For Heather. =)
Our finished Before Five in a Row Lap Journal:
17 "Rows" of Memories
The lap journal is: a lapbook, a scrapbook, and a portfolio ~ a record of our learning time together.
A peek inside:
Sharing a journal works for us so I have only one lap journal for Mali and Elli. I let them choose which activities they want to do and encourage other activities based on their age and ability.
I usually only print one lapbook, but do print extra pages for some activities they both can use. For example, I only printed one box of crayons in the above picture. Mali colored the cover and Elli colored the crayons inside (I color too!). For mini-books that require glueing, I have one child place them in the correct spot, then take them off and have the next child glue them in the correct spot. If it a personalized mini-book, like the "My Name" book above, I will print two. Often I will print activities (such as a preschool pack for Elli) and it is just for her. If Mali is interested, I will use sheet protectors so they both can do an activity.
I write the child's name on the bottom with their age so I don't forget who did what!
What we used to make the lap journal:
- Binder (we use a 3 inch binder ~ buy the locking kind!)
- Colored cardstock and printer paper
- Heavy weight sheet protectors (can use lightweight for notebooking pages)
- Rubber cement (cleans up nicely ~ be sure to let it completely dry before putting the page in the sheet protector as it bubbles the plastic if you don't!)
- Vis-a-Vis Wet Erase Markers
(to reuse printables)
- scissors, crayons, color pencils, etc.
What goes inside:
- A color photo copy of the book we rowed (this is a great visual aid to help the children remember the books!)
- Lapbooks lapbooked on 8.5 x11 cardstock
- Notebooking pages
- Narration and Illustrations
- Copywork
- Printable activities (Tot packs, Preschool Packs, etc.)
- File folder games (just trim the ends so they will fit in the sheet protectors)
- Collages
- Artwork
- Photos
- Lesson planning sheets
- Anything you can fit!
- Store upright just like a scrapbook
- Keep where the child can see it
- Encourage them to look through it!
We've started a new journal for Five in a Row. . . I'm hoping to fit volumes 1 and 2 in one 3-inch binder. :D
I love this idea. It is a beautiful record of your rowing journey. I'm hooked, Blessings, Renelle
ReplyDeleteThis is fantastic. I'm going on the FIAR website now to see if it suits our family. Your binder certainly does! What a beautiful keepsake.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great keepsake! I love it :)
ReplyDeleteFantastic! I had been wondering how to store the lapbooks we've been making - I'm going to take my ideas from this! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteOh I love it. It is so neat and tidy. I can't wait to glean more from your adventures with FIAR now =) Thank you for sharing these posts. You always inspire me. Love you dear Michelle =)
ReplyDeleteThis looks so nice and organized. I love this idea and I think I will try to incorporate it. Thanks for sharing! :).
ReplyDeleteThis looks so nice and organized. I love this idea and I think I will try to incorporate it. Thanks for sharing! :).
ReplyDeleteThis is so lovely-Thank you for sharing! I would like to do this and have one question: For things that they "do," like sequence cards, or the yellow ball above below--where there are pieces, how handle those? Do you just do the page with, say, the pocket & cards in the pocket and put the whole thing in a page protector, then if they want to do the activity again, just pull it out of the page protector? That's what I'm thinking, but want to know if there's a better/easier way? Thank you again--your blog has been a blessing to me. As a mom of many, I tend to think, "oh, my littles prevent me from doing this, etc." but the workbook stuff isn't working!! Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteYour welcome! If it is a single lapbook and you trim the ends, you
ReplyDeleteshould be able to fit the lapbook in a page protector ~ then just pull
it out when the kids wants to look at it! If it is too bulky, it might
not fit. Jolanthe at Homeschool Creations offers another solution and
that is to add duck tape to the ends of the folder and hole punch the
duct tape to store in a 3 ring binder.
It works better for me than stuffing art work, lapbooks, etc. in a
ReplyDeletestorage box ~ I think it will be much easier to store, look back on
and even use with my littlest one when he gets to Before Five in a Row
~ and many of the things I have included are reusable. =)
One word. Awesome!
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU for taking the time to share it with us.
Heather
haha- I just noticed the dedication! The first time I went right to the pictures! Thanks so much for letting us see how you put it all together. Fantastic!
ReplyDeleteHeather
Yes, Jo! You are correct. And I use velcro on some of the activities
ReplyDelete(like the yellow ball above/below activity) and then pull it out of
the page protector when they use it. I do this with file folder games
too, and other activities. Often times I do not glue activities onto
cardstock and just stick them in the page protector. I did this with
the yellow lacing ball in the yellow ball photo ~ I just paper-clipped
it to the cardstock for easy removal.
As a mom of 6, I understand how hard it is to balance the time between
children and activities to make school fun and interesting for all! I
will hopefully share more how I manage this [I'm still figuring it
out!].
Awesome idea! We have just been "playing" so far in school. I think Christopher is finally developmentally ready to do more formal "school" things. This would work perfectly! I love lapbooks and was fretting over how to store them. THanks so much for the idea!!!! :)
ReplyDeleteSteph and Christopher
www.ourlittlemanhasmoore.blogspot.com
Thank YOU for inspiring me to write it! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI'm so relieved you have posted this as it also comes as perfect timing for me :D. I was wondering, do you separate each story, or is it separated by the cover page of each book like the front Runaway Bunny page? and how do you store the activities as you 'row' or do you make each part as you go along?
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for putting your time into helping and inspiring so many
mamagot5, Australia.
Great questions. I usually separate them with a cover page or a color
ReplyDeletephoto copy of the book. Lately, I have been shrinking the photocopy of
the book and including it as a lapbook component. I did this with
Madeline. (Madeline {FIAR}) You could easily add dividers for each
book, but I haven't done that. . . yet.
I usually store the activities in a folder or basket, then add them to
the journal for safe keeping when they are completed (and dry).
Thanks for asking. =) I looked through our current binder and I think
it needs something more ~ perhaps my planning sheets for each book, or
a divider. The binder doesn't reflect all that we do, so adding a
planning sheet would help, or even a typed summary of our row (like I
write for a blog post). I think the older the children get, the more
detailed I would get (for record purposes).
I love your FIAR posts. You have done a wonderful job planning and organizing- and sharing to inspire others.
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome idea!! Thank you for showing this off :)
ReplyDeleteFantastic post ~ helpful and inspiring! :)
ReplyDeleteI really love this idea! I'm going to be doing BFIAR with my soon to be 3 year old and Kindergarten with my 5 and this is an excellent idea. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThis is years later...but where did you find the printables for each book?
ReplyDeleteMost of them came from homeschoolshare.com - most of the B4 titles can be found in the Level One - Toddlers and Preschoolers section. :)
ReplyDeleteHere's a link: http://www.homeschoolshare.com/level1.php
ReplyDelete