When teaching younger children bookbinding, you may want to try a simple binding technique. You need materials like paper, string and a hole punch. Begin by folding the paper in half; if the children wrote a story, have them fold the story in half. Open the folded paper then make three holes in the center using the hole punch. Instruct the children to insert the string in the bottom hole with the folded paper facing them. Insert the other end of the string in the top hole. The children should take both strings and push them through the center hole. Tie the strings together into a bow to make the bookbinding.
To make a fold out bookbinding you need materials such as glue, cardboard boxes and a narrow, long grocery paper bag. Have the children fold their paper bag like an accordion. They should repeat the process until the long sheet of paper looks like a folded book. You can use a cereal cardboard box as material. Cut so that there are two separate sheets, to be used as the cover. Glue accordion pages onto one sheet of the cardboard box. You want the pages to unfold towards the children. Instruct them to leave a narrow space between the top of the box and the pages. Trim the box until you have a narrow border around the pages. Put the second sheet of cardboard box on top of the already measured and cut one, and cut it to the appropriate cover size. Then glue that to the other side of the folded paper, to make the top cover.
When you have an upcoming special event such as Valentine’s Day or Grandparents Day you can help children celebrate with a bookbinding activity. A clamp, scissors, needle, thread, approximately six sheets of paper and one red sheet of construction paper are the materials each child needs. Instruct them to stack the white pages on top of each other then fold them. Fold the red sheet of paper in half then place the folded sheets inside it. The children should have a book. Have them place a clamp on the folded portion of the book before they draw a half of a heart. Cut the half heart then remove the clamp. Bind the book down the center of the heart using needle and thread.
You want to select the bookbinding activity based on the children’s ages. For example, if you don’t think the children can use a needle and thread then chose another bookbinding activity. You should have the children prepare their stories before binding their books.