Lapbook is an interactive folder for children on a given topic. This section contains manufacturing examples and master classes with step-by-step photographs of homemade folding books on all lexical topics.
What is behind the fashionable word LAPBUK - teachers share their best practices and experience. Homemade piggy bank books and treasure books. How to make a lapbook? All stages - from idea to implementation. Topics for lapbooks and examples of finished work.
MAAM-Lapbook. Ready-made templates for printing
on our MAAM website.
What is a lapbook
The idea of creating a lapbook came from the American T. Dubey. The girl came up with the idea of taking a miniature folder and filling it with interesting content in the form of pictures, paper applications, poems, labyrinths, various materials, and pockets with filling.
The resulting manual was used to consolidate the knowledge that she conveyed to her own children. It is interesting that the girl herself did not try to promote her work to the masses. She simply posted a photo of the product on the Internet. As a result, Dubey’s friends were the first to become interested in the new product.
The laptop was invented in the USA as an educational book in the form of a game.
Very quickly the lapbook became popular all over the world. Not only parents, but also teachers began to actively use it. The title of the manual is translated from English as “book on your knees.” It is small in size. Therefore, it is convenient for the child to examine it on his lap.
Each lapbook includes a huge number of game elements.
These can be unusual moving parts (including three-dimensional ones), figures of your favorite characters from cartoons and fairy tales, tear-off windows with filling for every taste, rotating circles, rustling, ringing and squeaking parts, paper and fabric (most often felt) applications. .
Craftsmen often make secret places with surprises in the product. They especially delight little lovers of secrets and riddles.
At first glance, it may seem that a lapbook is a toy. It really captivates and occupies the child for a long time. But it is also a very useful developmental product. Usually, in the first couple of lessons, the child explores all its capabilities, and only then begins to study using a laptop.
It is important at the first stage not to rush the student. Even just playing with pictures, circles, inserts, the child, unnoticed by himself, develops well and learns a lot of new information.
Choosing a topic for a visual aid
Are your creative materials ready and waiting in the wings? Great, it's time to decide what topic your first development folder will be devoted to. The advantage of this type of manual is that it can be devoted to absolutely any topic. You can collect in one folder a short summary about the flora and fauna of a forest or meadow, or dedicate such a visual summary to a specific profession. You can also make a lapbook based on fairy tales for preschoolers, about a specific animal or object. The possibilities of educational folders are almost limitless; make such a guide about the types of geometric shapes, the structure of the Universe, and the history of the state.
Lapbook requirements
A laptop (how to make one yourself is described in detail later in the article) must meet several requirements at once.
In addition to safety and durability requirements, there are also educational requirements for the laptop
The most important among them:
- safety;
- strength, high quality;
- interest, external attractiveness.
It is important to choose exclusively safe, high-quality materials for the product. It is important that all of them are approved for use with children. For example, if the parts of a future book for classes are connected with a stapler, then its staples on top should be decorated with a soft decorative element.
Another option is to use strips of self-adhesive paper. Then the metal part will not fall out and injure small students.
Most often, lapbooks are made from cardboard.
Before creating a lapbook, you must make its layout
How durable you need to make a laptop depends on where you plan to use it. If only at home, then you can take paper. In kindergarten or school, dozens of children use the product every day.
Therefore, it is better to base it on durable cardboard and additionally laminate the main parts with a special transparent film. Another option is to make a fabric laptop. This choice is especially relevant for the youngest students.
The fabric product can be made not only strong, reliable and durable, but also as safe as possible. To make learning interesting and enjoyable, a lapbook should be designed in an original, beautiful way. For the base and all parts of the product, materials of bright colors are chosen.
All additional accessories are thought out with special care. The younger the child for whom the product is being created, the larger the details should be made in it and the more often fairy-tale themes should be used.
Choosing a theme
It all depends on what the child needs to learn about. Standard options include seasons, studying trees, numbers, letters, insects, wildlife, etc. A small book will contain a small educational part and a training part to consolidate knowledge. By making a lapbook yourself, you can make an individual guide that would be suitable for consolidating gaps in knowledge.
A full-fledged study is suitable for the 3-5 year old category, when children perceive interactivity positively and are at the age of “why”. On the Internet you can find a huge number of ready-made templates that are created by real professionals.
Even if nothing comes to mind, you can simply print and assemble a full-fledged book within a few hours.
Types of lapbooks
Lapbooks (the information below will tell you how to make one yourself) today comes in different types. All existing products are divided into several groups according to different characteristics. For example, by purpose, shape, material.
Purpose
First of all, laptops are divided according to their purpose. These are: gaming, educational, congratulatory, autobiographical.
Game lapbooks can be intended both for playing with a teacher, and for an independent child. When creating such a product, the master should focus on its entertainment. All educational information in it should be easy to understand.
