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You and your preschooler can write a big adventure story in your own little book made from a recycled single-portion cereal box.
Use as a "Spring Firsts" nature-walk journal or a photo album, or make a collection in which each has a theme, such as "the ABCs," "Counting," "Farm Animals," "The Adventures of Our Super Kitty" or "Presley's Top Ten Jokes."
Here's how to repurpose your cereal box and transform it into a book:
Remove the liner from a single-portion cereal box. Cut off the top, right-side and bottom panels of the box and toss them in the recycling bin. The remaining portion of cardboard will be the front, spine and back of the book.
Paint or cover both sides of your new book with solid-colored or patterned adhesive-backed paper. Decorate with stickers, drawings or photos, or cut out shapes from contrasting colors of adhesive-backed paper. Write or print with your computer the title of your book on a piece of paper. Cut it to size and glue on the front of the book.
To create pages, cut several sheets of construction paper slightly smaller than the book cover.
To bind the book, punch two holes along the center of the spine, one hole 1/2 inch from the top and the other 1/2 inch from the bottom. Punch corresponding holes in the paper. Thread ribbon, cording or string through the holes, from top to bottom. Knot it on the outside.
Help your child write the adventure and illustrate the story with drawings, photos or pictures from catalogs
"The grandkids are coming!" tip: When your school-age grandchild comes for a visit, start the day with "box-top reading" before you turn the cereal box into a book. Surprise each other with the new vocabulary words you learn. Read ingredients and nutritional information listed on the side panel of the box, and continue by reading the content on the yogurt and milk cartons sitting on the breakfast table.
