Guest Author - Katie Kubesh

I am very pleased to share this wonderful article with you. Lapbooking is a wonderful educational project that my children truly enjoy. If you would like to see photos of a lapbook my daughter made, as well as an article she wrote about what she learned, please view the January 2007 edition of The Homeschool Herald



What is Lapbooking?
by Katie Kubesh

As a co-owner and writer/researcher for In the Hands of a Child, the Premier Supplier of Ready-to-Assemble Lapbooks, I am asked a lot of questions about lapbooking. Many people have heard the term “lapbooking” but have no idea what it is or are overwhelmed by the entire concept of hands-on activities and unit studies. Lapbooks are great ways to include hands-on activities to your student’s curriculum! Some of the great questions I am asked include:

1. What is a lapbook? A lapbook is a hands-on tool that you can use with your children in place of worksheets or other monotonous learning tools. It can be used for ages preschool through high school and can be used with any subject matter!

As a homeschool parent or teacher you may hear this type of comment “Student learning improves when lessons incorporate hands-on projects or crafts.” It is true! Student learning does improve when you include hands-on activities! Think about yourself, as a learner- is it more fun to read a recipe on paper or actually dig your hands in and make that recipe?

Lapbooks become portfolios that your student has created about a particular topic. They are easy to store and fit into a file cabinet, file box, or magazine holder with ease. In addition, lapbooks are an instant review tool! What better way to go back over the things your student learned about the Moon than pulling out a lapbook and reminiscing about all the great projects he or she completed!

2. How are lapbooks made? Lapbooks are made from file folders, cardstock, poster board, foam core, pocket folders; notebooks…feel free to use your imagination!

A lapbook is a created using a collection of mini books and activities that can be put inside a folder or a small book. Each mini book or project addresses a key point or concept relating to the unit study. For example, your student is studying the Moon. A lapbook on the study of the Moon may include:

* A mini fan-book that the student has written Moon vocabulary words in.
* A scale graphic that the student has created to compare the mass of the Moon to the Earth.
* A mini book for the student to describe the different phases of the Moon.

Mini books included in a lapbook can be any sizes or shapes and made from cardstock, copy paper, scrapbooking paper, or even fabric. They can be created from computer graphics or hand-made. Projects can include crafts, recipes, and experiments as well! Why not make a model of the moon while completing the Moon lapbook? Or find a recipe for “moon pies.” The possibilities are endless.

3. What supplies do I need to start lapbooking with my students? The great thing about lapbooks is that you do not have to run out and purchase special supplies. Most people have the supplies they need right around the house. Basic supplies needed to lapbook include:
* File folders
* Paper in variety of colors and weights (cardstock, 24#)
* Crayons, pencils, markers, paints
* Adhesive- double stick tape, glue, glue sticks
* Stapler and staples
* Paper punch
* Optional items like stickers, magazine clippings, and other embellishments

4. How do lapbooks enhance a child’s education? There are many benefits to lapbooking including:

* Lapbooks provide hands-on activities to reinforce and supplement what students learn about a particular subject
* Lapbooks allow students to be creative
* Lapbooks can be used as stand-alone tools and unit studies
* Lapbooks are ready-made portfolios of studies
* Lapbooks are instant review tools
* Lapbooks are easy to store

5. What is In the Hands of a Child and how did they become the Premiere Lapbooking Provider? In the Hands of a Child began in 2002 when two homeschooling moms found themselves constantly searching for the right graphics and information for their children to complete hands-on activities and unit studies. Kimm Bellotto and Niki McNeil met through an online homeschool email list and after chatting; they soon discovered that they both were both looking for an easier way for homeschooling moms to pull together the necessary items for a hands-on approach. Those chats soon turned into a business plan and the two of them quietly “set-up shop” on the web becoming the first company to sell ready to use lapbook kits. With Niki’s creative ideas and Kimm’s creative graphics abilities, the two moms published their first unit in November 2002, titled Plants.

At first the only people who even knew they existed, outside of their families, was a small circle of online friends from a homeschool support egroup. These moms began using the product and spreading the word to other homeschooling moms and slowly, but steadily, the business began to grow to what is now an internationally recognized company in the homeschooling community.

Niki and I met through a mutual scrapbooking hobby and when Niki mentioned that she and Kimm were looking for additional writers, the “inner author” inside me jumped at the chance! In 2005, I joined In the Hands of a Child as an author/researcher and then as a partner in the growing business. Today, the three of us share equal responsibilities, each bringing unique qualities and talents to the business with one goal in mind, to provide quality lapbooking materials for all educators, while serving the homeschooling moms looking for an easier way to put laughter and learning together in the hands of their children. We aim to help parents of all age and skill levels, ranging from Preschool to High School, with the use of just one product.

Before In the Hands of a Child made its debut, homeschoolers had to do all of the preparation in order to pull together a lapbook. That task takes a lot of time and money spent on buying items and/or graphics that may not be used again. Many homeschoolers do not have the time or the resources to complete this for every unit study in their curriculum. Knowing how much our own children learned and enjoyed learning in this style we knew we could meet a need for homeschoolers who want to put more of a hands-on spin to their schooling but are daunted by the task. We took the preparation time out of the parent/teacher job description and allow parents to focus on the learning experience.

Together, we have published over 150 Project Packs and we continue to release new ones on a weekly basis. Subjects include Geography, Literature, Reading, Science, History, Bible, and Math and all of our units are available in Ebook, Printed, or CD format. In addition, we have added other products to our company including lapbooking supplies, craft kits, membership programs, and much more.

6. What are the benefits of using Project Packs from In the Hands of a Child for lapbooking? There are many benefits to using a Project Pack from In the Hands of a Child. First of all, we take the planning and research out of the parent/teacher job description! When you purchase a Project Pack from In the Hands of a Child:

* All of the work is done for the parent/teacher, but not for the student. We complete the research/lesson plan and design hands-on activities to correspond with the topic. Then we design reproducible graphics so all the parent/teacher has to do is print it out! Students who complete lapbooks with our Project Packs still feel like they are creating a lapbook that is unique to them because they are responsible for completing each of the hands-on activities
* Lapbooks completed with our Project Packs are ready-made portfolios. There is no need for the parent/teacher to make notations or keep forms- simply file the lapbook! They are easy to store in a file cabinet, file box, or magazine holder and can easily be taken out and used as a review tool.


7. My children are different age and skill levels. Can I purchase one Project Pack and use it with all of my children? Yes, you can! We provide you with the necessary tools and resources to adapt the Project Pack to fit the age and skill level of your student. There is no need to purchase a separate Project Pack for each child, simply print out enough of the graphics for the number of students you have! One of the first pages in our Project Packs tells you how to adapt each Project Pack to either a younger or older student. In addition, many of our newly released Project Packs include activities that have two different graphics- one left blank for the older student to write on, and one with dotted lines for a younger student to practice his or her writing. We strive very hard to make our Project Packs adaptable for the entire family or classroom!

Recognizing that hands-on projects are essential to the learning experience, In the Hands of a Child has created Project Packs that go beyond the hands-on aspect. They have taken the preparation time out of the parent/teacher job description with Complete Ready to Assemble Lapbook-style units that are available in printed book, cd, or ebook formats. Please visit their website at www.handsofachild.com.

Katie Kubesh is co-owner and writer/researcher for In the Hands of a Child. Her Beginning Lapbooking Series has been featured at The Old Schoolhouse Magazine’s Experimental Zone Homeschool Blog, Cindy Rushton’s Virtual Seminar, Talk-A-Latte, and she will be speaking at the homeschool CHEA conferences in June 2007.