Mother's (or is it Mothers' Day? both work!) is just 11 days away. Here are the first of 4 easy cards or booklets you can help your children create. Of course they don't just work for Mother's Day. I used these two in my classroom as a 7th grade teacher. The students enjoyed making these and using them to review or present facts.
Number 1: Flap book
Cut 4 strips of paper the same size. (You can use colored paper or white.) (4" x 8" would work, but you can vary the size.)
Lay the paper in a stack, but stagger it as shown below. You can measure the intervals carefully or just eyeball it.
Fold the stack in half, staggering the middle intervals the same as the ones you have already folded.
You are going to need to staple the paper to attach all the pages together. After you have creased the fold you just made, open the book. If your paper is short enough, or you have a long neck stapler, you may be able to open the booklet and staple it directly on the fold (like a magazine). If not, staple it on top very close to the fold.
Decide what you want each flap to say. Write the words and then illustrate each page. You could use stickers of photographs, too.
Number 2: "Squeeze" Book.
Fold a piece of paper in half lengthwise. (Hot dog style as we say!)
Fold lengthwise again, and fold one more time.
Fold the paper in half again, this time widthwise (?) or hamburger style.
From the folded edge, cut on the center creased line to the first fold. Spot marked with a dot in the picture on the left. Open the paper. You have a slit in the middle of the paper.
Now, fold the paper in half, hot dog style. This is where the squeeze comes in. Grasp the two edges of the paper and squeeze toward the center.
Since I was holding the camera, I couldn't grasp both sides of the paper.
Now fold the paper into a book shape. Crease it well and then create your book!
Next week I will show how to make 2 easy pop-up cards that children can create. Enjoy!
Looking for Mother's Day crafts? Be sure to check out our DIY pop-up cards and our peanut butter Oreo truffles (or, really, all our chocolate recipes!)
