This idea was introduced to me many years ago by a teacher who realized that reading is more than decoding words. She wanted her children to fall in LOVE with reading and writing, and her book treasure boxes were the trick to do that!
Why? Books are like treasures you want to open again and again. Some children don’t have books at home, so these treasure boxes can be a meaningful way to encourage summer reading.
What? shoe boxes or cereal boxes, gold spray paint, fake jewels, glitter, and art scraps, blank books, reproducible books
How? Ask the children to bring in shoeboxes (or cereal boxes) from home. After the teacher spray paints these gold, the children can decorate them like treasure boxes. The children can store the reproducible books they read at school in their treasure boxes. The children can also save the books they write at school in their treasure boxes.
Hint! If you teach in areas where parents are very involved, making these book treasure boxes would be a great family project for children to do at home.
(I’m actually giving this box to Kalina for her birthday.) Holly was recently asked to do a segment for Voice of America on making books with children. Take a look and you’ll see K.J.’s third grade classroom as well as Holly making books at home. (Yes, Kalina’s hair is a mess, but Holly didn’t want a melt down right before they filmed! Some of you can identify with the delimma!) http://www.voanews.com/media/video/1891951.html