Take-Home Book Bags: Ta-Da!

You know those times when you have 150 spare hours to fill, and can't figure out how to spend them?

No?

Yeah, me neither. Seeing as how I needed 6 more units to move over a column on the pay scale, though, I signed myself up to earn them this summer by taking a "class" that involved documenting 150 hours I spent on prep work for the new school year. I figured it was a good time to take on a teachery project I would probably never have gotten around to otherwise: making themed take-home book bags for my students to check out each week.

Why? Well, like most teachers, I want my students to become thoughtful, enthusiastic readers, and...

*hold on, let me go get my soapbox and drag it over here*

...OK, and I'd venture to say that workbook pages, multiple-choice tests, and computerized quizzes (I'm lookin' at you, Accelerated Reader--you have your place, but you don't replace reading instruction!) are helping to create the exact opposite of that in this generation. Research shows over and over again that the best way to become a good reader is to read, and yet between all the hoops we jump through at school (*ahem No Child Left Behind ahem*) and all the distractions at home, many kids hardly do any REAL reading at all.

So, the basic idea behind these bags is to get kids to read at home, for fun. No one is required to check them out, and nothing inside them is required, either--they can read as many or few of the books as they'd like, and do any, all, or none of the activities inside. There are no grades, reports, or tests involved. Ideally, kids will check them out, enjoy reading the books either independently or with a family member (there are books of all different levels inside each bag), maybe do a few fun activities at home, and pleaseohplease bring them back intact for someone else to check out the following week.

I should add here that I totally and for reals did NOT invent this idea, and that I got tons of ideas from sites like this, and this, and this. I've said many times that I'm rarely an Idea Person, but I've gotten pretty adept at swiping other people's brilliant ideas and tweaking them a little for my own purposes!

I'm pretty sure that if I added up the time I spent scouring the library book sale and the Goodwill bookstore for books, looking up the reading level and labeling each book, shopping for the tote bags (Mrs. McStingy wasn't about to pay over a buck apiece for them, although I ended up relenting and getting much cuter and more colorful ones for $2 apiece at Michaels after 5 different Dollar Trees only yielded me five beige $1 bags), decorating the bags, making the folders and inventory sheets, finding websites and activities to go inside, and labeling everything with my name...it would, in fact, amount to about a billion hours, because that's what it seems like! All in all, though, I think I only spent maybe $50 on all 10 bags combined, and I used a lot of books I already had; plus, I earned a raise (well, half of a raise, since I only make half of a salary to begin with) by doing it, which is definitely a plus!

Each bag contains:

books (well, duh)

a folder with a list of the bag's contents and other info (related websites, project ideas, etc.) on the front, and some activities inside

extra stuff like flash cards (thanks, Target's Dollar Spot!) or puzzles (thanks, Dollar Tree!) that are related to the bag's theme

A couple of the bags still need to be finished up before they make their debut on Thursday, but here's what I've got so far. Please note the lazy photography, the glare in almost every picture, my sloppy Photoshop work to block out my name anywhere it was showing, and my utter lack of artistic skills (that last one exemplified by the feeble attempt at a volcano on the first bag)!

EARTH SCIENCE BAG


Cover of folder:


Contents of bag:


MATH BAG


Cover of folder:


Activities inside the folder:


Contents of bag:


ANIMALS BAG


Cover of folder:


Writing activity inside folder:


Contents of bag:


DINOSAUR BAG (the title is way too pale, and my dinosaur track looks like a tulip. I know.)


Cover of folder:


Activities inside folder:


Contents of bag:


HERO BAG (this one needs more loot inside)


Contents of bag:


BERENSTAIN BEARS BAG


FAIRY TALES BAG


Cover of folder:


Reader's Theater script inside:


Contents of bag:


SCHOOL STORIES BAG


Cover of folder:


Contents of bag:


BUGS & INSECTS BAG


Inside folder:




Back of folder:


Contents of bag:


I also have a CLIFFORD/CURIOUS GEORGE BAG to finish up, which is Bag #10. Whew!

Now, let's predict: will these bags

a) bring joy to all of the children and turn them into bookworms overnight, or
b) be destroyed by the first set of kids to check them out, leaving me in tears?

We're about to find out!