The timing of this review couldn't have been better!!! With the elections coming this year, I have thought it was the perfect time to present how elections work to my children, so I was thrilled to get a chance to review the HISTORY Through the Ages Hands-On History Lap-Pak: U.S. Elections from Home School in the Woods.
What is the HISTORY Through the Ages Hands-On History Lap-Pak: U.S. Elections?
I have used Home School in the Woods before and have always been impressed with how it presents an excellent and thorough study of various topics by having students learn while creating a journal, notebook using file folders, glue, tape, provided cutouts and note pages. Home School in the Woods calls these file folder books Lap-Paks.
The first pages you open in the Lap-Pak is an introduction as to what is inside the packet and how to use it. It lists additional books and websites to use, instructions on how to access the audio readings of the text and how to access the project assembly instructions as well as the items you need to work through the lessons and construct the Lap-Pak, along with a list of the projects included:
How Did We Use It?
I immediately downloaded the Lap-Pak and familiarized myself with what was needed before presenting it to my children. While it appeared to be perfectly geared toward my 8th grader and my high school sophomore, I thought it would be a good idea to expose my youngest, 9 year-old, to the information as well. Plus, she loves arts and crafts so this looked like something that would interest her.
Everything except for the hands-on arts and crafts items came in a downloadable PDF file that is very organized. I printed off the instructions on how to assemble the Lap-Pak, but you could just as easily keep it on the screen for viewing.
One thing I noticed that helped immensely with keeping everything organized was that each new section had the name of that lesson printed on the bottom of the sheets.
The instructions give you a choice about printing the text that goes along with the Lap-Pak, either full sheet or a booklet. We chose the double-sided booklet.
The Lap-Pak is designed to take several sessions, broken down into individual lessons, but since I had everything ready and the table set up for hands-on crafting style of learning, we just set aside one day to do a Lap-Pak intensive camp about US Elections. We got started, finished the first half, took a break for lunch and then picked up on the second half after lunch. It ended up taking us about three and a half hours of actual hands-on learning time to complete.
The first thing I did was print everything that I needed to complete the entire Lap-Pak. I then found some folders that we had and assembled the Lap-Pak to get it ready for the inserts. I ended up using regular pocketed folders instead of file folders since I could not find our file folders. I just cut off the pockets, and it worked fine.
The day after the Iowa Caucuses and the Tuesday before Super Tuesday, we sat down together and began by using the audio files that came with the download online. We did the first half using the audio files, but my oldest daughter learns best when she is reading. So, we finished up the second half with her reading aloud from the booklet as my younger daughter colored, and I cut and glued and assembled.
One thing I noticed that helped immensely with keeping everything organized was that each new section had the name of that lesson printed on the bottom of the sheets.
The instructions give you a choice about printing the text that goes along with the Lap-Pak, either full sheet or a booklet. We chose the double-sided booklet.
The Lap-Pak is designed to take several sessions, broken down into individual lessons, but since I had everything ready and the table set up for hands-on crafting style of learning, we just set aside one day to do a Lap-Pak intensive camp about US Elections. We got started, finished the first half, took a break for lunch and then picked up on the second half after lunch. It ended up taking us about three and a half hours of actual hands-on learning time to complete.
The first thing I did was print everything that I needed to complete the entire Lap-Pak. I then found some folders that we had and assembled the Lap-Pak to get it ready for the inserts. I ended up using regular pocketed folders instead of file folders since I could not find our file folders. I just cut off the pockets, and it worked fine.
The day after the Iowa Caucuses and the Tuesday before Super Tuesday, we sat down together and began by using the audio files that came with the download online. We did the first half using the audio files, but my oldest daughter learns best when she is reading. So, we finished up the second half with her reading aloud from the booklet as my younger daughter colored, and I cut and glued and assembled.
What Did We Think?
I am partial to this craft, hands-on kind of learning. I love the finished product as it can be easily filed away to safe as a document of learning. My youngest daughter is right up my alley with the crafting love while my oldest daughter prefers to just read and fill out workbooks, which apparently works well with her. Because of this, I ended up having her read the booklet and fill out all of the worksheet style question pages while doing a minimal amount of coloring. In the end, we have a really nice piece of hands-on learning. I always love the way these Lap-Paks look - Like a little booklet I just have to pick up and touch... And, learn!
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Find Home School in the Woods on Facebook, Twitter @HomeSchoolInTheWoods, Google+, and Pinterest.
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Read what other members of the TOS Review Crew thought by clicking on the picture below:
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