Busy Book - Chalkboard 2-Page Spread

Busy Book / Quiet Book Chalkboard

This 2-page spread is my favorite so far. On the right is a chalkboard. On the left is two pockets. One contains an eraser I made out of three layers of felt and the other contains a piece of chalk. There are also drawing ideas on the left. There are nine different simple shapes and drawings made of combinations of simple shapes for the children to copy.

Busy Book - Apple Tree Page

Busy Book / Quiet Book Apple Tree Page

One of my goals in making this busy book is to include a wide variety of fine motor activities. One way to do that is to use a wide variety of fasteners.

• The Shape/Color Matching Page uses velcro.
• The Caterpillar Numbers and Patterns Page uses magnets.
• The Underwater Bead Maze Page involves moving beads along string and feeding the beads through loops.

This new page uses hooks and eyes. The apples attach to the tree with hooks and eyes and the children can also choose to put a couple of apples in the basket. It is simple in concept, but provides variety in execution. You could also do this exact same concept using snaps, velcro, magnets, or even buttons.

Another Scholastic Teacher Express eBook Sale

Scholastic Teacher Express is having another eBook sale through 10-21-2011. They have 250 of their teacher resource books discounted to $1-$4. You can also use the discount code Birthday50 for half off many of those titles bringing some of them down to as little as 50 cents.