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    You are here: Home / Literacy / Making and Keeping a Hobby Book

     

    Making and Keeping a Hobby Book

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    What topic captivates your child?

    Dinosaurs? LEGO? Trucks?

    What activity do they love to do?

    Baking? Chess? Pottery?

    Most kids have at least one interest that truly captivates them.  No doubt you have started a sentence with "My kid is so obsessed with [fill in the blank]!" It is absolutely delightful to watch your children develop their own special interests and hobbies. Sure, they may talk obsessively about dinosaur facts that you will never remember. Or, they may make a big ol' mess in the kitchen with an experimental cookie recipe. But you love how they are discovering their passions.

    A great way to encourage your children's development is to help them keep a hobby book. A hobby book is slightly different from a traditional writing journal or art journal. It doesn't have to be complicated; it's a way for them to document what they've learned, and projects they've made.

    Bird hobby book

    How to Make a Hobby Book

    What you need: 

    • A blank notebook. Any kind will do, but this one is our favorite.
    • Glue stick or tape
    • Markers, pencils, etc.
    • Enthusiastic children

    How to get started:

    Explain to your child that the journal is for recording their passion and hobbies. They will no doubt have their own ideas for how to fill the journal but offer up a few ideas for pages such as:

    • photographs your child has taken of their hobby
    • drawings of ideas
    • notes and thoughts on their experiences
    • traditional diary pages
    • cut out and paste articles from magazines about their interest

    Other ways to personalize a hobby book:

    • attach envelopes to a few pages to keep souvenirs
    • ask family members to contribute comments on certain pages
    • decorate the outside of the notebook

    hobbies

    Benefits of a Hobby Journal

    Children will love to take ownership of making a record of their hobbies. It increases self-expression and self-esteem, giving them a secure knowledge that their interests are important.

    In addition, the process is an excellent outlet for creativity, especially if your child isn't naturally drawn to traditional art projects. Not to mention, there are obvious literacy benefits of writing, labeling and storytelling.


    Need a hobby idea? Try origami:


    Our experience: 

    My son has a great love of birds (in case you haven’t noticed) and so I wanted to find an enjoyable way for him to catalog all the birds he has seen. Although he has an official bird log, he doesn’t always want to take the time during his bird watching walks to fill in the forms.

    So instead, he has started his own bird hobby book by taking photos of the birds he sees. We print them out and he pastes them into a journal. He labels each photo and I encourage him to write a few facts and suggest he write down where he saw each bird.

    He even took his book (which is always a work in progress) to Show and Tell at school. He was so thrilled when he came home that day and told me all about how his friends had asked him about the birds, and he even found out one of his classmates was a fellow birder.

    More creative literacy ideas: 

    • Best writing journals for kids
    • How to make a handmade journal

    Nurture your child's passion with a hobby book

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    « Read Aloud Chapter Books for 4 and 5 (and 6) Year Olds
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jennifer says

      August 13, 2012 at 11:21 am

      This would help fix the pictures printed out and scattered throughout the house. Paste them in a book--of course!

      Reply
      • Momand Kiddo says

        August 13, 2012 at 11:32 pm

        Yes, it would help with that dilemma. 🙂

        Reply
    2. Raising a Happy Child says

      August 21, 2012 at 1:55 pm

      I keep thinking about something like this except daughter doesn't really have an overwhelming enthusiasm except one - reading 🙂 And she resists the idea of writing them down.

      Reply
      • Miriam says

        January 20, 2018 at 10:09 am

        Could she take pictures of the covers, print them out and paste them in the book. Maybe give the star ratings.

        Reply
    3. Ron Liddle says

      September 03, 2012 at 8:57 pm

      Gardening is a great hobby. Also, it is real fun to watch the veggies grow

      Reply
    4. Fun Mama - Deanna says

      September 06, 2012 at 2:25 am

      Great idea! My daughter and I are working on a book about dinosaurs. I'm trying to convince her it should be a field guide like Dino Dan's.

      Reply
      • Momand Kiddo says

        September 06, 2012 at 8:21 am

        That sounds so fun! I know you love scrapbooking so it sounds like a good project to do together.

        Reply

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