Creating a Homemade Book with Your Child

If you are interested in more at-home activities you can do with your child, we highly recommend creating a homemade book! By giving her the creative freedom to design, write, and draw a book of her own, your child will learn to love reading. Not only is it a keepsake for you, but it’s a great bonding activity. St. Teresa Catholic School, a Titusville Catholic school, has simple steps for your child to create her own book.

Materials You’ll Need
A book takes just a few materials that your child likely has in her art kit already. Here’s what she will need:

• Construction paper
• Colorful paper
• Markers, crayons, or colored pencils
• A hole puncher
• String or pipe cleaners
• Scissors
• Stickers

Put it Together
Start by placing sheets of colored paper between two pieces of construction paper, which act as the cover and the back page. Using the hole puncher, pierce three holes on the left side — about three inches apart from each other. Securely bind them together with either a piece of string or a pipe cleaner. 

Brainstorm Topics
Talk to your child about her interests, and help her come up with a storyline. The plot of the book can be written in rhymes for fun and easy memorization. Teach the components of storytelling and that every story needs a beginning, middle, and end. She can draw inspiration from her favorite books. Ask her questions to encourage her imagination. You are letting her be entirely independent, but being by her side gives her a confidence boost. 

Drawing Pictures
Now for the fun part — adding the images and telling the story! Using coloring supplies, your child will draw images and design her book. Similar to scrapbooking, she can add stickers to the pages of the book to add even more of a creative touch. Again, let her be artistic and independent, but show her your support from the sidelines!

Read Together
When she’s all done, it’s important that you read her book together. Ask her questions about it, and compliment the characters, the places, and the story. Be playful and encouraging, so she learns how fun books are. When you’re all done, display the book on her bookshelf!

With over 57 years of academic excellence, St. Teresa Catholic School, a Titusville Catholic school, provides a quality education that challenges and empowers students to develop to their full potential. Students foster qualities that are essential for lifelong learning and are equipped for future success. To learn more about why St. Teresa is the perfect fit for you and your student, contact us today.