Celebrate National Read a Book Day

September 6 is National Read a Book Day, though in my household I think that’s every day! And indeed this is a holiday that everyone can celebrate, at home or in the classroom. Here are a few ideas for celebrating reading today and every day.

Make a reading nook: in your home or classroom, having a little nest or special place for reading can be a lot of fun. It needs good light, a comfy place to sit or lie down, a shelf or table where you can put snacks and drinks (at home at least; a shelf might make more sense in a classroom) and a good stash of notebooks, writing utensils and bookmarks.

Print some bookmarks: speaking of bookmarks, it might be time to refresh your supply of bookmarks. I’ve done a few posts about printable bookmarks (for example, here and here) that last bunch is all coloring bookmarks, which is great to add another activity to your reading day festivities. If you’re making bookmarks for the home you can search for bookmarks on a theme, such as robots or ice cream or mandalas, which can be fun for all ages to have their own bookmarks they color themselves.

Book bingo: Maybe now is the time to start a reading challenge or filling out a book bingo card. There are tons of different options for kids and adults, or you can make your own based on ideas from your classroom or family. Some things to include might be different kinds of books to read (chapter books, graphic novels, audiobooks, etc.) or places to read (outside, in bed, at a restaurant, and so on). If you want a printable reading bingo card to use, check out this one from Childhood 101, or this summer reading bingo printable from Imagination Soup.

How do you celebrate reading every day? I’d love to hear about it!

[Image by StockSnap from Pixabay]

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Elf on the Shelf Ideas for the Classroom

Whenever you go to the beach with kids, you’re sure to come home with some seashells and more than a little sand. Let’s use some of those treasures to make fun crafts.

This handprint craft is made with a sand-infused salt dough and some little shells from the beach. It’s a cute way to remember how little your kids were on that beach trip. Find the instructions at From Under a Palm Tree.

Here’s another take on sand dough that was used to make little ornaments and sculptures. Get the details from Pink Stripey Socks.

Moms and Crafters used air dry clay and seashells to make these cute necklaces. She used the storebought clay but you can also make your own air dry clay if you’d rather.

Crafts on Sea used a shell to make a whale, but I’m sure you could take this idea and make lots of different creatures. I love the idea of sea creatures made with shells like fish or a jellyfish or an octopus using the same method. They also have a seashell decoration made with salt dough that’s really cute and would be fun for kids to paint. Poke a hole before it dries for hanging if you want.

Or take a bunch of little shells and decorate a frame like these from Rhythms of Play. They used a handprint instead of a picture but you could also put in a picture from the beach trip.

This is probably one for the mamas to make because it uses epoxy, but I also wanted to share these cute and easy shell hair pins from Thrifty Mama Ramblings, which kids are sure to want for their mermaid pretend play.

Or how about some sensory play straight from the beach? Use store bought sand if you don’t have a beach nearby to make this beach sand slime from The Mama Notes. Thrown in some shells and kids will love playing with this one.

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Have you read?

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