What is a Quiet Book you ask? Here’s a great description courtesy of Made By Molly:
“A Quiet Book is, by definition, a book of quiet activities (usually made from fabric or felt–so much more quiet than paper) with which a little munchkin might practice such fine motor skills as zipping, buttoning, lacing, snapping and such cognitive skills as matching, counting, and recognizing shapes and letters.”
Quiet Books are great for many situations. A lot of people give them to their children in church to keep them occupied quietly. I had been thinking of making one for Miss O for quite some time as she loves books of any kind and I was looking for a new craft to try; therefore, combining the two into creating a quiet book seemed like an obvious answer. Just as I was putting some serious thought into doing this, Momstown Burlington decided to have a crafty night where a group of us would get together and craft a quiet book! There were 10 of us in total and we were each to decide on a page and make 10 copies of it to share with the other ladies. In the end we would all walk away with a completed Quiet Book. One person did not have to make a page as they were the designated sewer but we all made a page for her so she still reaped the benefits of her sewing labour! Everyone put a lot of work into their pages and the results were magnificent.
Quiet Book Pages
- Wash & Brush: This face with the excellent teeth was accompanied by a toothbrush and washcloth to help teach a child all about proper hygiene in a fun and imaginative way.
- Ice Cream Truck: This two-page spread featured two ice cream cones and a truck full of brightly-coloured ice cream scoops providing a fun way to learn different colours.
- Bead Counting: A great way for kids to count by sliding the beads back and forth like an abacus, learning their numbers. What kid doesn’t love beads?
- Monster Face: This was a different take on the classic Mr. Potato Head. The pouch on the opposing page is full of all different eyes, ears, mouths and noses (and horns!) for imaginative play.
- Shapes Matching: This page helps kids learn both their shapes and their colours as well as how to match identical items. The shapes are stored in the pouch at the bottom of the page.
- Christmas Stockings: A festive twist on the popular laundry line page, this one has buttons in different shapes with stockings in corresponding colours.
- Weaving: One of the more popular quiet book pages is a weaving page – no book would be complete without it! Great for helping kids hone their fine motor skills.
- Clock: Older kids can learn how to tell time on this clock complete with spinning hands. Younger children will simply have a lot of fun making big, swooping circles!
- Zippers: No quiet book would be complete without a page full of zippers which are great for fine motor skills.
These pages were a labour of love for each of us ladies. We decided that we were each responsible for binding them ourselves. A few of us had so much fun making the pages that we decided to make more! Stay tuned over the coming weeks where I will show you the other pages I have been working on for Miss O’s quiet book. I have decided to give it to her as a Christmas gift this year. Have you made a quiet book? I would love to hear all about your efforts to craft a fantastic, educational toy for your little one!
Andrea can always be found with a new craft in front of her, a form of technology on her right and a coffee on her left. This is how she survives suburbia with her two crazy toddlers in tow.
These are great! Al very creative and fun thanks for sharing.