Lapbooks in Our Home School

We LOVE using lapbooks in our home school!

Well, that's neato...what exactly is a lapbook?

I'm so glad you asked ;)

A lapbook is an interactive book with flaps, pockets, and foldouts used for recording information.   They are often made using manila folders or cardstock for the main "body" of the book.  They are usually subject specific and the child creating the book gets to use all sorts of fun and creative ways to learn and record information; writing, coloring, drawing, cutting, pasting.

Lapbooks have been a great tool for Bella.  She enjoys working on all the parts (usually) and putting them together.  The best thing is that she enjoys sharing them and they really help her remember and retain information about what we have studied.  

We have used lapbooks from Tapestry of Grace and from Home School in the Woods.  Tapestry is our main curriculum and I LOVE IT!  Home School in the Woods is a company that offers homeschooling supplements...all sorts of wonderful kits and activities...I really, really, really get excited about their stuff!   


This is Bella's most recent lapbook.  It covers the Early 19th Century and was our first lapbook from Home School in the Woods.  It was a great study and we will be ordering more from them!  Bella, you did a great job!  Obviously, there are some parts that I helped with...some of the pieces required cutting with an exacto knife, so I handled that.  

Bella's Early 19th Century Lapbook

The front opens to reveal lots of info.

The wagon has lots of flaps full of info about wagon trains.

Close-up of info about the Barbary Pirates and the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr.

The first opening of the Barbary Pirate booklet contains words from The Marines' Hymn and a picture of The Philadelphia.

The next fold-out has info about the conflict with pirates and why The Philadelphia was burned.  If you look closely, you can see that you pull up the tab and see the ship on fire.  A fascinating bit of history!

The Erie Canal info with a pop-up of the "joining of the waters" from Lake Erie and the Hudson River.

The wagon folds out to reveal another layer...a map and more info.

Lots more info on this page.

The Indian Story Bag opens to reveal pages about some famous Native Americans and the Trail of Tears.

Just a couple of the Presidents found in this pocket...there's info about each President on the back.

This is a cool map...it has four layers!  This is the first map.  Each additional layer is on a transparency, so the student can see how America was growing and changing.

The map with all of it's layers.  The final layer shows the trails and routes used to travel across the country.

And there you have it!  The lapbook...overflowing with infomation, fun to make, fun for review :) 

Have a blessed day~

Rach