Enlist the help of friends and family to make these tactile books!
The purpose of these books is to…
- create appropriate books, at Liam’s level, that he can read and enjoy independently.
- be used in classroom “book browsing time” and also some set aside for him to check out during “library” time.
- give opportunities for Liam to read for pleasure and “view” a variety of texts.
My son Liam is now a full day Kindergartner! He is absolutely loving school and thriving. (For those of you who don’t know, he happens to be deafblind.) There are not many books available for Liam that we can purchase that are at his level and hold his interest. (The few there are, are very expensive.) I had a vision of hosting a book making party where in one night we would gather friends and family and create a “bunch” of books for him! My goal was for every person to create at least 1-2 books. It was an ambitious goal, but we gave it a try!
I provided all the materials and the “titles” of the books with brief instructions on how to create each book. (Liam’s school helped purchase some of the blank books and friends also brought some fun tactile items to share and attach to the books.) 19 people gathered (including friends, family and past and present teachers who work with Liam.) We laughed, we created, we crafted and we brailled! At the end of the night our finished product was 2 overflowing boxes full of books for Liam!! He is going to be so excited to get his hands on those books! I was just blown away by the turn out for the book making party and amazed…so many people investing time and love into that sweet little Kindergartner.
It is so important to me that Liam has access to print and text just as his classmates do…this will take some work, but it’s possible! I am so thankful for everyone who was a part of making this a reality for Liam.
Suggested Materials Needed for a Book Party of Your Own!
- blank “chipboard” books (using a variety of sizes)
- glue guns (with refill glue sticks), duct tape, scissors, brailler (and someone who can braille quickly, if available! Liam’s TVI graciously came and helped us braille all the books) great variety of textured objects that can be glued onto the pages as “pictures”. (We literally had a table full of items!)
- A list of possible book ideas that fit the interest of your child that your guests can choose. (See the ideas we used below.)
- A list of instructions on how to make the books. (See a few suggestions below.)
- Fun snack items (What’s a party without food!!)
- Plenty of tables and chairs that have access to outlets for the glue guns!
Suggested Instructions to throw your own Book-Making Party:
- Choose a date and location weeks ahead of time so people have time to plan on attending.
- Generate a list of book ideas that your child would enjoy (and also a purpose for the books. Our purpose was to create browsing books and also “library books”.) Also create brief instructions for each of the books so the guests will have an idea of what to do.
- Use the list you generated to create a list of things you need to buy or collect for the party.
Sample Tactile Books
Here are a just a few samples of the book ideas that we used with the brief instructions I gave to leave room for creativity: