The Mom I Want to Be

Child’s favorite storybook

Variety of magazines with lots of photographs

8 1/2 x 11 sheets of construction paper

child scissors

nontoxic white glue

6 large interlocking metal rings

black washable marker

hole puncher

 

Read your child’s storybook together. Then, in preparation for making the flip books, discuss the book in terms of who (people or animal characters), what (activities or events), and where (places). Then explain to your child how you will use this concept to make a silly flip story. Gather the magazines and other supplies. On separate sheets of construction paper, which will be your book covers, help your child write “Who,” “What,” and “Where.”  Search through magazines to find colorful pictures that fall into each category; for example, who (puppy, baby); what (eating a plate of spaghetti, driving a car, climbing a tree); where (Laundromat, inside a house, or on a boat). Help your child cut out the pictures and glue each one to a sheet of construction paper. Have your child punch two holes in the same place on the left side of each page.  Sort pictures into categories of the flip-book titles. Assemble the books and fasten them with rings.  Now the fun begins! Place the three books next to each other. First, with your eyes closed, flip through the “Who” pages. Then stop! Do the same for the “What” and “Where” pages. Then read across to enjoy your surprised silly flip story. For example, “The puppy ate a plate of spaghetti in the Laundromat.” You can also encourage your child to use invented spelling to write words on the pages or dictate words to you.  Keep adding new pictures to your booklets until you’ve created a giant silly story.

 

Your child will learn to:

 

Identify parts of a story

Increase literacy

Enhance his sense of humor

Develop classification skills

Strengthen hand-eye coordination