Make a Photo Book

Description

Making your own books with familiar pictures is a great way to capture your child's attention. There is something special about seeing pictures of him or herself and family members, friends and pets that will make "picture" books one of their favorites to read. Our first photo book was made at about 18 months and is shown in the picture. We have had many book repairs since but they still enjoy seeing photos of themselves when they were babies. The topic selected was family since it was simple and a great way to help learn names of different family members.

Materials

Construction paper, Thick Scrapbook Paper or Cardstock works best for durability
Glue Stick
Photos
Photo Labels

Other Materials

Materials to bind book: Stapler/book tape or Docubind or Hole Punch/Ribbon
White Stick on Labels for easy Printing of Words
Photo paper or xerox paper to print the pictures on.
Clear Contact Paper or Laminating Sheets to protect pictures.
Scrapbook Scissors (optional)

Steps

Select Pictures to be used and print on xerox or photo paper.
With your child arrange pictures in order to be glued on pages.
Use a glue stick to adhere pictures. A glue stick works the best as Elmer's can affect the photo by adding too much moisture. A glue stick is also much neater to work with.
Have your child try to identify the person.
Write legibly under each picture or print out the names for your book and use a glue stick to adhere.
Bind or staple.
If you are using pictures printed on photo paper you might want to cover them with clear contact paper especially for younger children. This helps keep the picture in much better condition for a longer period of time.

Tips and Suggestions

Place all names under pictures to keep it uniform and easier for child to know which belongs to which picture.
Have your child find the picture to match the name. Point to the name when you "read" the book together.

Family Vacations and Trips

Description

Trips are another great source of photos to make books for young kids. I remember making scrapbooks but now with everything digital, we often just share pictures online. Print out a few favorite pictures and make a tangible book for your child to enjoy.

Steps

Take pictures when you are on vacation or on a trip of all the things you do and put together a book highlighting the events.
Help your child place the pictures in chronological order. Or describe an event and activity see if they can find the corresponding picture.
Arrange the pictures on the page.
Have your child say a simple sentence to go with each picture.
Print or write the sentences on strips of paper.
When you have all the sentences, read each one and have your child find the matching picture.
Glue down the sentences with the glue stick.
Point to the words as you read the book together.
Have your child read along with you.
Be sure to praise them for "reading"!
Point out details in the pictures as you share the book together. This will help reinforce the use of picture clues which is an important basic reading skill.

Family Outing

This is a great idea for any family outing. Take pictures of things they did, in this case picking apples, drinking apple cider, eating apple donuts and playing among the pumpkins. Each of my girls made their own book, wrote their own sentences and shared it with their class. You can see the details here at Apple Picking Book

Educational Tips

When you share the book together, point to the word and say the name.
Make sure to praise your child for "reading" if they can tell you anything about the photo. Picture clues are an important reading strategy for toddler books.