How to Make a Busy Book for a Toddler

A busy book for a toddler can be used in the car for short or long road trips. This handy project also keeps toddlers occupied when parents are cooking dinner or cleaning up around the house. It can be updated and modified to grow with the toddler. A busy book gives children an alternative to watching television or playing hand-held games. The book also comes in handy when you visit with relatives, or when the power goes out and children need something to do.

Things You'll Need

  • Three-ring binder Accessory holder for three-ring binder New shoelaces Paper Hole punch Felt shapes Sewing Velcro Construction paper

Instructions

    • 1

      Print out coloring pages with images that interest your child. Find coloring pages at First-school.ws or Dltk-kids.com (see Resources). Include basic coloring pages, holiday coloring pages and coloring pages with the alphabet.

    • 2

      Create shoelace threading games by printing a couple of images on card stock. Poke six to eight holes along the outline of the image. The toddler can practice threading the holes with the shoelace, which helps him hone his fine motor skills. The shoelace should be short, and the middle portion should be firmly glued to the page. Any shoelace page or page with yarn or string should only be used by the toddler with direct adult supervision.

    • 3

      Make pages with felt landscapes. Use green felt for grass and blue for the sky. Make a big red barn with red felt. Cut out animal pictures and attach sewing Velcro to the back. Also attach the Velcro to the felt pages. Toddlers can make their own picture scenes, with supervision.

    • 4

      Create pages with simple shapes using bold colors. Cut out circles, triangles, squares, pyramids, diamonds and rectangles from red, blue and yellow construction paper. Include a page with the words spelling out the shape names.

    • 5

      Enhance the toddler's experience by making a tactile page. Include pieces of glued felt, cotton balls, shiny aluminum foil, craft foam and pipe cleaners.

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