Making Your Own Books to Read with Your Kids

When I first had Bella, I was in a psychology class and had an assignment in which I had to present the class with, not only my findings, but a creative project as well. My first topic choice was reading to children while in the womb and the effects it has on the fetus. I had been doing this while I was pregnant because I had been researching all the best things to do while pregnant. 

Now, of course, I found out in my research that reading to the fetus was not going to make them read any faster or anything like that, but what it would do is help the fetus get familiar with Mom and Dad's voices. This was a good enough reason to do it. 

After Bella was born, I read to her every night before bed. It was important to me because I knew my parents did the same for me when I was growing up. I personally was an early reader and I am hoping  that Bella will be too. 

Anyway, back to the subject. When I finished writing up my report, I decided to make my own book for Bella and I to read together. At that time I was really into scrapbooking and card making so I had plenty of materials to use. I chose to make an ABC book with alliterations. It was just a tiny 4x4 book with either drawings of my own or stickers from my stash. When I took it to school to present it, everyone was really impressed, which was awesome. 

Here is a simple way to make your own ABC book with your child. 

 Materials

Several sheets of paper of different designs

Stickers of your choice

Pens or markers

String or ribbon

Any other materials you would like to decorate with

Step 1: Cut out two 4x4 squares of paper for the front and back of your book.

Step 2: Decide what paper you would like to use for each letter and cut out 4x4 squares of each. One for each letter of the alphabet. 

Step 3: Write the alliteration or saying on the designed paper.

Step 4: Write the letter of the alphabet on the back of the previous page in which you are currently working on. 

Step 5: Once done with each letter, decorate the pages to fit the story. 

Step 6: Hole punch two holes on the left hand side of each page and gently string the pages with the string or ribbon you chose. 

Step 7: Tie the ribbons into bows.

Here are a few of my favorite pages:

Ants Ate Apples All Afternoon.

Cats Chase Crawling Critters.

Fire Fighters Fight Flaming Fires.

That's it! Super simple and really fun. It gives you a great chance to work on something with your kids as well as provide a new book that will be more meaningful to you and your children! When you have finished your books, I would love to see the finished product, so feel free to post a picture in the comments below or on the "Been Bookin'?" Facebook page.