FAQ's - Lapbooks

PURCHASING THE LAPBOOK

• What does my purchase include?
  • After you purchase the lapbook, you will immediately receive an email from Wisdom and Righteousness (to the email account used through Paypal) which will contain a link to download the file.  The file is a PDF.  You will need Adobe Reader to read the file.  If needed, get a free download of Adobe Reader.   Your purchase authorizes you to use the product within your own immediate family.  YOU DO NOT need to purchase multiple copies for each child.  Everyone in your immediate family can make a lapbook from your file – even you!

• Is there a print option available?
  • Unfortunately, at this point, I do not have the ability to to sell printed material.  You will need to print from home (cheapest option) or, if desired, you can bring the file to any major printer (Staples, Office Max, etc.) for printing.  You will need to email me (karen at wisdomandrighteousness dot com) to get permission to print before you go.  Also, be sure to identify which pages you want them to print prior to arriving since you may not need all of the pages depending on what templates you would like to use in your lapbook.

CREATING THE LAPBOOK

• How do you use the Lapbooks during your school year?
  • Many families use the lapbooks differently during the year.  Some parents prefer to create the lapbooks prior to the start of the corresponding six weeks and utilize the lapbooks for review.  Others decide to cut out the lapbooks as they go.  The method that works best for us is to cut out all of the pieces over a day or two (for little ones, you will want to break this up into segments).  Place all of the pieces into a ziploc bag separated by weeks.  When that week comes, pull out and complete the corresponding pieces.  You can glue them to the book at that point (this only works well if you are following the pictures exactly – if you are going to change the layout, you might want to wait until you have everything you want to include in the lapbook, and then practice your layout before you glue the items to the lapbook).  Another option is to just glue the pieces without the written answers into the lapbook so they are all secure, then the student can complete the blanks and diagramming as the weeks progress.  This keeps it organized and easy to handle, but if a mistake is made, it is not as easy to replace a piece if it is already affixed to the lapbook file.  Sometimes we add a page to our lapbooks and include our science experiment papers and art work we did during that six weeks, or even pictures of our CC days and presentations!  If you want to add a page, you should do it prior to gluing the components into the lapbook.

• What age groups are the lapbooks best suited for?
  • The lapbooks are intended to be used with students studying in the Classical Conversations Foundations Program.  However, even your older students might want to join in on the fun – in fact, I love making them with my kids too!
  • FOR THE LITTLEST CHILDREN: My son was 4 last year and he joined in on the lapbooking components. He loved the cutting and pasting. Of course he needed more assistance with laying out the pieces and assembling the folders than my 7 year old. In addition, since he was just beginning to learn to read, and his writing was not yet “precise”, I chose to have him tell me what to write for the fill-in-the blanks and labels, and just wrote them myself. That way it will be legible as he pulls it off the shelf in the next couple of years for review! Plus, it reduced frustration on his part. He insisted on having his own lapbooks separate from his older sister. He loved showing it to people, and pointing at the pictures to explain what he was learning. Since it is memory-work based, he didn’t really need to know how to read to know what it said. It was basically what he memorized. He would recognize the subject from the picture, and “read” along with the information from memory. If your child is a hands-on learner, or enjoys cutting and pasting, I think it is a great way to get them more involved in what they are learning, and use additional skills without having to implement another curriculum. If for some reason you begin the lapbook components and they just seem too much for them, you can always wait to use them until next summer as review. Your purchase is a PDF download that you get to use for many years to come!
•  Do you have any Lapbooking tips?
  • Use a glue stick and be sure to GLUE BOTH SIDES of the item.  If you glues both sides, they will not come apart!  If you glue only one side, the item may end up lifting from the page.  The same goes for gluing the folders together.  also, if you plan to change the layout from what is suggested, it will work best to establish the layout plan before gluing any pieces on to the lapbook.  Lay them all out to be sure they will fit as desired, then glue.

• Video Tutorials
  • Need help visualizing the lapbook directions?  Our Video Tutorial page might be the answer!  Check it out!