One of the best activities you can do with your children throughout their elementary school ages is Lapbooking.  It's fun, it's easy and it's cheap and it's a great way for children to chronicle everything that they're learning through these important brain growth years.

What is a lapbook? 

A lapbook is simply a collection of mini books on a certain topic that is then put together into one larger book or folder.  Using colorful paper, printouts, etc, it's like a unit study in one place.  The mini books are glued to a colored file folder to create a fun Lapbook to enjoy and keep forever.  It's very fun, kids love it and it's a great way for them to summarize their learning.

Here's a great video showing a homeschool family and their lapbooking journal. Very good!

All you need for a good lapbook is a topic, a file folder, some construction paper, pens, paper, stickers and glue and time!

Summertime is a great time to start lapbooking if you've never done it.  You can make a "what i did this summer lapbook!  Make mini-books of various field trips you take, games you've played, etc.  Make another mini book that charts the weather throughout the summer.  Another great idea is to have a booklet of the people you've visited over the summer.  Have those folks autograph your book with the date and a note of why you were together.

You can do a separate lapbook on your garden or other home project that your family is tackling this summer.

It's also fun to have your child choose one thing they've always been interested in (like horses, cars, guns, etc) and have them create a lapbook throughout the summer about that one topic. Visit the library to find out facts, print out coloring sheets from the internet and just have fun with it.

Make a lapbook along with your kids - they're really fun to put together. It really is learning at it's best - easy, cheap, relaxed, creative and enjoyable!