The Joys of Lapbooking
A friend of mine introduced me to the concept of "lapbooks" early in our home-schooling journey - thanks Tanya! CC and I discovered that we LOVED doing them, so that is how CC did most of her primary (elementary) schooling. We would choose a topic that CC was interested in and begin a massive project. Much of her writing, reading, research and art would be based around the topic - and her science would come out of it as well.
One very science orientated lapbook we did was on Marine Biology. I look back on it now and am amazed at what we covered.
Have a look at a video walkthrough here:
If you love the idea of a long-term project that results in a finished product that you can keep and look back on in future years, then lapbooks are awesome. Children of all ages in the family can do the same topic together but work at their own level. Their lapbooks will all look very different at the end, giving a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the differences between us all. And for boys who like to build, then think outside the box and make a 3D "lapbook" like a giant under water diorama or an aquarium.
One aspect of our Marine Biology lapbook was to look at the water cycle. I introduced all the different terms and then we did a bunch of fun experiments to help CC understand what those terms really meant.
FREE RESOURCES HERE:
To access these experiments and use the worksheets that go with them, follow this link:
A pool of water experiments.
(If you have not read my blog on "Primary Science Ideas for Home-schoolers", then check it out here: https://educationaltrend.com.au/blog/item/elementary-home-schooling-science-ideas )
If you have never come across lapbooks before, the basis of them is to make a fold-out project book from manilla folders with lots of little flip notes, pockets of surprises and even turning wheels. You can be as creative as you want. There are loads of ideas on the internet and resources to print, to help you along the way.
Happy Home-schooling :-)
