With this being an election year, our family is enjoying the opportunity to add HISTORY Through the Ages Hands-on History Lap-Pak : U.S. Elections to our homeschool. We have always taken our kids with us when we vote since we have “kids voting” where we live. They always love being able to select their candidate of choice and to also receive an “I Voted” sticker! I feel it’s so important that the younger generation understands how it all works, and knows that their vote is important.
Hands-on History Lap-Pak
History Through the Ages Hands-On History Lap-Pak is perfect for grades 3-8, and is designed to introduce kids to the United States presidential election process. This is our first experience with Home School in the Woods and so far I have been extremely impressed.
Over the years we have touched on the election process, but he always had a hard time remembering a lot of the information. Since using this Lap-Pak and having the information broken down, he finally grasped it! Not only does he understand and remember everything we are talking about, but he is actually excited about the lessons!
21 lap booking projects
These projects encourage writing, coloring, drawing, research and more. Everything is laid out step by step. 
There are directions on assembling the lap book (which was super easy) to even printing the reading material. You also get an audio version that is perfect for your child to read along with the narrator or to even listen as they work on the Lap-Pak.
Supplies to get started
The supplies list looks long, but we already had almost everything. Between homeschool and crafting supplies, the only thing I had to buy was the paper fasteners.
• File Folder
• Gold Glitter
• Colored White Card Stock &
• 3 1/2 x 5″ piece of fabric
• While & Colored Paper
• Push Pen
• Colored Pencils
• Exacto Knife
• Stapler
•Paper Fasteners
• Packing Tape, Double-Sided Tape & Clear Tape
• Scissors
Once you’ve gathered the supplies for your Hands-on History Lap-Pak
First thing I did once I made sure that I had all the supplies was to start printing. The printing process isn’t too bad. We opted to print the reading material in full-page text instead of booklet form.
Booklet Printing Option
Once I printed his reading material, I then printed out the “Text Assignments Project Directions” to help us when it comes to assembling the projects. I completed that, I then printed all the projects in order so that they would be ready to go. 
When printing the projects, one thing you’ll notice is you have the option to print the text already filled in, or just lines so the student can fill in their own text. Since he’s only eight I chose to print the text already filled in. His handwriting still needs work and at times is very large. I knew there would be no way he could fit everything in the area provided.
This shows the blank and filled in copy options that are available for printing.
Using the Hands-on History Lap-Pak
We have really been enjoying this Lap-Pak.I chose to use this program four days a week as part of our homeschool. Since he is just 3rd grade, I feel that gave us time to really learn it and he doesn’t feel over-whelmed with all the information.
Some weeks we move right along, while other weeks we may spend two days on the same section. For example, when we were covered the difference between Legislative, Executive and Judicial we ended up staying on this section for almost three days. We talked about each one separately and then did the lapbook part. That’s the beauty of it! You can move at a speed that works best for your family.
We also took this opportunity for my eight-year old to “interview” his grandparents. His grandfather is on the local Board of Elections, so he really enjoyed learning more about that. Also in 2009 his sister and grandparents had the opportunity to go to the Inauguration. They all enjoyed sitting down and showing him all the memorabilia and photos from that experience.
Not only did I love the opportunity to bring his learning to life, I have enjoyed re-learning the process along with my eight-year-old. What surprised me was that my five-year-old expressed interest in this as well. He would ask to set in during the lesson and was always ready to answer a question when asked. A lot of it was too advanced for him, which make sense since this is for 3rd-8th grade. Without a doubt, I’ll be using this Lap-Pak again in a few more years, and I can’t wait.
If you have never taken the time to check out Home School In The Woods, I encourage you to do so! We are on our third year of homeschooling and I’m still discovering all the amazing companies!! This one gets a HUGE thumbs up from our entire family!
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