U S Elections Lapbook {TOS Crew Review}

We love studying history.  History is in fact still happening around us.  We are making history as we speak.  Our latest review from Home School in The Woods teaches us about the U S Elections in a fun way.  We’re learning through creating a lapbook.  A U S Elections Lapbook.   And it’s the perfect timing for this considering that we’re gearing up for our presidential election this November!

 

 

The full product we reviewed is HISTORY Through the Ages Hands-On History Lap-Pak: U. S. Elections.  A Lap-Pak is another name for a lapbook.  You’ve heard me speak of lapbooks before as that is something we have done.  Lapbooks are a fun way of learning new things and including it all together for future reference or for quick showing to family members.  

We received this product as a digital download. It is also sold as a CD that you can purchase and have shipped to you.  If purchasing I think I’d choose the CD simply because we’ve had such computer problems so far this year.  My laptop indefinitely died and my husbands computer that he uses for his self employed business is ancient.  Having a CD would allow me to take it with me and print somewhere else(because yes I still like to print everything out).  I’ve not figured out the little sticks that you can download things to.  I’m not very tech savvy that way.  I’m doing good to know what I’m doing here!

The download version for the U S Elections Lapbook is $18.95 while the CD version is $19.95 so they’re fairly comparable in price.  Both contain exactly the same material as well so you’re not missing out on anything by buying one over the other.  

 

 

Grades suggested by the company for the U S Elections Lapbook are grades 3-8.  Being that I’m a homeschool mom of many and differing ages I chose to tweak this a bit so that I could use it with all of my children.  I can’t fully tweak it to a toddler level and a kindergarten level is fairly difficult but they really did enjoy making this and having fun coloring pages I found for them to illustrate what we’re talking about.  They listen and can pick out bits and pieces of what we’re talking about.  That’s the main thing with this for me is making sure they do indeed learn just a small portion that they’ll retain for later on when we cover it in depth.

I really like the Home School in The Woods lapbooks over other ones for the simple fact that it’s all included in the instructions.  I don’t have to come up with a lot of ideas on my own.  I’ve tried designing my own lapbooks before and they’re a lot of work.  For me it’s easier to convert an already created lapbook like the U S Elections lapbook to fit my whole family than it is to make my own.  

 

A fun bit about this is you can print off the reading materials into a small book size or a size that fits a binder.  I opted for the binder of course because well I love 3 ring binders!  I did do the reading outloud to all of my children.  Then we’d discuss it a bit before we started on the project for the day. 

We always use brad folders or 3 ring binders for our lapbooks.  The U S Elections lapbook is no exception.  I do this instead of the folding folder that most use because it allows us to go back and add things in without having to take apart the whole book and it’s easier for me.  If the kids want to(which the younger ones always want to) they can still cut and glue the items onto colored paper or cardstock and then I’ll hole punch that to allow it to fit into the binder. 

This lapbook especially I’m glad we use this method because as the election continues this year we’re going back and adding in what is happening in real time history to our history lesson.  They’re learning how the electoral process and elections work in our country as well as seeing that in action at the same time.  It’s a great way to help solidify their learning especially for some of my kids who need to see something in action before they can truly grasp it.

Each state in our book has a page.  On this page we have a spot where we are going to put who wins the electoral primary vote(caucus level), a spot for the winning delegate from each state for each party, and a spot on who actually wins that state in the full election.  It’s really helping to take the steps of the election process and bring them into our actual lives.  

 

 

Within this U S Elections Lapbook, either from the CD or the download, you’ll be provided with 21 projects that can include coloring pages, research, creative writing, drawing(illustrating), and so much more.  This is a wealth of knowledge guys and it does come with a single family use license so you can reuse with your other children.  

Some of these 21 projects are learning key terms and definitions which is especially helpful for children who’ve not seen an election or studied this part of government before.  You’ll also study the different forms of government, the different branches of government, and suffrage to name a few.

As far as how often to use this.  You really can make that decision for yourself.  We are using ours three days a week.  So far we haven’t completed the materials, but when we do is when we’re going to be adding in more of our own with keeping up with the election and how our knowledge is playing out within our country.  Perfect timing guys!  It’s not too late for you to get your copy and join in the learning and fun.

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