Hello, hands on : as we grow readers!
I’m thrilled for theopportunity to guest post here on one of my favorite blogs. Thanks, Jamie!
In this busy season, it’s especially tough to carve out timefor everything, and even important playtime and literacy routines can fall bythe wayside when we’re rushing around preparing for the holidays.
Today I’llshare a few of my favorite simple and playful book making projects for you totry with your kiddos this month. They’re fast and easy, and the end result ofeach project is a special new addition to your home library.
Bonus: You couldeasily tweak these ideas and turn them into unique last-minute gifts!
Shadow Books:
- Take several photos of your child’s shadow whileyou’re on a neighborhood walk, or during playtime.
- Later, show the shadow photos and have yourchild narrate what is happening in each pose for you to record. I did this stepa day or so later, or whenever I got the pictures off of my camera.Print the photos from your computer and handwrite your child’s responses, or type responses and print when you’refinished. Gathering your child’s thoughts is the really fun [and funny] part of this activity. It’s so interesting to hear what the shadowappears to be doing from the child’s perspective.
- Stick them together to make a book. We attachedours to a blank Bare Book,but stapling pages or attaching with binder clips works well too.
- Read over and over, and enjoy your new favoriteshadow adventure book!
By the way, I live in Seattle and we don’t see the sun muchat this time of year. If you’re like me and shadows are hard to track downright now, or you just need a fun snow day activity, try an indoor version,using a flashlight and a blank wall.
Thankful Log:
I know Thanksgiving is over, but the entire holiday seasonis about appreciating our many gifts. [And I don’t just mean the ones under thetree.]
Activities that keep the spirit of appreciation alive are perfect forDecember, since appreciation goes hand in hand with “receiving.” [Somethingmost young kids are naturally focused on at this time of year.]
- Cut cardstock or paper and attach with a binderring. Decorate the cover. Ours is simple but we decided to attach my littleone’s thumbprint turkey at the last minute.
- Each member of the family creates a page showingwhat he or she is thankful for. Do as many as you like. Be sure to recordthe child’s name and the date because…
- The idea is to keep this log with your holidaydecorations, or someplace where you won’t forget about it, and bring it outevery year to be updated. As the kids grow, this makes a precious familykeepsake and a holiday tradition everyone can look forward to.
- Read over and over throughout the holidays andtalk about the people and things you appreciate most!
Bumpy Shape Book
This last idea is a [sort of] holiday-related recyclingproject.
- Take the corrugated cardboard sleeve from yourfavorite warm holiday drink before you recycle the cup. [You can also useany kind of corrugated cardboard. I just needed an excuse to drink morepeppermint lattes this month!]
- Cut shapes from the cardboard piece.
- Glue the shapes bumpy side up onto the pages ofa book. We wanted to do an opposites book, so we also cut shapes out ofsmooth cardboard. We glued the bumpy shape on one side and the smooth oneon the facing page.
Enjoy your new texture book!
*For this activity, I made thebook out of cardstock and cut the shapes. My 2 year old told me which shapes tomake and glued them down.
Have fun, and happy book making!
Want more? Visit me at www.smalltypes.comfor additional book making projects, and playful literacy activities!
Erin Wing is a mom and a former teacher who blogs at www.smalltypes.com about simpleideas to help parents create literacy-rich homes. You can also find Erin on Facebook,Twitter and Pinterest.
About Jamie Reimer
