Lapbooks

A few weeks ago I started lapbooks for the kids for their work on D'Aulaire's Greek Myths. I was very skeptical about the entire concept of lapbooks as I thought they were just fiddly, crafty, busy work. However, I had seen how much the children had enjoyed them when they made them at co-op.

Ben and Shira were complaining about the writing work they had to do for D'Aulaire's when we were using notebooks, however, ever since we started doing the lapbook, they have been begging to work on D'Aulaire's. The joke is that there is more writing now, not less. However, instead of writing on pages, they are writing in booklets they made up or on miniature flash cards that go into pockets they made.

We've set up a pocket for "Facts to Learn" where each fact has its own card. Another pocket contains cards of vocabulary words and then we are making minit books. We've just finished making a minit book on the Titans.

I've realized that the children see these lapbooks as creations of their own, not school work. Shira said she is going to keep her lapbook so that she can show it to her children. Ben says that he likes his lapbook because he likes how he can go back and easily look up things.