Looking for help teaching homeschool civics? This U.S. Elections Lap Book Kit is the way to go!
(This is a sponsored post and I received a free kit for review. You can read this disclosure to learn more, but know that all opinions are my own and I was not asked to write a positive review.*)
It’s no secret that it’s always election season in the United States. While the news cycle and the onslaught of campaign advertising can make this pretty maddening, it also provides some incentive to explore the election process with your kids.
The tricky thing about that is that it’s hard to figure out how to do this in a way that’s not overwhelming. I mean, elections in the United States are pretty complicated. Add the neverending chatter about the last couple of election cycles and this topic takes on a new level of complexity.
All of this complexity is why I was so grateful to discover Sonlight’s U.S. Elections Lap Book Kit. We’ve loved our time learning about the Eastern Hemisphere with Sonlight, so I knew we could also turn to them for teaching about the election process.
All that to say, I’m excited to tell you about this lap book kit and my observations about it.
Teaching U.S. Elections Through Lapbooking
Before I share about our experience with Sonlight’s U.S. Elections Lap Book Kit, here’s an overview of what’s included in the kit, how it’s structured, and other logistical elements.
Overview: U.S. Elections Lap Book Kit
This U.S Elections Lap Book Kit is designed for students 8 and up and contains 21 lessons. These lessons can be scheduled however you wish. For example, we worked through them daily for about a month, but you could schedule it once a week over the course of a semester or tackle it all in a couple of weeks. Also, it covers the following election-related topics.
- Forms of government
- Branches of government
- Suffrage
- Political parties
- Caucuses and primaries
- Fundraising
- Political platforms
- The Electoral College, and more!
The kit itself contains everything needed for the lessons, with the exception of items like colored pencils and scissors. Here’s what’s included:
- Instruction Guide
- File folder
- Double-sided tape
- Glue stick, glitter, fasteners, and other needed supplies
- Elections Text Booklet
- All printed lap book materials
That being said, there is only one of each printed page. So, if there’s a lesson that seems especially challenging, it’s a good idea to make a copy of the printed elements needed for completion. That way you’ll have a backup if your student wants a do-over. (We didn’t experience this, but this is a good strategy nonetheless.)
What to Expect from a Lesson in the U.S. Elections Lap Book
A typical U.S. Elections lesson involves a couple of components. First, there’s some light reading either from one of the lap book pages or the U.S. Elections Text Booklet. This reading corresponds with the lap book pages for that lesson.
Next is some coloring, cutting out, and adding to the lap book as directed. All in all, this process takes between 20 and 30 minutes per lesson.
Worth noting, you may want to help younger kiddos with some of the steps. For example, lessons that require inserting fasteners or cutting the leaves in the above photograph may not be ideal for some students. There are not many lessons like this, but it could be wise to assist when they come up.
Why Choose a Lap Book Kit to Teach the American Election Process?
Now that you’ve had an overview of Sonlight’s U.S. Elections Lap Book Kit, here are some takeaways from our time working through it.
Lapbooking makes this an approachable topic.
As I referenced earlier, there are lots of complexities involved in elections. Even when things are “normal” there are lots of moving parts. That’s why it’s so helpful that all of these concepts are broken down into digestible chunks.
This means students are able to learn the fundamental ideas about American elections without the overwhelm that often comes with digging into complicated processes like these.
It’s open-and go.
I’m going to be completely transparent here and admit that I have HATED working with lap books in the past. I hated the printing, figuring out what to add and when to add it, and the general fussiness of lapbooking.
Even so, my youngest kiddo loves creative projects like lapbooking. Because of that, I’m always eager to learn ways to approach these kinds of projects without all the things that drive me nuts about them.
The glorious news about the U.S. Elections kit is it’s truly open-and-go. Since all of the printed elements are provided, there’s none of the ridiculous printing required for my previous DIY lap book attempts.
Even better, the instruction guide brings all of the learning and the creative elements together for you. That means there’s no guesswork regarding assembly order or the actual learning. So, yeah, I really cannot say just how much I appreciate this no-prep aspect. It’s a game-changer when it comes to lap books.
It’s civics-themed hands-on learning.
Along with the way the content is presented, this kinesthetic approach to teaching goes a long way in helping students understand and remember the ins and outs of elections.
I acknowledge that every student is different, but I can’t imagine my 11 year-old grasping and staying engaged with the complicated American election process without this lap book kit. She thrives when there’s creativity involved in what she’s learning, so lapbooking was the perfect way for her to learn all of this.
Learn More about Sonlight’s U.S. Elections Lap Book Kit
Ready to learn more about this lap book kit? You can head to Sonlight to grab your kit and view the completed lap book.
You’ll also want to check out all of their curriculum packages and other homeschool resources. You can also learn more about Sonlight’s educational philosophy while you’re there. Finally, you can find great deals on Sonlight resources through their sale page.
In closing, I am so grateful we came across Sonlight’s U.S. Elections Lap Book Kit. It’s been exactly what we needed for exploring the election process in our homeschool. We’ve loved our time working through it and think you’ll feel the same way.
