Here are the steps to making a book for your baby. It is a simple idea and anyone can make at home. I can almost promise it will be very loved by your baby.

When I was teaching 5 and 6 year olds one of the main components of our language programme was making your own book.  The ideas I used in the classroom were simple ones that children could do, but they were effective and were very cherished by the child who made them.

Baby book making is equally effective because you can make a personal book written for your baby featuring them.  Below you will find the steps to making a book for your baby that will be hardwearing and one that your baby can handle over and over.  I made this book for my son Jamie when he was a baby and I can't count how many times we have read it and it is still going strong!

We live away from Jamie's extended family but I thought it was really important that he knew who they were and could recognise them all.  So I turned to baby book making and made this family photo book for him.  I wanted him to be able to hold it and turn the pages for a long time to come so I decided to use a board book that he already had.

Here are the steps to making a book of your family.

Find a Board Book that is the right size.
Keep your eye out for the books sales or look in second hand book shops for books in good condition.  You only want the book you don't need to worry at all about the story.  

Cover each page with heavy paper that isn't see through.
You may need to double the paper over to ensure you can't see the text underneath.  You need to leave a 1cm boarder so cut the paper so it is smaller than the board book and you can still see 1cm of the board book on each of the four sides. You need this so the plastic cover has something to stick onto.

Crop Your Photos
Choose the photos that you want to include and crop them either by hand or in your photo editor programme.  You may like to just include faces of your family.  You could take the photos of each family member next time you are with them specifically for your book, or you can crop them from photos you already have.  I find this part of baby book making to be the most time consuming!

Write Your Text
You can type your text on the computer or write it by hand.  Make sure you use a script which is clear for children to read.  

This could become the first book your child reads to you.  



Text Suggestion
The idea is to use repetitive text that your child will be able to read to you one day.  

My Family Loves Me
By: (your baby's name)

My Mummy loves me
My Daddy loves me
My Grandma loves me
My Grandpa loves me
My Uncle.... loves me
My Auntie..... loves me etc
And I love my family too.

Glue Your Photos and Text into the Book
It helps your child to see the book and read it if you keep the photos at the top and the text at the bottom.  

Cover Each Page with Transparent Adhesive To ensure your book is 'baby proof' cover each page with transparent adhesive.  It is easier to stick the adhesive to the board book rather than the paper so ensure you have left a 1 cm boarder between the paper and the book.  I also found that I needed to put a strip of magic tape along the top and the bottom of the book to stop the adhesive from curling.

Read Your Book Over and Over
One of he most important steps to making a book for a baby is to ensure that you read it over and over. This is how a book becomes loved and known by your baby.  Use the photos of your family as cues when you are reading. Don't ever cover them up as your baby needs the photos to know what the words say.

Point out things in the photos you see.  
"Where are Grandma's eyes?"
"Look, Auntie Kate has a hat on".  

Make reading fun and interactive.
"Where is Auntie Emily? There she is."  

Learn more about reading to your baby.

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I will be adding more ideas like this one to the create a baby book page so stay tuned. You will also find more steps to making a book for your baby there.

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