Laptopping

Many homeschoolers love lapbooks, those creative displays of a child's learning. Truthfully, lapbooks make me CrAzY! Now I’m the highly crafty sort…I have a nice stash of scrapbooking tools, art supplies and general crafting stuff. And I, for the most part, can look at a craft and recreate it. But send this typically calm mom into a room with my three lively eager-beavers and give them paper, glue sticks and scissors…well, let’s just say it’s enough to drive me InSaNe!

Other homeschooling family like notebooking, which is a much better fit for us; but two of my girls are still developing their ability to write. So it really drains me when I have to help them compose a thought and then spell out every little word—times two. Yes, I know, I could just have them dictate to me. But by the time one of them is finished, the other is who-knows-where-doing-who-knows-what. Regrouping that child for her narration becomes next to impossible.

My solution: Laptopping!

I now put my computer, internet, digital camera and scanner to great use through PowerPoint presentations. Up until 2 weeks ago, I had never opened the PPt application. I didn’t even know it was on my computer. I take lots of pictures anyway to prove learning in action. So I just took it the next step, found PPt (courtesy of my mother who teaches at at a local highschool) and solved my problems.

Actually I solved multiple problems. Now my kids easily gather ‘round the couch and enthusiastically participate in these presentations. We review and introduce new material. I utilize the web with predetermined links. I have assignments built in and then scan or take a picture of their work. I quickly type in the kids’ narrations before they lose interest in the subject. It also keeps me on task, helps me use multiple resources and makes learning fun for my highly visual students. And the best part for this busy mom: it’s easy, easy, easy to compose and simple to use!

Want to see our desert study using Roxaboxen? It's only the barebones slides of the presentation. I spiffed it up when we'd click through it at home, but to convert it so that you can see it, required me to use only the bare necessities. But I think you get the idea.