Today we finished up the Dolphin unit study!
Completed Lapbook
Today we wrapped up videos and the final dolphin of the day. Any work that didn’t get done during the week was finished. Gluing in the last of the pieces of the lapbooking. Finally I had some extra pictures set aside to decorate the lapbooks. My son wants clean, no frills lapbooks. My daughters on the other hand tend to over decorate their file folders 🙂
TOP 5 REASONS I LOVE LAPBOOKING:
5 kids of 5 different levels all lapbooking 1 study!
1) I can teach multiple children, with varying levels of ability all at once in 1 subject. Read one book, instead of many. It makes for an easier teacher prep for me. The kids enjoy sharing learning about the same subject as well.
2) Lapbooking becomes a family project. Family meals can be quite exciting while the kids are all trying to tell dad about the study.
3) Lapbooks are a great way to show progress and work.
4) You can delve as deeply into the subject for your lapbook as you choose. If you fill the single file folder then you can easily add an additional flap or a whole extra file folder.
5) Lapbooking engages your child on many levels of learning. Kinetic (cutting, coloring,gluing), audio (books and songs), and visual (videos, interesting shaped/colored booklets).
Okay rereading this I just had to add one more thing!
6) Lapbooks can be a great way to have a break from your normal schedule. Some families choose to do topical studies all year long. Most of us throw the unit studies in to liven things up and keep from letting boredom set in. I also love to use lapbooks for holidays. It’s learning without feeling like learning 🙂
TOP 5 PROBLEMS WITH LAPBOOKING:
1) Covering all subjects in one lesson can be difficult. If any of the kids are doing any kind of therapy or remedial work I have to set time aside for that.
2) Lapbooks are focused on 1 topic, and might not transfer well to a standardize test. In many states your child has to take a standardized test. While learning topically definately is a high level of education it is not what public school children experience therefore the learning will not translate exactly.
3) Like any other style of learning lapbooking may not suit your family.
4) Lapbooks can be looked down upon as not “true learning.” I have heard that one. If the person saying that would have stopped to realize that each piece of the lapbook was done over a long period of time and the information in it is truly understood by the student. I think they would see lapbooking differently.
5) Lapbooking can be printer heavy. Depending on how many lapbooks or children you are printing for, you can use lots of papers and ink.
We enjoy lapbooking. I use many sources to either buy my lapbooking units, or create a special one just for my kids. The kids have already asked for another topic, a dinosaur study after watching a show on dinosaurs that talked about a homeschooling student that found a dinosaur fossil in the Bad Lands! NEAT! I have a feeling this lapbook is going to include pictures of a fossil searching field trip!