These materials are lapbooks of various subjects to facilitate the teaching of homeschool curricula. There are currently more than 370 subjects available as downloads, CD, or printed packet.
Before investing in any homeschooling resources, please read
"How to Choose the Best Homeschool Curriculum."
Cons: Can be tedious for younger children
Grades Used: 1st thru 8th
I have used about 12 HOC lapbooks over the last 6-7 years. My kids love making them and then sharing with others what they have learned by showing them their lapbooks. My public school teacher friends have even used them when they were able.
Grades Used: 2-4
My daughter loves art, so when I can put art into learning she loves it. Some of the instructions were confusing, but it got through them. We did not do many of them though. Our school budget was tight we 3 kids, so we choose fun ones to do during our school breaks.
Cons: pricy
Grades Used: 2nd
I like the set-up and the information provided, my children found that the layout (readings in one section and projects in a separate section) was a bit confusing. I also find that the prices are cost-prohibitive for our budget – except when they offer the $5 units. But for lapbookers, they do have great, colorful pages. I feel that it does require parental/teacher supervision.
Cons: Lots of writing & cutting
Grades Used: Variety
I have two or three of these units and what I found that is the younger the child, the more I was cutting and folding for them as well as writing what they dictated but I find that with any lapbook product I use. The kids love showing off their final product and that also helps them review the info.
The price is reasonable with a Super Membership and the $5 special each week. I also like the options for each unit that you can purchase depending on your needs.
You will use a lot of paper and ink/toner.
Cons: Price
Grades Used: Pre-K through 1st grade
We’ve used several of these and they are AWESOME. The price is higher than I like, so I try to find them on sale, but they’re a great “go to” resource if I need a comprehensive unit study on a specific topic.
Cons: having to print it off
Grades Used: kindergarten
We’ve enjoyed the two or three that we’ve done.
Suited well for a kindgertener. 🙂
Simple studies that work well for us.
Cons: no color - child has to color in elements; some elements are odd on colored paper
Grades Used: All
The HOAC products are a bit pricey, except their great sales, SuperMemberships, and weekly $5 e-books (posted on Wed). I do love their e-book “type it in” option, especially for my PreK-2nd grade co-op students.
I’m a highly visual person, as is my son, and I don’t like the lack of color of the elements. While this is less expensive to print (e-book format), it means students have to do all the coloring manually. There are other lapbook publishers who have colored elements that are much more visually interesting. However, for a student who loves to color (mine doesn’t!) HOAC is great.
They have several formats, which is nice. The Project Packs have folded, color folders, all the elements printed on 24# color paper (but you may want others), and coil-bound templates/teacher guides and answer keys. They’re a nice option if you don’t like all the printing.
Cons: cost and copyright says you cannot resell
Grades Used: any
My kids love the finished product and as they show people, they are reviewing the information. There is a lot of writing, but we have found ways to type it and use print the info that way. Some of the research is not thorough and requires more research to answer my kiddo’s quesions. Overall, we love to do these and I like that a lot of the ‘legwork’ is done. Becoming a ‘Super Member’ makes it more cost effective and now they have a $5 special each week…if it happens to be one that your family is interested in. We have also used these in our co op and they work really well there.
Cons: My kids don't like all the writing required.
Grades Used: K-12
I started using the Hands of a Child Lapbooks a few years ago. My children really liked them and were able to retain the information. My daughter has learning problems, so we continually do more and more. She loves to re-read her lapbooks. We don’t put them into folders, but I hole punch pages of cardstock and they go into a 3 ring binder. The kids are now 15 & 16.
Grades Used: PK-12
I have used Hands of a Child lapbooks with all my children, from ages 3-17. Each of them love it when they know they will be using one for their lessons. It makes learning even more fun for them.
Cons: busy work, expensive
Grades Used: 6-8th
This was my first experience with lap booking. I had heard wonderful things about this company. I personally did not think the quality of information was that great, nor did I think the project associated with this reflects much knowledge of the topic. I ended up doing far more work to make it work for my family, and I ended up frustrated that I had spent as much money on it as I did. My kids did enjoy the content, but also felt that it was busy work. Also, there is a disclaimer in the book making it dishonest to resell the guides. Definitely not worth the money spent.