The Summer Olympics 2016 Lapbook and Study Guide from A Journey Through Learning was a joy to put together. We received this product in digital form a few days before the Rio 2016 Olympics began, and we dove right in. It was easy to print the pages we needed for the booklets. We kept the study guide digital and read directly from the computer for our study times. With history, geography, some science, and current culture, this was a rich, full study.

From the history of the Olympics, dating back to 776 BC, right up to Rio 2016, we got a good dose of where and why the Olympics came to be. We studied the progression of the games from their inception and then went on to study some of the newer sports added to the Rio games. But this study didn't just cover the history of the games. It also covered the host country and some of the history of Brazil, as well as the symbols, mascot, torch, and medal designs for the Rio games. There were even booklets that covered many of the events.

A Journey Through Learning stood true to their typical product in this lapbook and study guide by providing booklets to go into three folders. Folder one covered Ancient Greece and the ancient Olympics. The booklets for folder two were about Brazil and the Rio 2016 Olympics. Folder three was mainly for the individual event winners and other event information. With all the study materials and instructions needed for assembly included in the digital file, all you need to provide are the printed pages of booklets, folders, crayons or colored pencils, and something to write with.

Because the booklets for the events asked for winner names and countries, that information had to be located and was not included in the study guide. We looked it up on a search engine and found it quite easily, though many of the events had both men's and women's as well as any number of team configurations. We just picked and chose what we wanted to include. Generally, we covered the individual winners for men and women in each event unless it was a team only event such as soccer.

We were able to have all three girls work together to complete the lapbook. Each day that we worked on the unit, we read from the study guide and then each of the girls choose a booklet to work on. We completed the entire lapbook in this way and the girls all enjoyed it. This study allowed the girls to make a number of new connections and enjoy the games in new ways. Summer Olympics 2016: Rio 2016 was the perfect family study to compliment the games.

—Product review by Lori Hooten, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, October, 2016

And Another Review (from one of our international reviewers):

Summer Olympics 2016 Lapbook With Study Guide

Paula Winget and Nancy Fileccia

The Summer Olympics are over for another session, and my son was kept busy for three weeks learning about the Olympics, both past and present. A Journey Through Learning’s, The Summer Olympics 2016 Lapbook with Study Guide was to thank for that. 

A Journey Through Learning has a wide selection of lapbooks on many topics from math to science, as well as seasonal choices. The Summer Olympics 2016 lapbook came with everything to get us started. We only had to gather up the general lapbooking supplies; file folders, scissors, glue, and pencil crayons. Of course, my son also needed access to the internet to look up some information about current statistics about Brazil and the Olympics TV schedule so he could drop in and watch some of the programs.

The lapbook consisted of three folders glued into one big display book. The first folder delved into the history of the Olympics in Ancient Greece. The second folder contained information about Brazil and the 2016 Summer Olympics Symbols and Mascots. The final folder was for documenting the gold medal winners in each sport and a word search.

I began by printing the PDF document in color. Then Tristan and Kallista put themselves to work cutting out all of the elements and gluing them into the folders. Tristan is eight and Kallisa is six. There were some things that Kallista could do and help with, but most of it was a little old for her, so I’d say that the age guide of grades two to seven is just about right. Children on the younger side of the scale may need a little help, while those on the older end will be able to do everything on their own. 

All of the information needed to complete most of the elements is included in the Study Guide, and the rest can be found online or by watching the Games. When Tristan was finished with this guide, he spent an afternoon painting up a new cover for the pages and used brad clips to hold the whole bundle together on the back side of the lapbook. Perfect!

Tristan began a few days before the Olympics began and started learning about some of the history behind the Games to build up excitement before the main event. Then once the Olympics began he was ready to go and dive in and continue learning about Brazil. He’d borrowed a few books about Brazil earlier in the year, and was able to use some of the information he’d gathered to answer questions about climate, population, etc. What he didn’t already know he was able to find online with a little supervision.

Tristan was only four years old during the London 2012 Olympics so he wasn’t familiar with all of the sports he was watching. The Study Guide gives a brief description of several of the sports, so he could familiarize himself with those he didn’t know.

As each discipline ended, Tristan wrote the winning country into the designated element in the third folder.  It was hard to keep up with the action, so he had a few left over to complete after the Games had ended, but that was okay. Tristan had fun looking up all of the medal winners on the internet and finding out where they were from.

The only thing I think could have been improved is to include some information about the Paralympics and Special Olympics so that children are encouraged to support everyone and their abilities.

It had been about a year since Tristan last worked on a lapbook and this has ignited his fire to want to do more again. Lapbooks are a great way to do a lot of learning in a short amount of time. They can combine multiple subjects into one project. Because they are done in a concentrated time period, children don’t get tired of them and they love the interactive elements involved.

I see more lapbooks finding their ways into our learning plans this year, the Olympics have inspired us in more than one way.

-Product review by Crystal McClean, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, October, 2016