Lapbooks

"Lapbooks" are a popular trend among many homeschoolers. Apparently these folder-projects are called such because they are a "book" that fits in one's "lap"

I personally find the term a bit peculiar (don't all books fit in one's lap?), and around our home, we simply use the term "project", but no matter what you call them, they are fun way to break up the routine. While I do reject a lot of the project frenzy of public school, I do think it is valuable for my homeschooled children to have the experience of making a plan, manipulating materials, and assembling a project as a completed product.

Some lapbooks, like the one pictured above, are made from templates. I find this particularly useful for my 2nd grader, as it gives her a starting point. The templates also provide her with guidelines that prompt good questions to ask about the subject, in this case, literature, such as the nature of conflict and change in a given story. Activities can be included in the lapbook as well that prompt the child to become familiar with using a book's index, glossary, and table of contents.

The above templates were made freely available at homeschoolshare.com.