A Spring Storybook

by Christine Dvornik

Time: An hour or more
Type of activity: Reading and writing, arts and crafts

Celebrate the coming of spring by telling a story about the season!

Materials needed:
· White paper (several sheets)
· Two sheets of construction paper
· Scissors
· Hole punch
· Ribbon or yarn
· Glue
· Markers, crayons, paint, glitter, or other decorative materials
· Flower petals, leaves, pieces of grass, or other spring mementos.

What to do:

Step One: Take a walk outside and help your child to notice of all the changes that are happening with the coming of spring. Point out the flowers budding, the trees growing leaves, and so on. Ask her to point out more signs of spring.

As you walk, collect the materials that you'll use for your picture. Flat objects (like leaves, flowers, or feathers) will work best.

Step Two: Gather several sheets of white paper for the inside of your book and two sheets of construction paper for the front and back covers.

Step Three: Line up all the pages along the left edge, and hold them together with a paper clip.

Step Four: Using a hole punch, starting about a half-inch away from the top of the paper, make holes about 1.5 to 2 inches apart going down the left side. Make your last hole about a half-inch above the bottom of the paper.

Step Five: Now it's time to consider the layout for your book. Tell your child that you are going to write a story about spring. She can tell her story using pictures -- by drawing trees and flowers growing on each page. She can also dictate the story while help with the writing. Then, she can color pictures or glue the spring mementos to each page for illustrations.

Step Six: Decorate the pages with and additional drawings, paint, or other materials. Let any glue or paint dry.

Step Seven: Decorate the cover of the book using more mementos or your own artwork.

Step Eight: Put all the pages of the book together and line up the holes you punched on the left-hand side.

Step Nine: Cut one piece of ribbon or yarn about six inches long for each hole you punched.

Step Ten: Thread the yarn through one hole and tie in a bow. Repeat this for each hole in the book.