I mentioned in my New Year’s goal post that I wanted to complete more nature-based projects with Bergen in 2017. I’m happy to report that we dove right into that “resolution”, and he just finished his very own Alphabet Book!

Creating Alphabet Books can be fun for a wide range of ages and can easily be differentiated for varied ability levels. However, they are particularly valuable for kids at the very beginning stages of literacy. The inspiration to create one came from the book, Playful Learning by Mariah Bruehl. I actually purchased this book during my last year of teaching (before Bergen was born) back in 2011, and I’m just digging into it now with intention to work with Bergen as he prepares for Kindergarten.

There are so many ways to make books. We opted for the twig book since it went with our nature project theme. They are easier than I thought to make! Here’s a quick video illustrating our method:

Again, inspired by the lesson in Playful Learning, I decided we’d create an Alphabet Book using photographs that Bergen took! Santa brought him a camera for Christmas, and this seemed like a great way to get his feet wet in the world of photography.

After binding and writing in each letter of the alphabet, I encouraged him to narrow down the contents to just one destination. We chose the Washington Park Arboretum–a beloved place we visit often and can walk to from our house. Here’s a peek into the finished product!

It took 3 visits (and a lot of brainstorming and creativity) to the arboretum to come up with each letter idea and take all of the photos. Instead of printing the photos all at the end, we printed after each session. This kept the momentum going, and kept us from getting overwhelmed with all gluing and writing at once.

As I mentioned, Bergen wrote each letter of the alphabet on the page and took the photographs. Together we glued the photographs on the pages, and he “helped” me spell each word. As his literacy skills grow, I can see him taking over the writing, and even adding sentences about the photo.