Photo Story Book Project – Learn, Create, Publish

As parents we’re always looking for ways to entertain kids right? And an activity is engaging and educational, jackpot!

I’ve recently discovered this awesome learning activity which is great for kids and parents, and really easy to do: Photo Storybooks. It’s a great way to learn, spend time together, and great way to store valuable memories.

A Photo Storybook to Remember Your Family Adventures!

After arriving back from holiday, Opa, who joined us, sent me some great books about the kid’s adventures, combining some of the pictures he’d taken on the trip with some creative text.

It was so great for me to have both a family memory and a book for the kids to read all in one. It also proved invaluable in generating interest in reading, since the stories were about them.

You can find these books our files page here: Page link https://freekidsbooks.org/files

Or follow the direct link to the download for each here:

I quickly realised this activity had a lot of potential, with lots of sneaky hidden learning bundled inside.

A Photo Storybook Helps Children Learn Skills

Not only is a photo storybook an exciting project, which is sure capture the interest of your children when they choose a topic they love, they will gain valuable skills.

1. Computer and Word Processor Skills
2. Book Design
3. Editing Skills
4. Working with digital images
5. Writing Skills

Most children love seeing themselves in books, or creating books about something they enjoyed doing. They will love it even more if they’re involved in the creation process, and it is a very simple process. This will generate an enthusiasm in both reading and in writing to, as they want to share the book.

When considering the writing, remember the book is for your memories – there’s no right and wrong here, and the language should ideally suit you children’s reading level, so keep it simple, and work together.

With word processing programs these days, it’s a great deal of point and click, cut and paste, and some typing. Children will be able to create the file them selves with a little of your help, which also adds to the learning value of the activity. When children create books about themselves or activities they love they get very involved (remember: don’t tell them it’s educational, they’ll be having so much fun they won’t notice!).

Another learning opportunity built into the activity is to see what pages are needed to make a ‘proper’ book. Have your children look at their favourite books and see what pages and content are included along with the story. If you want the print version to look and read like a book, they will also need to think about layout – for example, is there any blank pages needed to ensure the first actual page of the book is in the right place (this may be odd or even depending on the book layout), and the back cover is always on an even page, for example.

With a little work on the formatting and some grammar/spell checking, your book can even end up looking really professional. Here’s an example of a popular photo book from our home page:

A photo adventure with Domino the dog at the beach: https://freekidsbooks.org/book/show/id/101