Making a little book is a great activity for any occasion, and here are a few simple books you can make with your kids.
1. Accordion Book
- Cut 5- 4×8 rectangles out of a brown paper bag.
- Fold each rectangle in half.
- Lay the 5 sections out on the table so that they are alternating between opening up towards the ceiling and down towards the table.
- Glue the underside of the piece on the left (1, and excuse the shaky-hand-moused-numbers) to the top of the piece on the right (2). Continue gluing your sections together in this manner.
2. Portfolio Book
- Cut 5 or 6 – 4×8 rectangles out of brown paper bag.
- Line up your 4×8 rectangles and fold them all in half together.
- Open the book to the piece in the center (where you can see the fold) and punch two holes in the fold, about 1/2" from the edges.
- Go through the two holes from the inside with a needle and ribbon/yarn/string, etc. Tie a knot on the outer edge of the spine and trim the ends of your thread.
*If you want to make your book bigger, just be sure to cut the paper twice as wide as it is tall.
3. Button Book
- Cut 10 rectangles out of brown paper bag (dimensions don't matter).
- Sew two buttons along the spine edge to hold the book together.
4. Step Book
- Cut 4-6 rectangles from a brown paper bag.
- Make the steps by leaving the last page, cutting 1/2" off of the third page, 1" off the second page, and 1 1/2" off the first page.
- Punch two holes along the spine edge, about 3/8" from the edges.
- Thread ribbon/yard/etc., up through the holes and tie a knot on the front side of the book.
AND NOW FOR THE FUN PART…
Now you know 4 ways to make little books with your kids. Let your child choose his favorite method and begin.
Then you need to put something in the book. Here are some ideas:
- Draw some original artwork
- Cut themed pictures from a magazine – animals, food, people, flowers, bugs, favorite things.
- Make a counting book – 1 flower, 2 stars, 3 moons, etc. (I did one like this. See pictures below.)
- Make an alphabet book. A is for aestival, B is for brillo
- Make a color book with only red/yellow/pink things.
Here are some pictures of the counting book I made for my son using the portfolio method:
I had lots of fun making these little books. ENJOY!
Kelsey writes over at VanillaJoy.com about all things home, family, crafts, and kids.
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Thanks for the great ideas! I added this link to an entry I did on inspiring blank books… http://tinyurl.com/8w35×8
My daughter just brought a book like this home from preschool. She had so much fun making it. they used different stickers to make with the numbers. She came home and immediately put it on her book shelf.