Creating an American History Lapbook with Sonlight

Disclosure: Sonlight provided me with a lapbook kit and compensated me financially for this post. I have used many Sonlight products in our homeschool prior to reviewing this product. All opinions — and photographs! ;) — are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review.

I tend to struggle with keeping engaged when it comes to American history. I’m so much more of a globetrotter in my preferred reading material! But Sonlight’s American history literature selections are impressive. (I rave about them here.)

In addition to reading through Sonlight’s extensive US history booklists this year, my twelve-year-old has also spent hours pouring over Sonlight’s incredible US history lapbooking kits.

In particular, we’ve focused on this American History I lapbook kit, a collection of extraordinary paper projects on early American history topics, from indigenous peoples and the age of exploration through the 1850s.

(If the animation of the lapbook doesn’t display properly below, click here to see it.)

Sonlight books always manage to steal the spotlight, but history lapbooks really are one of Sonlight’s slightly hidden gems.

There are five different lapbook kits to choose from, each focusing on a different timespan or topic in history:

• American History I (through 7th grade)
• American History II (though 8th grade)
• World History I (through 9th grade)
• World History II (through 10th grade)
• Elections (through 12th grade)

Aveline and I are reviewing the American History I lapbook kit.

10 reasons I love Sonlight lapbooks

1. There’s no prep. The paper and cardstock templates are already pre-printed.
2. [Almost] everything is included. The kit contains glue sticks, plastic overlays, and other supplies.
3. It’s open-and-go. Everything is ready to use, straight out of the box.
4. The instructions are easy to understand. The illustrated guidebook tells kids exactly how to complete each project.
5. The kit is great bang for your buck. Each kit contains 21-45 projects, and each project takes 1-2 hours to complete (so 21-90 hours!)
6. The work is meaningful. The activities are rich and substantive; no flimsy busywork here.
7. The lapbook doubles as a portfolio. Each lapbook is designed to help kids remember the highlights of particular time period by focusing on important historical events.
8. You can work at your own pace. You can use the schedule provided in your existing Sonlight IG, or take a more flexible approach.
9. It’s adaptable to any curriculum. The kits work with or without Sonlight curriculum.
10. Older kids aren’t left out! Unlike a lot of other hands-on activities available, these lapbooks cater to older kids — they’re middle- and high-school friendly!
11. And a bonus reason: Sonlight lapbooks are aesthetically pleasing.

→ This post is long. I wrote it all myself. I'll never, ever, use ChatGPT or any other artificial intelligence tool to generate any kind of content. You have my promise.

But before we dive any further, let’s back up. What in the world is a lapbook?

Q: What is lapbooking?

A: In my observation, lapbook is one of those terms eagerly used by homeschoolers and teachers — who don’t seem to realize they might as well be speaking another language. (I haven’t see the term used outside of an educational context, have you?) It’s an especially confusing word because, as far as I can see, it has nothing to do whatsoever with laps, and little to do with books.

A lapbook is a collection of small informational paper elements — such as mini books or card-filled paper pockets — attacked to a cardstock or file-folder base.

And the Sonlight American History I lapbook kit contains a collection of meaningful paper projects teaching twenty-five different events in early American history.

Q: What kinds of projects are included in the lapbook kits?

A: Really super fun ones! (If the animation of the lapbook doesn’t display properly below, click here to see it.)

In Real Estate Brochure, kids create a fantastical advertisement extolling the virtues (real or exaggerated) of a geographical region in the New World. Aveline’s advert told potential settlers fish can be scooped out of Florida’s oceans with bare hands, and storms don’t exist. (Ha! Irma will forever be a core memory.)

In the map work for Bad News in Boston and Mapping the Routes of Columbus, Aveline used Sharpies on clear film overlays to display sailing routes over place and time.

In The Growth of the United States, she cut out territories and colonies, placed them on a series of clear films, and arranged them by year to show the progression of growth.

In Pharmacopoeia, Aveline compiled a book of herbal remedies, as they would have been prepared in a historical apothecary.

Using soaked toothpicks, she bent a frame for this covered wagon (it’s a flap you can lift to reveal information about westward expansion.)

