Materials
tennis balls
X-acto knife (adult only)
markers
Instructions
1. Send a letter home asking the families to send in 4" x 6" photos of
people who are familiar to the baby or toddler. Emphasize that you
need a good close-up photo of the person's face. For example, your
letter might read:
Dear Parents,
We are creating a book of familiar family members for your child. Please
send in some photos of members of your family, such as parents,
grandparents, siblings, aunts and uncles, or other extended family. Please
make sure the photo is a close-up of the person's face and is no larger than
4" x 6". We will use the photos to create a "Family Faces" book for your child.
Make sure you write the name of the person featured and his/her
relationship to your child on the back of each photo.
2. Glue each photo to the top center of a 5" x 7" piece of construction
paper. Under each photo, print the person's name and relationship to
the child; for instance, "Cousin Kyle" or "Grandma Olivia."
3. Create a cover that features a close-up photo of each baby. Under the
photo print "Family Faces for (child's name)."
4. Cover each page with clear adhesive paper or have them laminated.
5. Bind the pages together by punching three holes in each page. Sew the
pages together using heavy yarn. Tie the ends very securely since this
book will be handled by older infants and younger toddlers.
Note: An alternative way to create this book is to insert each photo into
a resealable plastic bag, punch holes in all the bags, and bind them
together with heavy yarn.
6. Hold each child on your lap and look at her photo book together. Say
each person's name and make appropriate comments such as, "See,
there is your Mommy. Mommy looks very happy." or "That's your Uncle
Kyle. He has brown hair just like you."
7. Allow the baby to view each page for at least two minutes.
Copy each photo using a computer scanner before doing the project. Print
large versions of each photo (5" x 7" or larger). Laminate them and post
them around the room at the babies' eye level. You could even laminate
them to the floor so the babies can crawl over them.