Making Books, Making Connections

When we’re looking for paper to make a book, here are some of the things we ask ourselves:

• Would we want to write on this?

• Draw?

• Doodle?

• Fill in the lines?

• Does it have numbers?

• Letters?

• Dots? Can we connect them?

• Is there enough to cut a lot of pieces? (It doesn’t take much!)

We especially like: old calendars; old maps; business envelopes from our mail; old roll books; old plan books; sheet music (but really you can use anything).

Once you’ve collected your paper, you can decide how big you want your book to be (the one in the picture is 3 ½” x 5 ½”). Then cut your pieces carefully (best to use a paper cutter if you have one -- it makes such clean, precise lines on the edges). Children can choose the papers they want in their books and have you put them together or, for older children, put them together themselves. In addition to the paper, all you need is a hole-puncher and a brass fastener.

When you’re done, you can talk about the papers that made the books. Go through each page and ask, “Where have you seen this before?” It might take a while, but when they recognize something, they’re making important connections between parts and wholes, while at the same time opening up a whole world of possibility by finding beauty in the mundane.