These figures pop out in 3D over the Erie Canal.

The map work included in the American History I lapbook is particularly impressive: in addition to the Boston trade paths and the routes of Columbus, there is also a map of over one hundred native American tribes, a color-coded Mitchell Map, and explorations of not just North America, but Central and South America too.

That’s not all. The lapbook kit includes profiles of notable Native figures such as Tecumseh, a focus on Frederick Douglass’ abolitionist newspaper, miniature replicas of significant documents, timelines and causes of the War of 1812, a look at slavery and plantations, pros and cons of monarchies versus republics, and much, much more.

If the embedded video below doesn’t play, click here to view.

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Sonlight’s lapbook projects are not repetitive

If you’ve tried lapbooking before, you may have gotten tired of the monotony. Lots of lapbooks I’ve seen — especially those which span an entire school year — fall victim to sameness in format or layout, such as asking the student to create a lift-the-flap define-a-word section for every topic.

I’ve also seen some lapbook templates which don’t provide the student with any information at all, but are basically glorified blank notebook paper attached to printable envelopes. Thankfully, that’s not the case here!

Because Sonlight lapbooks follow a structured timeline, introducing notable events in chronological sequence, kids are getting a thorough reinforcement — or review — of important historical topics as they color, cut, fold, glue, and write. Kids using Sonlight lapbook kits are actually learning the material.

The Sonlight lapbook projects feel fresh every time. They’re in-depth and info-packed, clever and creative.

Q: What supplies are included in a Sonlight lapbook kit?

A: A Sonlight lapbook kit contains pretty much everything you need! For starters, all the projects come already pre-printed onto a thick stack of colored and white cardstock and paper. Rejoice!

The kit also includes liquid glue, glue sticks, double-sided tape, clear overlays, and a few more speciality items. There’s even a detailed instructional book, and an easy-close box to contain all the mess between project session. (You provide the scissors, clear tape, colored pencils, and a willing student.)

Here’s what’s inside the flip-top storage box:

• A full-color, full-size (8.5 x 11″) guidebook, with clear step-by-step instructions
• A green folder, with colorful attached fold-out cardstock pages
• A thick stack of white, yellow, orange, blue, green, cream, and red cardstock and paper, containing pre-printed lapbook templates, illustrations, and projects
• Several durafilm (clear plastic) sheets for creating overlays
• Two glue sticks
• A small container of liquid glue
• A dispenser roll of double-sided tape
• A brass brad / fastener
• A small section of muslin fabric
• A cotton ball
• A few toothpicks
• A few gemstone stickers
• A brown paper mini-bag / pocket

The supplies in the other lapbook kits are slightly different, but they all contain most of what you need.

Q: How much prep is involved? Can my student work on a Sonlight lapbook independently?

A: This is a no-prep project. You don’t even need to print anything. You can simply hand the box to your kids.

The included guidebook does such a good job explaining exactly what students need to. It’s written directly to the student, and contains detailed step-by-step instructions detailing how to assemble each of the twenty-five projects.

It even contains small photographs showing your student where to glue the completed project onto the file folder base, so everything will fit.

This, combined with the fact all the projects are already printed onto the right kind of paper or cardstock — ready for coloring, cutting , and gluing — makes the Sonlight lapbook kit particularly suited for independent work.

There are no PDFs to access, no resulting paper jams, and no “Mom? Do we have any tan paper for this historical document printable?” There’s even a brief answer key in the back of the guidebook so you, the parent, can spot check instances where the student is asked to write.

Sonlight’s lapbooks feature really high quality art.

I’m reviewing this lapbook kit with my 12-year-old, Aveline. (You saw her earlier this year reviewing Sonlight’s Hands-on History project box, and last year reviewing Sonlight’s literature-based U.S. History curriculum, too.)

Right away, Aveline noticed the style of the lapbook illustrations matched the timeline figures she’s been pasting into her beloved Sonlight timeline book since kindergarten. (“I feel like I’ve seen these guys before!” said Aveline, gazing at Lewis and Clark.) She was very excited about this!