It’s worth making as many moving, interesting elements as possible in your gaming lapbook. For example, circles, windows, pockets, petals, and inserts made of different materials are suitable here. Separately, the product often includes labyrinths, walking games with chips and cubes, comparison and picture search cards, and walking games.
Another interesting option is to supplement the entire complex with a small bag, into which miniature objects for guessing by touch, different materials and fabrics are placed.
Lapbook “My Garden”
Lapbook “Seasons”
An educational lapbook perfectly helps students learn new (even complex topics) and consolidate past material. It is suitable for both organized group and independent work.
In such a set you can add as many educational cards and games as possible, as well as proverbs, sayings, questions for memory development, any thematic quizzes, and interesting facts. It’s great if you use the allowance, the child will initially be with a senior assistant.
A greeting lapbook will be an excellent gift option for children of different ages. This is both a pleasant and useful gift. It will be especially successful to do it yourself, taking into account the person’s tastes and hobbies.
It is precisely the congratulatory lapbook that may contain no mention of studies at all. Unusual themed products are suitable for the holiday.
For example, for a child it will be a laptop with pictures and games from their favorite cartoons, fairy tales, for a schoolgirl it will be an option in the form of a house for a paper doll with a collection of outfits, for a teenage boy it will be a large book with his favorite superheroes, comics about them and new exciting stories.
Lapbook "Math"
Lapbook "Alphabet"
You can give your friends a product with common favorite photos or even themed magnets on your favorite topic.
An autobiographical lapbook can please both children and adults equally. For example, you can make it about a baby, collecting photographs from birth, memorable tickets, crafts and funny sayings on the pages of the product.
This kind of lapbook will be interesting to look at in the future. It will become a beautiful keeper of memories and will collect the best moments of a child’s life.
Form
The classic shape for a lapbook is a square or rectangle. The product is made in the form of a small book or album. It can open or simply be a neat rectangle on which individual sheets are folded back.
Examples of different forms of lapbooks:
Curly lapbooks are less common. Such products can be made themed depending on their content. For example, if there is an autobiography or congratulations inside, then the lapbook will look great in the shape of a heart.
And little students will be interested in studying products in the form of butterflies, flowers, recognizable fairy-tale characters, and various geometric shapes. If you plan to consider a specific topic in a lapbook, then it can be reflected in the form of a craft.
The theme of food, dishes, cooking - the shape of beets, candy, cups, frying pans. The theme of toys, crafts is the shape of a matryoshka doll. The theme of nature - the shape of a cloud, a tree, a bird. Modern craftsmen are increasingly making lapbooks in the form of a small folding box.
The components of such a product are fastened with fasteners, buttons, and braid. If you remove the selected fasteners, the craft falls into pieces, revealing all the interesting contents to its owner. Inside the laptop there may be the same pockets, notepads, and envelopes.
Material
A laptop book (teachers and educators are most often interested in how to make it with your own hands) can be created from different types of material. As noted above: the main thing is to choose one that is safe for the child.
For example, building materials such as finishing plastic are not suitable. It is better to use safe and budget-friendly bases: cardboard, paper (white or colored), Whatman paper. Even candy boxes and store folders will fit here.
How to make it yourself from felt
The safest option for a laptop is one made from soft, pleasant fabric. Such a product will definitely not hurt even the smallest student. In addition, it turns out to be strong and reliable.
The first step is to decide on the theme of the product. It can be general or narrow. The second option is always easier to do. It is best to first take paper and pen and sketch out a rough plan for creating the craft.
Next he draws a mock-up of the product. Here it is immediately noted how it will look, what sequence of tasks is planned, the location of all the moving parts, games, and details.
First, all parts of the future lapbook are drawn on thick paper and cut out. Then they are applied to pieces of fabric and also carefully trimmed.
Next you need:
- Place the resulting felt pieces on the fabric, secure with pins and determine if they are the right size.
- Sew the blanks to the fabric base.
- Fix pockets for different games and insert cardboard into them.
- Decorate every page of the future “book”. For example, using buttons, beads, bows, flowers, stickers. You can paint directly on fabric with acrylic paints.
- If desired, laminated the names of games and tasks on different pages.
- Use an awl and a needle to sew together the sheets of the future laptop. You should immediately thread the ribbon into the needle so that you can eventually tie the product with a beautiful bow.
Instead of tape, you can use a loop and a button or even a zipper to secure the structure.
How to make from cardboard
You can make a laptop with your own hands even from cardboard. How to assemble the product correctly is described below in the article.
To begin with, a model of the future cardboard book with activities is also drawn. It is convenient to do this on A4 sheets folded in the form of a laptop. Next you will need to come up with and prepare all the details.
