Hedgehog Book Folding

It’s been really difficult trying to find craft ideas that can be made into take-home kits for the kids! We’ve been offering our Grab & Go Kits since last October and families are absolutely LOVING them! I think what makes them so appealing to parents right now is that we don’t put much of an age limit on them. And that everything is included (except for basic craft supplies like scissors or crayons) is definitely a plus. My children’s librarian and I are fascinated by how quickly the sign-up fills up for these crafts because they’re very basic. But, I think at a time when parents can’t think about one more thing, this makes their life a little easier.

Book Folding

For the summer, we wanted to make sure we had a variety of activities for different age groups, just like any other summer. Many of our grab & go kits are for all ages, but we wanted a few things for different age groups specifically. But, when we were planning all of our programs, we had to make sure they could be virtual. Enter hedgehog book folding. We’ve been weeding a lot of our collection since it’s been a little quieter than usual and we’ve got books all over the place.

I’ve done an adult book folding program that was much more involved. We had to measure the pages in centimeters to find where to fold. But I wanted something a little easier for the kids. Plus, if it worked with our summer reading theme – Tails & Tales then all the better. Thankfully, librarians are very willing to share their content which is how I came across a super simple “How to make a book hedgehog” from the Shorewood Public Library.

With three simple folds per page, the kids could easily make this book hedgehog. So, last night I hosted our Virtual Book Folding program. The kids loved it. It took about 20 minutes to get everyone on the same page (bookish pun intended). But, once they got the hang of it, they did really well! And while we folded the kids talked about their summer plans, what they’ve been reading, what they’ve been streaming. Apparently, I’ve got to watch Boss Baby (the movie, tv series, and the second movie). It’s extremely popular with our rising 5th graders right now.

Results

We didn’t finish all of the folding in the hour class. But that was to be expected. And, because it was so simple, the kids could easily finish it up on their own. I’m hoping that they take pictures and share them with us so we can post them on social media!

And what I love about a program like hedgehog book folding, is that you could do it virtually over Zoom or in person. And it will work either way! Check out other great programs for the middle school age group!