Experience books are a great way to introduce young children, or those with multiple disabilities or deafblindness, to literacy and books. An experience book takes actual objects from an event that a child has participated in and puts them into book format by attaching objects to each page. This can be done with Velcro, so that items can be removed and explored or with hot glue or staples. Ideally the child should be included in saving items from the event (e.g. putting them into a bag when on an outing or a walk). The child can then help to put the book together, while identifying items and talking about the event. For example, with the balloon in this birthday book, the adult might say, “Here’s a balloon. Do you remember when we blew them up at your birthday party? It made a loud noise when it popped!” Braille and print should be added to each page, whenever possible.
Pages of Birthday Party Experience Book
