Bored with board books {guest post}
I am welcoming again, my friend and fellow creative mom, Julie Lancaster, to this writing space today (you can tell it’s not me because of her first sentence 
)
I love spring cleaning. Anytime of the year. I jump for joy when the kids are ready for the next size of clothes: I like getting rid of stuff as much as the next person likes to get it.
This month, I’ve had my sight set on board books. The kids are getting older (7- and 4-years old), the corners of these square little books have been well loved and sucked-a-plenty, and frankly, they are just occupying space.
Busying myself with decluttering and the promise of repurposed space, I barely noticed that I was wearing only one slipper. (Who has time to find the other one?)
With my frenzy of reorganizing reaching full tilt, I spied my daughter, peacefully at the kitchen counter. Water-coloring. Engrossed in thoughtful color choice and carefully attentive to her work. She and I were on different planes.
Back in my frenzy, (how was I going to preserve all of the magnificent artwork that she creates in her life?) I had had an epiphany and it was too good not to share. I could combine the projects
Altered Board Books:
You’ll need:
- Board books that are no longer destined for greatness
- Water Color Paper
- Glue
- Paint or other art supplies to decorate the pages
What you do: Take your board book and paste cut squares of watercolor paper on each page. After adhered, invite your child to paint two pages. Once the paint dries, have your child dictate or write (depending on age) the scene. Each day they can paint two more pages (two at a time is best for drying properly) of their book. By the end, they have created an entire story!
With this, I allow myself to release the frenzy and just sit. They read their prized self-created stories to me. I delight in listening and they delight in reading. And their precious masterpieces are successfully saved; multitasking at its finest.
Guest Blogger, Julie Lancaster gardens, travels and creates with her husband and two creative kids. She has been published in Mothering Magazine and also leads an online Gardening Community on Facebook.
To read more by Julie, visit:
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
What a great idea – reusable creatives are plus!
This is soooo smart! Glad to see your site is back up! So cool to know someone before they went viral. hahaha!
What a lovely idea!
Great idea! My daughter will freak out and probably do 8 of these in one day.
what a cool idea!
Very cool idea, thanks for sharing!
Awesome idea! I do have several books hanging around the house too! What a well supervised project to with the kids! Thx!
I love it! Maryann F. Kohl (the art educator, in her book Primary Art) suggests prepping board books with gesso primer and doing collages, which I think is a great idea, but this is something I already have materials for. Especially since I work in a toddler room and we go through books (even board books) fast!
I love this idea! We have worn through plenty of board books, but I can’t bear to part with them and can’t really see myself giving a dog-eared, boogered book to the cousins. My daughter loves to make up stories, so this may be just the ticket to give much-loved stories some new, just-as-much-loved life.
This is a great idea! We recently turned a worn out board book into puppets to tell the story ourselves!
while that is a cool idea, it makes me sad. as a mom who would have loved cast off, hard loved, worn out books for my little ones, it pains me to see them repurposed. there are families in every community that cannot afford to buy book for their babies, i hope you will donate some. even if they arent in great condition.
I agree with Jenny, a well worn book can still be read and loved. Many people can’t afford to buy even used bargain books so please consider donating! Preschools, women’s centers, libraries, Reach Out and Read is an excellent program. Or post them FREE on craigslist!
I think this is a brilliant idea. To pick up some used books at a yard sale and then turn them into a hand painted book written by the same child- the book becomes a priceless keepsake. Thanks for sharing the post Alissa.
To tag onto this amazing idea; the children could also glue/tape in family photos and then paint frames around them. Mom & child could have fun making theme or seasonal little photo books like “Family Halloween”, “Gramma’s Visit”, “2012 Christmas Morning”, etc. Gosh, I can’t wait to have grandkids! Wonderful, wonderful epiphany you had there:)
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