Laminate Your Way to Preschool Perfection: A Homeschool Parent's Guide

If you're a homeschool parent of preschoolers, I highly recommend investing in a laminator and some laminating pouches. It's a small cost that can have a big impact on your home classroom. Not only will it make things last longer and look nicer, but it can also help make learning more interactive and engaging for your little ones. 

Laminating is not just for office supplies and crafts.  Let me share with you my favorite laminator and laminating sheets, and why I think every homeschool parent of preschoolers needs to jump on the laminating bandwagon.

Why laminate? Well, for starters, it makes things last longer. And when you're dealing with little hands that like to rip and crumple things, anything that can survive longer is a win. But it's not just about preserving your hard work. Laminating can also make things more interactive and engaging for your preschooler. For example, instead of using regular flashcards for letter recognition, you can use laminated ones that your child can write on with a dry-erase marker. Or you can create reusable activity sheets that your child can use over and over again. Plus, laminating just makes things look nicer, doesn't it? I love the professional, finished look it gives the activities.  You can also laminate your child's artwork or activities they did throughout the year to preserve them.

Let's talk about my favorite laminator - Fellowes Sola 95.  Before I talk about it, I want to say that I do not have this laminator but after using mine and doing research on other laminators, I will tell you why I chose this one as my favorite.  The first thing I noticed was the look of it.  It looks nice, easy to store and easy to use.  I also love the guides that it has on it for the different size documents.  It's affordable and has a lot of great reviews.  It can laminate 9-1/2" wide documents and has a release lever that disengages the pouch for re-centering or removal. I can't tell you how many times I put a page in and it got twisted.  

I use mine for things that will get a lot of wear and tear, like reusable activity sheets, activities that need more sturdiness, or anything that I am going to put on my wall. 

I see a lot of laminators with the cutters on top.  Mine has a cutter on top and it works good but, I definitely prefer a regular paper cutter.  Although, it is convenient and great for quick cuts.  

I love my Fiskars paper cutter if you need a recommendation. 

Now, let's talk about laminating sheets. My go-to is Amazon Basics Clear Thermal Laminating Sheets. I have used a TON of these and they have never let me down.  They're sturdy enough to hold up to preschooler handling, but not so thick that they're hard to bend or cut.

I hope this post has inspired you to give laminating a try. Who knows, it might just become your favorite homeschool tool too!