Getting Ready

I have been keeping super busy the last week. While I get on with the daily routine, I also had to find time to get all the materials ready for the upcoming lapbooking classes which commence in a week's time.

I have always had tons of ideas for the lapbooking work that I have been doing with my boys. As and when something interesting comes to mind, I jot them down. Over time, I have a huge bank to tap into. So that is the easy part for me. 

But I must admit I have seriously underestimated the amount of work that goes into preparing for each class. 

I always like to cover a wide range of topics and to make multiple minibooks for each lapbook that I do with my boys. And I have always created lots of materials from scratch so their experience with each lapbooking process is unique and engaging. 

So it has always been tedious to research and prepare for each lapbooking process. But with my 2 boys, I used to have just a checklist for all the activities and we can get started. Since we didn't have any time constraints, I didn't need to have a lesson plan.

But now, with a class of 5 kids each, it works differently of course. 

I have made a formal lesson plan for each lesson, ensuring that every lesson covers stimulating and enriching activities. To meet the learning objectives and still ensuring that we cover all the activities within the lesson time takes a lot of planning. 

Also, it isn't a case of simply making more copies of materials for more kids. Since a lot of the materials need to be created by hand and organised for each lesson, I am spending more time on it in the last week than expected. I have also made a lesson pack for each child that includes materials they take away and suggestions for parents. The goal is to help parents continue their learning journey at home. 

In addition to all these, there has been lots of admin related work like replying to email queries which is time-consuming. 

Now that the preparation is almost completed, I must admit that I get an incredible sense of satisfaction just looking at the finished lesson packs. I can't wait to start the classes and share the materials. 

But while I am still enjoying this 'work', I can't say for sure that I will want to sustain this for very long, unless I feel that it is really worth while given the amount of time and effort required. While it lasts, I hope the parents and kids who will learn with us will find the experience fruitful and enriching.