Materials
- Colored construction paper
- Scissors
- File folders, one for each child
- Camera and film
- Old magazines and catalogues
- Glue
- Markers, crayons, or paint
- Clear contact paper
- Hole punch
- Metal rings or yarn
What to do
1. This activity will take a period of time to complete.
2. Ask each child to choose four pieces of colored construction paper.
3. Cut the paper into 8" (20 cm) squares and place them in the child's folder.
4. Have fun taking pictures of the children. Take pictures of each child at different times during the day, including outside play. If possible, get double prints. Place photos in the appropriate child's folder for later use.
5. At a later time, go through the photos in the folders and cut out the particular child with a friend or two. Discard the background. You may be able to cut out more than one pair of children from a photo. Place the photos back in the appropriate files.
6. Give the children magazines and catalogues and help them cut out pictures of favorite toys, animals, things they would like to learn more about, and any other pictures that they like. Place them in each child's folder for later use.
7. When it is time for children to create their own books, give them their paper squares.
8. On three of the squares, number the pages one to five, using both sides of the paper.
9. Next, give each child his magazine pictures. Encourage the children to glue the pictures onto the pages. For example, they can glue pictures of their favorite toys on page one, favorite animals on page two, things they want to learn about on page three, and their favorite things on pages four and five.
10. Encourage the children to dictate a sentence or two about each page in their book. Write it under the pictures.
11. Invite the children to make a clever cover using the fourth square of construction paper. (Sponge painting might be fun.)
12. When each child is finished decorating his cover, glue a close-up photo of the child on it. Title the book using the child's name (for example, "Susan's Book").
13. Cover all the pages with contact paper and trim to fit.
14. Punch holes along the side of the book and fasten with rings or yarn.
More to do
Invite them to "read" their books to you and to their parents. Explain to them that they made a book just like the ones you read to them!
-Barbara Fischer, San Carlos, CA
Instructions
1. With the children's help, create a step stool that is solid, will not tip over, and
will last for years.
2. Find a cardboard box that is the right size and height to build a step stool to
place in front of the sink or water fountain (or wherever a boost in height is
needed).
3. Fill the box to the top with folded newspapers until it is packed tightly. Overfill
it slightly so that when you compress the papers, there is a solid feel to the
box. Tape the top of the box shut.
4. Give each child a magazine and pair of child-safe scissors. Ask the children to
cut out pictures or large alphabet letters to use to cover the box. To help
develop the children's oral language, encourage them to share stories of the
pictures they find. Enjoy the conversation as the children explain their choices.
5. If necessary, trim and neaten the edges of the pictures.
6. Glue the pictures and large alphabet letters to all six sides of the box, forming
a collage of pictures.
7. Cover the box with clear contact paper to make it waterproof and to preserve
the pictures.
8. If, after several years, the pictures begin to wear, simply create a new collage
on top of the existing one.
