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Making Books With
Children
By Ruth Beaglehole
A wonderful tool to help children understand what is
happening in their lives is to make special books
for them. Books help the child know about their
experiences as well as supporting them with their
feelings. They let the child know that we take very
seriously what happens to them. It is a healing
experience for the child to have his/her experience
validated. It can be compared to the journal writing
that many adults do to support themselves with their
own lives.
Writing books with children is an important literacy
tool. We are communicating to the children that
writing and reading are valuable ways to access the
world. We let them know that we value the printed
work and that there is a lot to discover by reading.
Books also help the parents have a way to
communicate with their child in a clear and simple
way. They are able to teach the lessons of life
that they want their children to learn. It is a tool
to resolve conflict and to change negative anger
into supportive teaching. They can be used to
prepare children for a change that may be going to
happen, or to help understand a scary that that
happened, or will happen.
Books are easy to make. Take two or three pieces of
paper, fold them in half to make four to eight
pages, and staple them. For young toddlers, books
can be one piece of paper left unfolded. Draw simple
pictures and write words that explain the feeling or
experience you are writing about. That is not about
drawing an artist’s sketch! Simple stick figures
work well. Print the words in lower case letters as
children will learn when they start school. It is
the adult’s words that are used. Older children can
contribute their words and may want to draw on the
last page. For younger toddlers, the words need to
be very simple. Alex sad! Crying! Fall down!
Name the book with the child’s name and the subject.
Andrews book about going to the Doctor. Mary’s book
about her Angry feelings. Each page has a picture
with a little of the story. Write the situation
followed by the child’s feelings.
There is nothing that can’t be made into a book. It
may feel awkward at first but with practice parents
and teachers find it a wonderful activity to help
children understand their world. |
