Homeschool Crew Review: A Journey Through Learning Lapbooks

A Journey Through Learning Lapbooks was created when two homeschool moms who happened to be best friends decided that there were just not enough fun, hands on learning material for homeschoolers and started their own business.  They began with a unit study and then started creating lapbooks, which are like educational scrapbooks.  Making lapbooks is a fun way for children to learn about a variety of topics and showcase what they have learned.  A Journey Through Learning Lapbooks offers a wide variety of subject areas and even create (with permission from the publishers) lapbooks for well known curriculum companies such as Apologia, Classical Conversations, Truthquest History, Geography Matters, and Jay Wile Science.  Over the last several weeks we have had an opportunity to use and review The Greatest Inventors.

The Greatest Inventors Lapbook is recommended for grades 2-8.  It can be purchased as an instant download for $8 or pre printed for $18.  The lapbook is a 3 folder lapbook.  If you have never made one before, don't worry there are plenty of included instructions to get you started. A study guide is included for this lapbook so it is a stand alone product with all the information you need to complete the lapbook included.  You can do further research and read other books for areas your child is especially interested in if you choose.

We received the download version.  It is a 67 page download that you can print in color or black and white.  The lapbook includes information on making a lapbook, a diagram showing the layout of each piece, information on each inventor being studied and the mini-books to cut out, assemble, and fill out.  In the back of the download you will find a bibliography, some suggestions for further reading, a printable book log, a biography book report form, a NICK list form to help organize notes, a narration form for young learners, and a narration form for older learners. 

The Greatest Inventors Lapbook includes the following topics:

What is an Invention?

Johnannes Gutenberg

Benjamin Franklin

John Deere

Wilbur and Orville Wright

Guglielmo Marconi

George Eastman

Louis Braille

Eli Whitney

Leonardo da Vinci

Robert Fulton

Thomas Jefferson

Galileo Galilei

George Stevenson

Thomas Edison

Jonas Salk

George Washington Carver

Henry Ford

Alexander Graham Bell

I have been working on this lapbook with my 8,10, and 12 year olds.  We have been working together to make one project.  My children really like science and have been fascinated with the inventors that we have studied in the past so I thought this would be a fun way to start off our school year. We worked on 2 inventors each day and I had the children take turns filling out the information in the mini books.  We chose not to do this as a traditional lapbook.  Instead we put each of the mini books on a piece of cardstock to 3 hole punch and place in a notebook.

We have enjoyed going through this study.  We have had an opportunity to review some things we have learned in the past but also to learn things that we didn't already know.  The information included was just an overview on each person but you can dive in deeper to any person that your child finds especially interesting.  I love all the extra pages in the back of the download that you can use to turn this into more then just a simple lapbook.  Going through the Greatest Inventors Lapbook has been a great way for us to kick off our new school year.

Members of The Crew also reviewed some of the Classical Conversations products, Apologia products, and An Overview of the 20th Century.  To see what my Crew Mates had to say, stop by the Crew Blog!