Bookmarks!

Wednesday March 2nd is READ ACROSS AMERICA Day. A big day for school age children as most teachers will celebrate in the classroom. I've had several discussions with M1 about the importance of reading & we'll definitely celebrate with lots of books/reading as well on Wednesday.

In honor of the occasion, we made bookmarks!

Supplies- Scissors, Contact Paper, Thin Ribbon, Decorations (sequence, paper shapes, glitter, stickers, etc.), Small knife (for the adults!), Construction Paper.

*If you do not have contact paper, you can use colored construction paper & "laminate" it with clear book tape or packaging tape. Just need a little reinforcement so it lasts longer & doesn't tear.

1. We started with the hole punch & punched out a bunch of colorful shapes using colored construction paper. Just a few extras to add to our pile of decorations.

2. While M1 & M2 cut out shapes, I cut two 12X2 inch strips of contact paper.

(Again, you could just cut strips of construction paper here as well.)

3. Fold the contact paper strips in half.

4. Peel back the paper off half of the strip exposing the sticky side up.

5. Begin placing decorations all over the sticky paper. As many as desired.

Decorated, & ready to construct the bookmark...

6. Peel off the other half of the paper off the contact paper. Fold the undecorated side over on top of the decorated side & press to seal. (Trim off any edges that may not match up perfectly.)

7. ADULTS: Use a small exacto-knife (regular knife or scissors would work as well) to cut a small horizontal slit in the top of the bookmark.

8. Cut a piece of ribbon about 10 inches long.

9. Fold the ribbon in half & string the ends through small slit as shown below.

10. Feed the ends of the ribbon through the opposite "looped" end of the ribbon & pull to fasten, forming a small knot. (Also pictured below.)

And your bookmarks are all set & ready to mark the pages in any great book.

We're sending a few of these to M1 & M2's great-grandparents to use to mark the pages of their current favorite read!

Happy Reading & Enjoy!  s.b.