Even though lapbooks are a relatively new Sonlight addition, it feels as though they’ve belonged all along, since — like the Sonlight timeline figures — they were all designed by Amy Pak of Home School in the Woods. This is a nice plus, especially for those of us who appreciate continuity and value tidy aesthetics. You won’t find cringey clipart or juvenile fonts anywhere in a Sonlight lapbook. (Thank goodness.)

Q: What historical events are covered in Sonlight’s American History I lapbook kit?

A: The American History I kit teaches kids about twenty-five major events in early American history. It begins with the Age of Exploration and indigenous Native American tribes, and closes with western expansion, around 1850. (An American History II lapbook kit, from 1850 to the late 20th century, is available separately.)

Here’s what kids will study —

1. [Nine] Explorer Profiles
2. Mapping the [Four] Routes of Columbus
3. [Five] Reasons for Exploration
4. [One hundred fifty] Native American Tribes
5. [Five] Native Storytelling Profiles
6. Real Estate Brochure
7. [Four] Historical Documents
8. European Exploration and Colonization [in North, Central, and South America]
9. [Five Kinds of] Navigational Equipment
10. Slavery in America
11. [Multilayered] Mitchell Map
12. [Five] Plantation Crops
13. [Eight] British Acts
14. George vs. George
15. Monarchy vs Republic
16. [Seven Incidences of] Bad News in Boston
17. [Seven Different] Soldiers of the Revolution
18. The Famous Duel [between Hamilton and Burr]
19. The [Multilayered Map] Growth of the United States to 1850
20. The Lewis and Clark Expedition
21. [Timeline and Causes of] The War of 1812
22. The Erie Canal
23. “The North Star” Abolitionist Newspaper
24. The Trip West in a Covered Wagon
25. The [Number Plants of the] Pharmacopoeia

This kit provides the above 25 projects, while the American History II lapbook contains 45, the World History I lapbook includes 30, World History II covers 28, and the Elections kit has 21.

5 Ways a Sonlight lapbook can work for you

The most obvious reason to choose a Sonlight lapbook, of course, is as enrichment to accompany a Sonlight history level — or a history curriculum of your own choice. But there are several additional ways a Sonlight lapbook can work for you, too, some of which may offer particular appeal or advantages for your own unique situation.

1. If you live in a state which requires portfolio reviews, a history lapbook can be such a great way to show tangible work.

Curious about homeschool laws in a specific state? Here’s a list of homeschooling requirements.

2. If you’re homeschooling kids with big age gaps (::waves hand wildly::) projects like the ones in the Sonlight lapbook kits can allow for an older child to work independently while you focus on, say, a phonics lesson with a younger child.

3. If your child remembers abstract ideas better when they’re connected to concrete projects, a lapbook kit (or a hands-on history box) can provide a terrific concrete enrichment option.

4. If you schedule break days or enrichment weeks into your homeschool schedule, the lapbook kit can provide ongoing fodder for downtime projects (no planning necessary!)

5. If you already finished cycling through American history (or world history) previously, but want to take a middle school gap year to refresh what you’ve learned, a set of lapbooks (either American History I & II or World History I & II) could work really well as the structure for a year-long review.

Q: Are the Sonlight lapbooks scheduled in the Sonlight Instructor’s Guide?

A: Yes, they are. We’re using this lapbook kit alongside Sonlight’s Level D, and the 25 lapbook projects are sprinkled throughout Level D’s 36-week schedule.

(Read my in-depth review of Sonlight’s literature-based approach to teaching US history, complete with tons of photos.

And don’t miss Sonlight’s unique Instructor’s Guides!

But the scheduling for lapbooking can be as flexible as you want it to be. Even though we have the Instructor’s Guide for Level D, we didn’t follow the provided pacing, but instead worked through the lapbook assignments at our own pace.

If you’re using an older version of Level D, printed before Sonlight introduced the lapbook kits, it wouldn’t be hard at all to incorporate these projects into the existing history reading schedule, since the chronology is very straightforward. (I heard another mom say she intentionally schedules the projects several weeks after her student has reads the assigned Sonlight material, so the lapbooking serves as a review.)

Q: Do I have to use Sonlight history in order to benefit from a Sonlight lapbook?

