If you haven’t heard the new craze with a fun, hands on education then welcome to the wonderful world of Lapbooking. Lapbooking has become particularly popular with parents who have chosen to homeschool their children because you can get a whole lot of information crammed into one of them. There a several benefits of using lapbooks whether you are educating your children at home or you just want some extra activities for your child to do. Let’s take a look:
Benefits of using lapbooks
• Lapbooks are a great way for children to review and help remember the information you are teaching them or that they are learning at school. They encourage your children to find the information they are looking for; not just hand it to them. Studies have also proven that when children are given hands on activities to learn while they study they will retain more information. Lapbooks do exactly that; they help them retain the information they are learning.
• Lapbooks are a great way for children and students to keep a close eye on what they are learning. With a lapbook you keep track of the major concepts you learn with each unit or theme (depending on how you make them) and your child can see the progress they are making and how much they have learned. This will help them stay motivated to keep working on their projects.
• Possibilities are endless when it comes to making lapbooks. You don’t have to homeschool to make one of these books for your children. They are a learning tool to use with education or just increase knowledge while doing something fun with your children. If your child loves trains, then make a lapbook about trains; if they love insects then try making one about insects.
• Lapbooks are extremely developmentally appropriate for all different ages and all different learning styles. Lapbooks can be custom made to meet the needs of a child with a learning disability or a child that is exceptionally bright and gifted in a certain area.
• Creating a lapbook helps children learn many different skills that they will need. For younger children they can learn how to cut and paste pictures, do a little research and even some sequencing. For older children they can learn how to do some serious research, gain some computer skills, take notes, and learn some important writing skills. Children can also learn how to organize their work in an orderly manner and how to present the material in a good way.
• Most important perhaps is the fact that they are making something that they can take pride in and they will use. Lapbooks aren’t just something you make and feel like you don’t need or can just throw into the trash can like some of the other educational things students bring home. It can really increase their knowledge and help them improve some important skills. They can really feel like they’re spending time producing something that is worth while and worth keeping.
These are just some of the benefits of using lapbooks and getting your children excited about using them. There are several others not mentioned and that you will probably figure out on your own if you decide to catch the bug.