A Journey Through Learning Lapbooks

TOS Crew members were given the option to review one of 5 lapbooks from A Journey Through Learning:

• Amphibians
• Autumn
• Desert
• Parables of a King
• or Reptiles.

Being that we live in New England, and having fall right around the corner, we decided to complete the Autumn Lapbook/Unit Study. (These units are able to be spread out over a week or a month... your choice!)

I won't bore you with the details of malfunctioning printers, and icky weather(making some of the activities in a fall lapbook difficult).... but the photos of my lapbook will show that even * if * your printer decides that it is no longer using red ink, you can still "make do", and come up with a fun product! (I did have to adjust and print a lot in grayscale, on colorful paper to make the lapbook more colorful.... I mean, come on... it's autumn... red and orange leaves, pumpkins......{sigh})

OK.... so on with the nuts and bolts of a Journey Through Learning Lapbook!

Just a quick informational note... the lapbooks are available as:

• Instantly downloadable pdfs ($13)
• CD-Rom ($14)
• and Printed ($21) formats (hmmmm the printed version would have come in handy for me this time... who knew??)

This lapbook/unit study is perfect for a novice to lapbooking! Everything is included and well laid-out, so that you are almost guaranteed to end up with a pleasing product. There are:

• Study Guide pages with enough information for your children to be able to complete theMini-books(no scouring for extra books, unless you WANT to!)
  
• Full color mini-books, ready to be cut out and assembled (each mini book follows the study guide page that goes with it in the pdf~ all nice and easy and in order!)
• Directions on assembling each mini book~ Very helpful
• Instructions and visuals (in two places!) for placing the mini-books in each folder~ Excellent! (Your older kids should be able to do this mostly on their own, and if you're helping younger child, having it laid out for you is a huge time saver!)

There are also helpful hints and tricks, suggestions on how to go about the study, options for how to schedule your time, a table of contents, a Bibliography, an "Additional Reading" list, and Enrichment Pages:

• Book Log- A fun place to keep up with extra reading!
• Biography Book Report (if included)- Learn more about the people you are studying!
• NICK Notes-An easier way to organize information
• Outline Form-A little bit harder way to organize information. (This may not work for all study guides. Some study guides may not be detailed enough to use the Outline Forms. Use only as it works for your child.)
• What I Have Learned-Pages for narration: There are two versions to choose from: Younger-includes a place to draw a picture. Older-for children who are capable of more writing and narration.

A Journey Through Learning currently offers 48 lapbooks/lapbook templates, and they are mostly intended for the 2nd-7th grade age range. They are available in the following categories:

• Mini Lapbooks
• Science Lapbooks
• History/Social Studies/Government Lapbooks
• Holiday/Seasonal Lapbooks
• Bible/Family Lapbooks
• Preschool Lapbooks
• Literature Lapbooks
• Templates and Organizers
• Unit Studies

I found this to be an extremely easy way to add a little seasonal information to our school time. While the Autumn lapbook wasn't as "academic" as a couple of the other choices, it was fun and interesting, and my kids learned a few things. I also appreciated that it was a group effort to put it together, with one child reading while the other cut out the mini-books. Mom helped assemble, and they took turns filling out information. Chalk one up for cooperation!

I am looking forward to checking out one of the more academic titles(science-ish) next... the studies look good, the lapbooking is relatively painless, and the final product makes for a great study/review item.

On another side note.... don't let the two year old get into the lapbook, unless you've chosen to print on card-stock, or another slightly sturdier paper... ;) Brads and flaps are just waaayyyyy too interesting! ;)
Here are some photos of our finished product:


The Cover~

First folder opening... I printed the
"Study Guides" 1/2 size, 2 to a sheet,
and made a little pocket to hold them
(Big red sqare), which I glued to the
back of the 3rd folder.


First and 3rd Folders open

All three folders open

If you are thinking of doing a unit study on a particular topic, and would like to try lapbooking (Or if you want to make your lapbooking easier), I suggest you check out A Journey to Learning, to see if they have something that strikes your fancy!

Visit the TOS Crew Blog to check out some of the JTL lapbook experiences of other Crew members.....

Blessings~