There’s no lack of educational books out there – but are they one-of-a-kind, completely individual, parent and child-created reads? Probably not.
Have you thought about creating your very own educational board book? Whether you want to help your baby recognize faces, teach your toddler new words or start your preschooler off on a road to later learning, creating your own educational photo book is a fun-filled way to help your kiddo to grow, develop and build basic skills.
What should you include in your education-based book? The answer to that question depends on your child, their age and your learning goals. Check out these easy educational ideas for photo board books. Keep in mind, you can adapt them to fit your child’s age and needs.
Shapes aren’t just objects that people draw. Geometry is everywhere. From your home to the playground, your child is spotting shapes everywhere. Go on a shape scavenger hunt, searching for circles, triangles, squares and rectangles anywhere that you go. Snap pics of the shapes that you find, add them to your book and label each page with the geometric object’s name.
Your tot isn’t ready for the quadratic formula yet. But they can start to recognize and identify numbers. Find numbers in environmental print or create your own crafty versions, using markers or tempera paints. Take photos of the numbers 1 through 10 and add them in order, creating a board book that helps your child to learn one of the most basic math skills — counting!
What words does your child already know? When you ask, “Where’s the dog?”, does your little learner point to the family pup? Or maybe when you say, “Find your shoe”, your kiddo points to their favorite sandals. Take photos of objects that represent simple words. When you add them to your educational board book, include the words themselves. As your child develops literacy skills, they’ll start to connect the letters/words and what the photos feature.
The world’s a rainbow that brightens your child’s day. Now is the time to start learning the names of each color that they see. Create a rainbow book that features one page dedicated to each color. Take pics of purple grapes, yellow banana, green door, blue sky, red t-shirt, pink rose or anything else that is a solid color. Organize the book in rainbow fashion and order it according to ROYGBIV — red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.
Before your child can read, they need to know each letter. Take photos of each letter that you find in the environment around you. Match it with a picture of something that begins with the letter. As you put the educational board book together, you can arrange the letter photo next to its matching “item” pic. When you read the book with your child, they can use the photos and the letters to build new associations. The more you read the book, the more likely it is that your child will start learning their A, B, C’s!
Emotional development isn’t something that you should expect your toddler or preschooler to master immediately. Your young child needs time, and help, developing their emotional recognition and expression skills. Choose pictures of people that represent a range of emotions, including them with their “feelings names” in your board book. Every time your child looks at the book, they can point and name the emotion that they see. Before you know it, they’ll be doing the same thing in real life.
Animal biology isn’t a high school or college subject. Well, maybe it is. But your child has to start somewhere. And that ‘somewhere’ is right here — with a board book. Start by taking photos of the animals around you. Snap pics of Fido and Fluffy or Harry the Hamster. Next, move on to the more exotic creatures. Take a trip the zoo for a photo safari or have your child draw the animals for you to take pictures of. Add each animal’s name as you build your photo book.
We hope these suggestions helped spark some ideas for your next board book! Whether you are looking to teach your child how to read, understand shapes and numbers or name family members and friends, creating a board book is fun and easy way to engage your child in learning! Ready to start creating? Check out our customizable board books or our ABC board book template to begin.
