53) Gift Bag Book

Materials: gift bag paper stapler

Directions: Cut the front and back off the gift bag. Untie the handle from the bag. Cut paper the size of the gift bag and staple between the back and front of the bag. Re-attach the handle.

Hint! Buy a seasonal bag each month and make a class book.

* Old greeting cards also make good book covers. Cut the front off the card and then use it as a pattern to cut blank paper. Staple together. Hint! You could also hole punch and bind with ribbon or yarn.

54) Box Top Book

Materials: box of Cracker Jacks, animal cookies, or dog biscuits paper, hole punch, string

Directions: Cut the front and back off a box. Cut paper the size of the box. Hole punch and bind the book together with string.

Hint! With a Cracker Jacks book each child could draw a picture of a prize he would like to find.

*In the animal cracker book children could draw a picture of their favorite zoo animal.

*In a book made from a box of dog biscuits each child could draw her pet. (If she doesn’t have a pet she can draw a picture of a pet she would like.)

55) I Can Read!

Materials: food wrappers, cereal boxes, magazines, store advertisements, etc. construction paper, scissors, glue, stapler

Directions: Staple several sheets of construction paper together. Write “I Can Read!” on the front page with a marker. Help your child look through the magazines and cut out environmental print (product logos) that she can read. Glue these to the pages in the book. Encourage your child to glue additional words she can recognize from food products.

Hint! You can also glue a magnetic strip to the back of logos and place them on the refrigerator.

56) Scat The Cat

Materials: file folder, scissors, glue, markers, construction paper (2 black, 1 blue, 1 red, 1 yellow, 1 green)

Directions: Download the attached pattern and story. Trace around the cat on the front of the file folder. Cut out. Add grass, flowers and other details if you desire. Place the construction paper in this order inside the file folder: black, blue, red, yellow, green, black. Glue the story to the back of the file folder. As you tell the story, remove the construction paper in front to reveal the appropriate cat.