I’m so excited about these new book projects we’ve been working on! I’m finding myself prompting Graham to show everyone the book he made, because I’m just so happy about the way they turned out. They’ve been a fun way to channel creativity into a long form project instead of once and done crafts and they’re something I expect they’ll enjoy looking through once they’re finished. It has also been such a fun way to connect with them and offer new language and concepts. I’m excited to finally share them here for you to make your own.
Some of the pages are self explanatory, but I’ll walk you through a few of the pages and how we’ve done them so far, because with toddlers it sometimes requires a little creativity. The books are very open ended to use as you and your little ones wish, whatever their artistic level may be.
A General Word on the Pages—We used a lot of stickers and photos, since we’re still in more of the abstract art phase. I asked them about their answers for many of the things they liked and then went searching for black and white images they could paint in the free clip art gallery in Canva. For the pages that were more text answers, I had the boys paint the pages first with watercolors to give them a little more color and a personal touch.
Cover Page—I cut out a black and white photo of each of them to use on their covers.
Hello! My Name Is Page—We used mailbox letter stickers to spell out each of their names and then a small picture of them waving.
This Is Me Page—We printed out their heads to use as an invitation for a self portrait.
I Am Page—These pages could be used for putting their age or things they’re good at. For older kids, I would ask them what they like about themselves or what they’re good at, but for the little ones I let them paint it with watercolors and then used it as a place to write affirmations.
My Hands Pages—I’m all about the fingerprint projects in this season of Graham’s life. They feel like a sweet way to bottle up the littleness while it’s still here.
When I Grow Up, I Want To Be Page—This page was very intentional, because I think so often we focus on occupations with kids and miss encouraging other dreams and ambitions. In other words, I think we spend more time focusing on what they want to do instead of what kind of person they want to become.
This actually ended up being my favorite page because the boys surprised me with their answers. It took a little trial and error figuring out how to ask the questions. With both of them being around the two year mark, they didn’t quite know what to do with the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I was afraid to give them suggestions or examples, because I didn’t want to sway them, but I found that they were more than happy to say no to the things they didn’t want and yes to the things they liked. So if your little ones are in that same stage, I’ve provided a few suggestions to get their minds going both in terms of occupations and characteristics that they might want to embody.
OCCUPATIONS:
- Astronaut
- Architect
- Artist
- Engineer
- Carpenter
- Journalist
- Teacher
- Doctor
- Baker
- Therapist
- Farmer
- Mechanic
- Musician
- Florist
- Pilot
- Mailman
- Construction Worker
- Barber
- Photographer
- Illustrator
- Police Officer
- Electrician
- President
- Zoo Keeper
- Chef
- Writer
- Park Ranger
- Lawyer
- Actor/Actress
- Computer Programmer
- Bee Keeper
CHARACTERISTICS:
- Kind
- Funny
- Creative
- Smart
- Hardworking
- Considerate
- Patient
- Grateful
- Considerate
- Encouraging
- Truthful
- Content
- Wise
- Strong
- Brave
- Happy
- Loved
- Loving
- Healthy
- Adventurous
- Thoughtful
I hope that you’ll enjoy making these books as much as I did! We inserted all of the pages into a plastic photo album from the Dollar Tree to make them a little more durable to look through. I’d love for you to send a message or comment my way if there’s a page you’d like to see added to the book. And if you make and share them on Instagram, please tag me @hollyyinger .
