I use firefox and the site didn't look so huge... Maybe someone should send them an email and tell them that it's not optimized for whatever browser you guys use.. IE?
I'm using Great Science Adventures this year with my younger two. I think someone here suggested it.....Sheila, maybe.......? Anyway, I have two that I bought used. I think it will go easier for me because I'm familiar with the lapbooking. To just look at it would be a bit overwhelming. Heck, it WAS a bit overwhelming for ME, and that was with me knowing it appeared much more complicated than it was! We won't be starting for a while, though. I'm planning on finishing up the Human Body part of CGC first. My husband did comment that he considered it very elementary school :roll: . But I've seen some that Tammy Duby had her son do in high school and was impressed (they were burned in their fire ). One thing about lapbooks is that it helps teach children to organize their material/information. A child who is use to doing lapbooking I would think could easily do outlining. Each little book or section of the folder would be a different part of the outline.
We are making little booklets on various subjects also I have taken some pocket folders and used them. I do plan on making some lapbooks as time goes by.
GRRR!!!! I had things going well here until someone sparked my fire now about lapbooking. I had been able to look the other way until now. I suddenly have to do a lapbook. I don't have time for this, lol! Who did this to me???
Awwww, Come'on Missy, I GUARANTEE TONS of fun AND learning with these lapbooks:lol: The first couple of ones we did was work....we didn't know what we were doing, and I had to add to my scrapbooking supplies.. BUT NOW...WHOO HOO......here are the shapes I have so far for my Native American lapbook.:lol: mini accordian book for their chosen Native American name. mini pocket for a mini book on the Great Plains.. a teepee shape which will open and have Indian people inside it that come out of a pocket.. a flip book about buffalo.. a mini book about vocabulary... a skin shaped book to do pictography.. and this evening or tomorrow we will do a pop up book....and put figures on it for daily indian life or buffalo hunting,etc. The boys haven't decided yet what to put on our pop up book..I think some Indian dancers on it so they would move up and down as we open/closed the book would look cool. Too, I forgot, we already have a coffee filter book done... With all the graphics and folds,templates,etc. on the internet, it is hard to pass up doing this... The end product is so worth it! ALL of Dinah Zikes are chock full of ideas, paperfolds, templates. I just purchased the one about math and me and my little guy will do a mini lapbook on addition and telling time. The books come complete with all the mini addition facts and miniture clocks to complete your book... But you can also find LOTS on the net..On my site, I created a huge section for lapbooking .... Also, we will do one on the creative days..WE can use a wheel or circle to show each day, the Bible books, our history lessons and science... I might have to break down and do a few more than 2 or 3 this year... Once you have the hang of it, it goes pretty fast...
So, Tina, do you plan it all out before you start? I am getting overwelmed thinking of ALL the possibilities I guess. I thought we'd do our first one (I keep changing my mind) on dinosaurs. It will be about dinosaurs in general. I have all my ideas of each section, but haven't decided how to organize each area (flip book, mini book, etc). How do you go about deciding with all the choices? This is the type of thing that blows my mind and makes me crazy, lol!
That is because there are too many possibilities for us visual people. :wink: It really doesn't matter which "fold method" you use. They are all fun and it's the information that really matters. pocket folders, tab books, trifold, you name it....BUT...look at how much info you have for each thing and then narrow it down. I know that doesn't help much. lol There is a company that does sell the kits for lapbooks it is...Hands to Heart...ummm something like that. It's on www.hsiz.org :lol: but...they put it all together BUT....I wouldn't say the graphics and instructions are real clear. I want it perfect and yes it is driving me crazy that the Bible Reading form on our website is fuzzy. :lol: I must go fix it but...until my software arrives I have to have dh resave it as a pdf for me. What a guy!!! The GSA Human Body has several areas and books all in one. To add to that you can take another file folder cut that in half and put it in the center of your initial folder for MORE space. Ok...now deep breath...if you haven't done one yet...start SMALL. I had slightly bigger plans for one on Volcanoes but....ds got a hair up his tush and....did it his way. Well...ya know what....mission was accomplished. :lol: He likes it, had fun making it, was excited to show dad and....it was his idea.
Hi Missy... Yes I do plan, but then do add as I go along...I start webbing my ideas.. You know Native American in the center of my web, then I narrowed it down to an Indian group that was in Texas since we live here. So we focus on the Comanche....that brought me to studying the geography in the Great Plains area.. Then I had daily life, dress, language, food, religion,etc ... Then ideas under that. Also, I learned the hard way TWICE:roll: ...Wait until you make all your minibooks, shapebooks,etc..THEN work on laying it out on your lapbook. Before I did that, I would glue as I went along, BIG mistake for me UNLESS I had a plan which shape would go where. That works for some people. I personally like to manipulate everything AFTER we are finished so I can see how balanced everything looks.. As far as deciding shapes, I think ahead of time which books work for what . For example, for vocabulary for 4 to 6th graders its almost a given to have a tab book big enough to hold at least 8 words. Then for the rest of the shapes, I think *balance* as far as shapes/design and variety of subjects i am covering.. Here is the nice thing, you can always add a middle flap to your lap book or glue two file folders side by side, another reason to store everything in a gallon ziploc bag and arrange lastly on your file folder. So for example take your idea about dinosaurs...Right off the bat, I think of the 3 time periods..One is Jurassic, but cant' remember the other two..So you could divide data by that on your file folder. You can use pictures from coloring books, the net, old magazines and use the small matchbox books. Put a picture on the outside, lift the flap to read what they eat.. These matchboxes are small so you could put 4 across a row and fold the paper over hot dog style. So 4 across the top and 4 across the bottom. Dinosaurs also make great trifold books. Fold the paper in a trifold and cut out a shape of a dinosaur. When you unfold it, write on the inside shape what name of the dinosaur is... Something else I just though of is that a long narrow accordian book makes a wonderful timeline for the 3 time periods... A layered book if you just wanted to concentrate on a couple of dinosaurs would work nice also.. Put a picture on the outside say of the T Rex, then one section could be diet, how big they were and where they lived could be on the other tabs.... Kind of like a report,kwim? Could you imagine a pterodactyl (sp??) on a pop up book? COOL....
Oh my goodness Tina, I'm worn out just READING about it, I son't know that I could actually do all that too!
Deena..ROFL My lapbooking has become a creative outlet. And a wonderful stress reliever.......not to mention when we finish designing, we have something to show for it.... I really do think once you get past the first couple, you enjoy it immensely.....and it goes really fast compared to those first couple of ones.. My mind races with ideas.....and projects...and GETTING them done...:lol:
Ok...for some examples of the GSA books...you can go here and you can see some examples and the table of contents for each of the books. http://www.commonsensepress.com/GSA-sample_lesson/gs-lesson.htm The one on Oceans is brand new. Can't wait for that one. :wink: www.greatlearningadventurs.com is the gal I buy from and she is super!!!
Sheila, Deena just got after me for the same thing in the Math thread, lol! Glad to know I'm not the only ones! Deena, they're probably grades 3-6, but can be used with younger and older ones, too.
The author claims K-8th. Some things you have to omit and something you'd have to crank up. I know I learn stuff. :wink:
Probably. Though it will be a while before we actually get to it. We're finishing up the Human Body in CSC right now with Phillip and Faythe.
what a cool idea. ive never thought about doing that before.. the lapbooks and the scrapbooking. makes me want to drag everyone back to class right now lol!!! i read through some of the websites and im just a little confused. what is the diffrence between lapbooks and notebooking? is it the art based projects vs regular journal type work?? thanks for all the cool ideas. love the one sheet books too!
