School Wrap Up: Summer Reading Bookmark (Pom Pom Painting Too!)

Encourage your kids or students to read over the summer with these handmade bookmarks!

Materials

• Cardstock
• Printer
• Printout summer_book_marks
• Scissors
• Pencil/eraser (for filing it in)
• Cord, yarn etc.
• Beads

Pom Pom Painting (Optional)

• Various sizes and/or types of pom poms
• Acrylic craft paint (or another type of thick paint)
• Clothes pins
• Tray

• Smock
• Craft tray

Directions

• Print your bookmark sheet onto your cardstock

• Don your smock and cover your workspace with a table cloth or put out your craft tray.

• Flip your paper over, so that the printed side is facing down.

• Paint your bookmarks with any technique that you like.  We went with pom pom painting- clipping the pom poms into the clothes pins and then dipping them in the paint and applying it to the paper.

• Make as many as you would like, based on your reading hopes/goals for the summer.  Allow to dry overnight.

• You could also simplify the process and simply draw on the other side- perhaps a favourite character, scene from a book etc.

• Flip over your painting and cut out your bookmarks. (To make it easier, you could cut your paper in half as we did.)

• Punch a hole in the spot where it is shown.

• Make a loop with your yarn or cord over the hole on the top of the bookmark as shown.  Bring up the ends through the hole and through the loop.  Pull taut.  Add some beads if you like and knot the end.

• Record the titles that you read over the summer on your bookmark!

Purpose

• Encouraging reading.
• Exploring various painting techniques

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you wear a smock and use a craft tray to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use scissors with care and adult supervision.
• Cord, yarn etc. can be a strangulation hazard, therefore be sure to use with direct supervision and for its intended purpose.
• Beads can be a choking hazard therefore be sure to keep them out of the reach of children ages 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things into their mouths.