A: Emphatically, no! History is history. You don’t need to use Sonlight to use a Sonlight lapbook. And since history is — of course — a sequence of chronological events, you wouldn’t even need to rearrange any of the projects in order to use this lapbook alongside a different curriculum. (If your history curriculum covers topics through modern times, you’d want to add the American History II lapbook kit.)

Because the lapbook projects are so detailed, I could even see the American History I and American History II kits working together as a year-long review of American history.

Q: What ages are these for?

A: Sonlight matches the age recommendations for the lapbook kits with the history levels to which they correspond.

• US History I / Level D (Ages 8-12; grades 4-7. You are here.)
• US History II / Level E (Ages 9-13; grades 5-8)
• World History I / Level G (Ages 11-14; grades 7-9)
• World History II / Level H (Ages 12-15; grades 8-10)
• US Elections (Ages 8-18 & above; grades 3-12)

At twelve, Aveline is technically on the upper end of the age range for the first lapbook, but it doesn’t feel like she’s aging out at all. It feels rich and substantial. I think Sonlight’s suggested age ranges are solid recommendations.

Q: Are Sonlight lapbook kits worth the money? How fast do kids finish them?

A: They’re not overly simple activities, and each ones takes a decent amount of time to complete. The kit contents ranges from 21 to 45 total projects, depending which kit you select. Sonlight estimates 1-2 hours per project (so 21-90 hours per lapbook kit). In our experience, this seemed accurate. If your student is really into coloring the illustrations with historical accuracy (ahem), it might take even longer. They’re not quick projects — and they’re not busy work — so it definitely feels like you’re getting your money’s worth!

Q: Who shouldn’t use a Sonlight lapbook?

A: You know your own child best. If you have a child who has never really liked to color, doesn’t have the patience for scissors, and groans when asked to use a glue stick, the Sonlight lapbook won’t be a good match.

If you have the kind of child who is forever coloring, making cards, and stapling stacks of paper scraps into little notebooks, — you know, the kid who puts scotch tape on their birthday wishlist — then a Sonlight lapbook would be a match made in heaven.

Students don’t need to have artistic ability in order to thrive with Sonlight lapbooks, either. The illustrations are already there, ready to be colored in. Kids are never asked to illustrate an entire historical event from scratch, or draw maps free-hand. They’re never faced with a totally blank page and asked to come up with their own content. Instead, they’re given thoughtful prompts and props, and are instructed to work alongside the provided materials to create a memorable end result. (All the maps below were black and white out of the box. Aveline really put her heart into coloring them beautifully.)

And kids don’t need to have particularly extensive stamina for writing, either. While students are sometimes asked to research and write down information, the writing is done in bite-size doses which is more akin to captions or infographic trivia than it is to full-length paragraphs.

This brings up one of the advantages about ready-made lapbooking prompts that I really appreciate —

Sonlight lapbook projects helped my daughter realize which events in her Sonlight reading were particularly significant.

These lapbook activities were sizable, and provided a great balance between rigor and fun for my rising seventh grader, who felt the projects were neither too easy nor too hard. Several times, she was inspired to run back to her history books and re-read a section mentioned in the project.

Kids at this age are still developing the skills of summarizing. They’re still learning how to find the most important points in a passage. They’re still learning to look at a span of time in history and deduce which events are the most crucial to remember. Lapbooking provides such a great space for kids to have those aha moments: “Aha! So that’s why the Erie Canal was so important. Aha! Now I will never forget that Frederick Douglas started an abolitionist newspaper.”

And as kids are coloring, cutting, folding, writing, and gluing, they’re thinking about the topic, pondering it, making connections. They’re spending extended time with a topic. Lapbooking is a very effective way to make things stick.

Sonlight lapbook highlights 25 events in early American history in a way which kids are not likely to forget. Aveline definitely felt she had created a memorable history portfolio showcasing the highlights of this particular historical period. After the last project, she genuinely exclaimed, “I will treasure this for the rest of my life, and look back on it and read it whenever I want!”

How’s that for a resounding endorsement?

Want to enrich your study of history with a Sonlight lapbook kit? Browse all five lapbooks. Plus, request a Sonlight catalog!

And enter to win a Sonlight lapbook — or hands-on history kit.

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