The table offers interesting options:
| Lapbook parts | Peculiarities |
| Curly pockets | Can be made in the form of a bird's nest and eggs, a basket and vegetables/mushrooms/berries, a backpack and educational accessories. |
| Classic pockets | The easiest way is to write questions on the pockets themselves, and make cards with answers to insert into them. For example: which mushrooms are edible? |
| Envelopes | They can be curly or regular. Parts of games and tasks are placed inside the envelopes. |
| Spinning circles | It would be interesting to make them in the form of a planet, a wheel with a calendar or seasons. |
| Stripes | The most interesting option is a strip folded several times. You can write a title on its main part. For example, "Insects". And on the folding part of all their popular representatives. |
Curly pockets
Envelope pockets
Volume pockets
Rotating pockets
Strip pockets
When making the product under discussion, a rectangle of cardboard is laid out on the table. Approximately 1/3 of it on each side is folded. Afterwards, you can attach all the prepared games and decorations to the base. High-quality glue and double-sided tape are suitable for this.
Spinning circles
Plain paper will not work; you must use hard cardboard. Ideal for learning time or interactive calendar. To do this, cut out the base (3-4 circles), then place a button in the middle, which is glued on the other side with a piece of clay or simply bent. You can also use a piece of a match or a toothpick, the main thing is that the sharp base is not accessible.
From folder
It will be even easier to make a lapbook from a ready-made cardboard folder. This base is simply laid out on the table and complemented with details. You can pre-cover the inside of the folder with colored paper to make the product look brighter and more interesting.
For example, from such a basis it will be possible to make an interesting laptop for future first-graders. On the first page there will be a self-drawn map to school and a questionnaire for the kids, how they feel about studying, how ready they are for it, and whether they want to gain knowledge.
Children will be able to put answers to questions in a capacious, glued envelope.
How to make a lapbook from a cardboard folder
How to make a lapbook from 2 sheets of cardboard
How to make a lapbook from large cardboard
In this case, on the middle part there is a calendar of the remaining days before school, rules of behavior in educational institutions, interesting facts about them from around the world. You can supplement the base with thematic proverbs and stick on a pocket in the form of a backpack and cards with the objects with which it is filled.
The last part is worth adding some entertaining material. For example, funny pictures, jokes, adventure games, mazes.
From the box
Another simple option is to make a laptop from a large box. In the process, a middle part for the base and two side parts with a margin of width are cut out of it. These allowances are then applied to the central part when gluing. The resulting base is covered with colored paper of the artist’s choice.
Next is required:
- Strengthen the base to create the main middle part and two closing flaps on the sides.
- Use flowers to highlight 3 vertical or 6 horizontal sections for decoration.
- Decide on the outside of the product and glue a wide ribbon on it so that the craft can eventually be tied.
- Place games and decorations on the main parts. For example, pockets, pictures, moving parts, laces, buttons, cards with text.
- Decorate the finished product to your liking.
The resulting lapbook should not be used immediately. It is worth giving it time to dry well.
Design secrets
Many mothers doubt whether it is worth involving their child in working on a laptop or is it better to give him a ready-made folder as a surprise gift? It's up to you to decide, but as practice shows, absolutely all children love to make crafts using various techniques. And yes, even if the finished manual may not look ideal, its goal is to teach the child something new and captivate him for a long time. Therefore, if possible, be sure to make a lapbook not only for the child, but also with him. An interesting idea for those who decide to use printouts from a printer: choose black and white outline drawings that your daughter or son will color on their own. Try using various techniques to decorate your useful craft - let the lapbook be decorated with both applique and drawings. You can also glue not too voluminous decor inside, for example, fabric figures, flat buttons or sparkles.
Tips and tricks to follow
Themed lapbooks are a great way to save money on toy purchases.
Often, after watching cartoons, children ask their parents to buy various products with the image of the character they like. Requests are repeated after each new video. Instead of buying toys, you can make a themed lapbook with the story of your favorite character. It will also be an excellent educational tool.
The product can be for school subjects. A laptop is a great way to learn new information and consolidate old information. This is a way to get to know an unloved subject better and change your attitude towards it.
Instead of colored paper, the base of the product can be covered with felt. Then the parts can be attached to it with miniature Velcro.
If you wish, you can make a lapbook with your own hands quickly and easily. At the same time, you can either repeat existing ideas using other people’s layouts, or create a unique book/box personally for your child.
Educational book with an individual character
A laptop is an educational folder dedicated to a specific topic. This manual is prepared at home and always with the help of a child. The secret of a lapbook is in its design: it is appropriate to use a variety of pockets, additional spreads, “windows” and other interesting design options. A laptop for preschoolers can contain not only a summary of basic knowledge on a chosen topic, but also additional logical and creative tasks. This “game” is perfect for viewing alone or studying with children. And what’s most important is that making a lapbook is not at all difficult, and this process is sure to captivate the whole family and give only positive emotions.
