This blog is a way to examine my many adventures as I try to make the most of this life, and teach my boys how truly magical every moment can be. We may have ups and downs, but either way we are learning through exploration. My job is to try to make learning enjoyable so they always have a thirst for it.
Since I started doing lapbooks last February I didn't have a Thanksgiving one yet. I thought it would be a great way to introduce the holiday to "A". Normally I get the printables from Homeschool Share, but they didn't have one. Which is shocking because they have everything else. After searching for awhile I came across this website, and it just has lots of suggestions of places to go. So this lapbook is a hodgepodge of stuff...and I don't really know where I got everything. I know some probably came from 1+1+1=1. Forgive me if I didn't credit you and just let me know and I will add it.
Research Used:
Books:Uncle Sam &Old Glory: American Symbols, Pilgrims of Plymoth by National Geo, Thanksgiving on Plymouth Plantation (really cute text that is part of a series), and Thank You, Sarah (not shown but in my Top 10 Fall books post)
Websites: PPlimoth website is awesome to look at primary sources and see both sides. This other website talks about the symbols .
Completed Lapbook
I always include a video so you can see under the flaps
A few posts earlier, I had mentioned that "A" and I were going to do a mini learning unit on owls. I found a short but cute lapbook on Homeschool Share. I love this place for free printables when it comes to lapbooks and mini units. So after reading Owl Babies by Martin Waddle and All About Owls by Jim Arnosky we got down to working on the lapbook. This is probably the smallest lapbook we have done. I was sort of bummed that they didn't have a math component. In fact, unlike most lapbooks there isn't a lot of subject crossover. There was some good information to be learned though.
The best ways to share a lapbook is on video. So if you wish I included one...
Not wanting to end any major learning unit without some art or craft I took advantage of the toilet paper rolls my sister-in-law has saved up for me. I found some sweet, colorful owls on Pinterest and they were just too easy to make. So now they join the owls we made from pinecones and feathers in our Learning About Forests unit.
I don't know how but "A" saw some clips of a Narnia movie and has been begging me to watch them. On top of that, he knows I love the Harry Potter, so that is the other request. At 5 years old there is no way I am ready to introduce Harry Potter (I'm thinking around 7 years old). I tend to have a strong believe that one should read a story first before watching the movie. After reading some chapter books as read-alouds to see if he could comprehend them and also have the attention span to sit still... I made the decision to read The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. The fact, that our local science museum is doing a Narnia traveling exhibit helped cement my plans. It took us about 5 weeks to read the 17 chapters and every night it was "just one more chapter" from my little book-lover. I found a lapbook from Homeschool Share, so every three chapters I would make sure we stopped and answered the reading comprehension questions. The questions were great for a young child because it was simple question and answer, and it was a good way to gauge "A's" understanding. As a teacher, I really wish there was some more critical thinking and text-to-self connection type questions. Also, the lapbook does a lot of connecting the story to Christian values and makes connections to Bible verses. I kept some of those in (like the comparison to Aslan to Jesus) but a lot of it was beyond "A's" understanding and more than I wanted to introduce, so I just omitted those questions.
"A's" drawing of Lucy with the lamppost in snowy Narnia
There is quite a few questions of the course of the book!
Other reading comprehension activities:
Making Strawberry Turkish Delight (recipe in lapbook)
Candy-making was a lot of harder than I expected
I started calling "A" Edmund because all he did was try to sneak more Turkish Delight!
Pretty yummy if I say so myself!
Got Picture with the White Witch (during library opening)
Watched the 2005 movie and did a Venn Diagram (stored on back of lapbook)
Went to OMSI to see exhibit. Couldn't take pics inside but mostly movie props.
I discovered lapbooks back in February. I can't get enough of them. The homeschooling community uses these as tools for their curriculum. I may not homeschool, but I find them perfect for supplemental learning with my preschooler. A lapbook is a folded up file folder that you put pocket books studying a theme in. One of my favorite things is how you can have a keepsake of your learning that touches all subjects in one folder. I get almost all of my lapbook ideas and printables at Homeschool Share, an amazing free resource. There are tons of websites and ideas out there if you Google lapbooks, I just think Homeschool Share is the best. The ideas are endless and it's fun trying to find ways to be creative and add more to the lesson.
I wanted to include some of the lapbooks I have done with "A". I have done more than the ones included but they were a study on holidays, so I will save them for other posts. I hope this gives you an idea of what lapbooks are and what you can do with them. To get started on how to make a lapbook watch this YouTube tutorial.
No supplemental text for this one, since it is just about your little one.
These are the ones we have done so far. Phew, that was a lot!!! I am trying to find ways to incorporate these into my classroom with older children. I think lapbooks may be a fun way organize and teach social studies units. I am thinking in particular The Colonies, Native Americans, Revolutionary War, etc. Let you know if I complete one. They also have them for older children literature studies. In fact, "A" and I are doing one now for our read-aloud of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.
A note on storing these bad boys: They are pretty compact but they can pile up. I have seen some people put duct tape on the edge and then three-ring hole punch the tape. I don't really like that. I think it takes away from the look of them. Let's face it, duct tape is ugly (except the cool new ones in craft stores). I saw one person who didn't keep them in a lapbook form but put each individual page in a plastic page protector, so all the books where in a binder. I like that idea and may switch to it later on down the road. I tried to put them in the page protectors as they are now and they don't fit, so I need to do some problem solving...another day!
