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DLTK's Educational Ideas - Print and Assemble Books
My Valentine

Feel free to make as many copies as you need (just don't sell them as they're meant to be free for all to use.).

Use our Valentine's Day Activities to complement the mini book...  Or, since the book describes the process of creating your own valentine, provide the children with some construction paper, glue, scissors, pencil crayons and sequins and let them make their own.

Materials:

• printer,
• paper (you can use a slightly heavier paper for a longer lasting book)
• stapler
• something to color with (if using B&W template)

Directions:

We have prepared a demonstration video about assembling your mini book. Watch it here.

• Print template of choice.  The B&W version is fun for young children to color in or for older children to color as gifts for younger ones.  I like printing a color cover and B&W pages.
• Color the template pieces if you are doing the B&W version.

• If you imagine a 'real' book for a second, you know that each page has printing on the front and the back.  We're going to fold the pages to make it like a real book.
  • Ignore the cover for now.
  • Fold each page along the center dotted line so the images are on the OUTSIDE and the blank sides of the paper are on the inside (imagine you're making a greeting card).
  • You can use a glue stick, if you like, to glue the pages together (WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE COVER!)
• Stack the pages, so the odd numbers are on top and the folded edges are lined up.  Trim with scissors or paper cutter if needed.

COVER PAGE:

• Fold the cover page along the dotted line, again with the images on the outside.
• OPTIONAL:  You can laminate the cover page or print it on cardstock if you want it to be more like a real book's cover.

ASSEMBLE THE BOOK:

• Open the cover page (like a folder) and slip the pages inside so that when you open the cover you'll see page 1 -- the unfolded edges of the pages will go against the folded part of the cover.
• Close the cover page and tap the book so everything lines up.
• Put three or four staples along the edge to hold the book together.
• Trim again, if needed.
• Flip through the book once, carefully folding the pages to make the book easier for the children to read.

PRINTING the templates

• Close the template window after printing to return to this screen.
• Set page margins to zero if you have trouble fitting the template on one page (FILE, PAGE SETUP or FILE, PRINTER SETUP in most browsers).
• There'll be less trimming to do if you also turn off the headers and footers.

Text of the Mini Book
(so you can read through it before printing)

Mini Book Templates:

Page 1 and 2    color   B&W

Page 3 and 4    color   B&W

Page 5 and 6    color   B&W

Page 7 and 8    color   B&W

Page 9 and 10  color   B&W

COVER   color   B&W