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Hanen
great lens very informative nice pictures too Posted April 14, 2008 |
WOW!! Thanks for gathering all this info! I saw Tammy Duby (Tobin's Lab) present at the Florida Homeschool Conference a couple years ago and really wanted to try this. I never did. I am getting excited all over again as I read and begin to prepare for next schoolyear. All of your resources will be a tremendous help to me!!
Thanks again!
Posted April 06, 2008
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StephenC
Great stuff! Posted March 30, 2008 |