Thursday, March 4, 2010

Penguin Lapbook

This is the lapbook we completed a few weeks ago when Katie was on the letter Pp.  It was a rough start but once we got going, things began to fall into place.  In the end, I'm glad we did it.

Lapbook Cover


First opened page.  The left side is the back of the cover.  The illustration shows stages of a penguins life.  The picture on the bottom is of a magellanic penguin.  On the right is the food web in a cold dessert biome.  At the center (the line that looks like a fold in the middle), is where the lapbook opens up to the right.


Parts of a penguin on top and Types of penguins and their sizes on the bottom.  The flap on the right is math.


This is the right side opened up.  The pictures on the left and right are of different types of penguins.  The colored picture in the center is actually a color, cut & paste activity showing what daddy penguins do to care for the eggs while the mommies are out fetching food.  The wheel shows the life cycle of a penguin.

It's pretty basic, but really teaches a lot.  There were many more activities and books that we didn't include in the lapbook simply for lack of space.  One activity we did (I wish I had taken a picture) was of the girls trying to carry a potato (representing an egg) on top of their feet, as the daddy penguins do.  Even using their pants to serve as the flap of skin on a penguin, the "egg" kept falling off!  As they giggled through it, they learned how daddy penguins must walk very carefully to protect their precious cargo!

8 comments:

  1. It may be basic, but I think it looks cool.

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  2. Thanks for posting! That looks beyond basic to me! How do you store these lapbooks? I have the Olympic one we did, and it is so big, I don't know what to do with it! Did you purchase this lapbook from somewhere on line? I especially like the parts of a penguin activity and the math doors! I'm really considering doing my preschoolers and kindergartner's curriculum mostly on unit studies using lapbooks (next year), so want all the info I can get about them! Thanks for sharing!

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  3. Emily, I have never purchased a lapbook kit. Our lapbooks are made with standard file folders, so they store easily in a file cabinet or box. A friend had given me some colored file folders which is why this one is blue. We open the folder, then fold each end into the center, so it opens like a shutter. For the penguin book, we glued two file folders together, both shutter-folded. I'll post a step-by-step soon, so you can see exactly what we did.

    In the beginning of our lapbooking, I created many of the inside materials by using images found on the internet and information from our books. But there are so many great websites out there with pre-existing materials that I now just search the web and usually find what I'm looking for. If, on some rare occassion I can't find it, I make it myself. Just do a google search on lapbooks & your subject and I'm sure you will find lots of free resources. Again, I never pay for anything for lapbooks since there's so many gracious homeschoolers who share their resources!

    You can totally lapbook your way through preschool and kindergarten! My daughter lapbooked through 2nd grade using Five in a Row (FIAR) by Jane Claire Lambert. That's a great place to start. Volume 1 has 19 unit studies based on children's literature you can borrow at the library. We ended up buying some of the books because we liked them so well and I knew I would use them again for the next child. I also taught a FIAR class at co-op using lapbooks. The children loved it, as did their parents. Since my daughter was in 2nd grade, I did add a math curriculum and later added language arts (a Spectrum workbook). I should have started language arts in the beginning of the year, but I was new to homeschooling and didn't know what I was doing! =)

    If I can figure out how to post files, I'll be happy to share mine with anyone who can use them! Lapbooking is so much fun for the child who learns best by doing hands-on activities. It is not for the child who prefers a bunch of worksheets and is not interested in arts & crafts. My oldest child is much more into lapbooking than her sibling. But I wonder if age plays into that. My oldest was 7 when she started and her sister is now 6. So maybe next year she'll like it more. Who knows! They are all so different, aren't they?!!

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  4. Very cool!! You guys did a great job. If you go to homeschoolshare.com you can find a ton of lapbook ideas.

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  5. Thanks, Jen! And thanks for posting the website. I could not remember that to save my life and was too lazy to look it up!

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  6. What a neat project!! My son especially would love this one, he loves Penguins besides. We also use some Spectrum curriculum, it meshes well with our family. So good to connect with other homeschool moms! I'm inviting you to visit my blog and become a follower!
    Blessings to you!
    ~Amy

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  7. Thanks, Lisa! I used FIAR a few years ago when my eldest was in preschool and 1st grade...I plan on using it again next year with my kindergartner and 2nd grader. And I can see how lapbooks will fit in great with it! I'm impressed that you just made up that lapbook!

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  8. I love lapbooks.

    What a fabulous penguin lapbook! Well done.

    Blessings to you!

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