Using Lapbooks in Homeschooling

About a year ago I discovered lapbooks and fell in love! When I attended college in the early 90's for elementary education, using thematic units in the classroom was all the rage. Teaching with thematic units basically encompassed tying the different subject areas into a particular theme thus making learning interesting and relevant. Unfortunately, it has since fallen out of favor as states have become more test driven. Lapbooks are a new twist on thematic units. A lapbook is basically a collection of minit books demonstrating the learning that has taken place when studying a particular theme or book. The minit books are attached to a book made from file folders. The neat thing about lapbooks are that not only are they fun to make while learning but they beg to be revisited again and again. I have designed several lapbooks for preschoolers as Eli and Max are in that age range. They are housed at one of the best resources for homeschooling on the internet - http://homeschoolshare.com/ . This website has a multitude, and I mean multitude, of lapbooks and unit studies to print and use. The best part is that they are all FREE! I have the following lapbooks posted there - trains, "Feathers for Lunch", "Hello Ocean", "Mrs Wishy-Washy", and "Owl Babies" at this link http://www.homeschoolshare.com/level_1_lapbooks.php and alphabet notebook, "Human Body" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" at this linkhttp://www.homeschoolshare.com/level_2_lapbooks.php . There are a ton more at all levels - prek through middle school. Lapbooking is a wonderful way to make learning fun and interesting - I challenge to try at least one lapbook in the upcoming month. You will not regret it!!!