Monday, May 04, 2015

Real Life Press ~ Lapbooking Made Simple ~ Review




Does your family enjoy lapbooking? 

We absolutely love lapbooking. So, I was very excited when I found out that I was going to be reviewing Lapbooking Made Simple from Real Life Press. I didn't review it with the purpose of finding out how to lapbook, but I wanted to review it to learn more about how to make mine better and to be able to have a resource to point others to that have been wondering what lapbooking is and how to do it. I actually get asked a ton about lapbooking. So, I figured this would be a great review for me. What I didn't realize is how much I was going to actually be learning about lapbooking that I didn't already know.



What is Real Life Press?


Real Life Press is a wonderful Christian company owned by Heidi St. John. The company believes in pointing their readers towards age-old truths as the basis for sense of self-worth, identity, purpose and happiness. Their website is filled with wonderful and meaningful material. You might know Heidi St. John as The Busy Mom.


Lapbooking Made Simple is a 6 chapter, 54 page Ebook written by Heidi St. John. This wonderful book shows you, the reader, what a lapbook is and how one can easily construct their own. I love that this book is an Ebook. It's so nice to be able to have it on my Kindle and with me wherever I may go. 

Each Chapter is filled with wonderful and very helpful information

Chapter 1: What is Lapbooking?

This chapter explains what a lapbook is and gives wonderful examples of things that can be included in your lapbook. While I have been lapbooking for years, I still have a problem with trying to be in control. It was very nice to read that Heidi has included a lapbooking golden rule into her Ebook. The golden rule is: Your lapbook belongs to your child. Don’t take over and do it for him.  Oyyy! I mean...I seriously have had a huge problem with this and at times have noticed that it has swayed my daughters attention away from even wanting to do a lapbook. So anyhow, I was happy to read this and it did motivate me to remember to back up and let my children create and enjoy their own lapbook. 

Chapter 2: Unit Studies and Lapbooking

This chapter explains wonderfully what a unit study is and gives great examples of how one can use a unit study as well as add a lapbook into a unit study. This chapter also explains the many benefits of using unit studies. We have used unit studies for years and I thought this chapter was marvelous.

Chapter 3: Getting Started

Just as the titles suggests, this chapter is about getting started. Heidi lists five very informative and helpful steps that are needed to get started in lapbooking.

Chapter 4: Lapbooking Elements

There are a bunch of different elements to lapbooking and in this chapter Heidi explains each element in detail and describes why each one is great for lapbooks. 

Chapter 5: Lapbooking versus Notebooking

I love how in this chapter Heidi explains the difference between notebooking and lapbooking and also list a ton a wonderful resources. I knew about some of these resources, but a couple of them were completely new to me. I enjoyed looking up each one and seeing what each had to offer.


Chapter 6: Your First Lapbook Step-by-Step


If you have never made a lapbook before, then you are going to love Chapter 6. In this chapter Heidi explains step-by-step how to make a lapbook. Each step includes great pictures and information. You will love how detailed the instructions are. I thought they were pretty wonderful.

At the end of the book, there are a ton of mini-book templates that you can print and use in your own lapbooks. I'm so glad these are included. These are worth a ton to me. When creating our lapbooks, I have always tried to make my own or I end up searching forever for them online. Now I don't have to worry about that anymore.

The templates included are:

Lift-a-Flap booklets
Mini-File Folder Templates
Folding Booklets
Cross-Fold Template
Ticket Accordion
Petal Books
Pocket Book
Tabbed File Book
Fact Wheel




Getting Hands On

After reading the book, I was inspired to let my youngest daughter create her own lapbook. It had been awhile since she had done one and we had just finished up a great lesson about ladybugs. Also she is a huge fan of ladybugs, so I knew it would be perfect for her.  I think she was pretty excited about it. I used a resource that I had found in Lapbooking Made Simple to find some printables and we also printed out some of the mini-book templates that are included in the Ebook.


Lapbooking Made Simple Inspired Me 

Not only did reading Lapbooking Made Simple inspire me to make more lapbooks with my daughters, but it also inspired me to put together a lapbooking kit. On page 34 of Lapbooking Made Simple there is a wonderful page that lists materials that can be used for lapbooking. I printed this page out and started filling a container with the things that we had around the house. Now, when we want to lapbook, we will have everything readily available.  



Final Thought


I really wish I would have had Lapbooking Made Simple when I first started homeschooling and lapbooking. It is such a wonderful resource. I'm super glad I have it now. I'm asked a lot about lapbooking and now I have a wonderful resource to point people to and to go back to as well. I couldn't wait to share this review with you because I know so many people can benefit from this wonderful Ebook. I highly recommend it! 


What does Lapbooking Made Simple Cost?


You can currently purchase Lapbooking Made Simple for only $7.95


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