Pop-up Book Pictorial Tutorial

As I was looking for activities for my young kids in Bible class — preschool to about 1st grade — I noticed that there are a lot of take home pages that are done in classes and sent home, usually, never to be seen again.  At least that is the way it is around my house.  I have 6 boys and sometime the amount of paperwork that came with them on a weekly basis could get overwhelming.  I decided to come up with a way that the same types of activities could be used but put in a format that would be sturdy, compact and memorable enough for parents to want to save.  I don’t mean save and put away in a keepsake box somewhere.  I wanted the kids to get to use these activities again and again allowing the lessons learned in Bible class to further cement in their minds.  I came up with a pop-up book.

Pop-up books are not an original idea with me.  I was inspired by Dinah Zike and her big book of projects and Joan Irvine’s Easy To Make Pop-ups. I was privileged to sit in a seminar that Dinah Zike held several years ago. She was fascinating. She talked about all the mounds of worksheets that kids do and what to do with them. She got my mind going. She talks about taking a booklet and gluing it side-by-side another booklet and you have a bigger booklet. Do this several times and you have a nice book that is worth hanging on to and is loaded with lots of information.

The pop-up books I have designed use that same basic idea. Take an activity you might do with children in Bible class (like Jesus walking on water). Make it sturdy (print on cardstock and laminate some of the pieces). Glue it to the previous week’s activity. Do this for several weeks in a row and you have a nice pop-up book that the child has helped make and reminds them of every lesson they were taught in Bible class.

I have made several of these pop-up books but because I tended to use some copyrighted illustrations I won’t be able to share them all here. The ones I am sharing are mostly drawn by either my husband or myself. I try to give instructions the best I can but if you have a question, just leave it in the comment section below.

Each of the pages for the pop-up book can be used as a separate take-home activity if you would like. Most of them would need to be reinforced with a second sheet of cardstock glued to the back. If you do this, make sure you do not glue down the sections that contain moving parts. You want the moving parts to be able to move freely.

Assembling the pop-up book is not difficult but does take a little time. Here’s what I do. I teach the first lesson and use the first page of the pop-up in class. The children can add whatever parts they need to during class. Be sure to put their name on the back. Take the pages up and get ready for next week. After completing your part of the next week’s activity page, glue it side-by-side the first page. During class, you can review the previous week’s lesson using the pop-up page and teach the new lesson using the new page. Again, write their name on the back and take them up. Continue adding new pages to the book.

When you get through with the particular topic your studying it is time to put a cover on your book. Cut the cover page (that has been copied on cardstock) in half. Glue the front cover to the front of the book. Glue the back cover to the back of the book. All you need is a spine. Cut a strip of paper about 1 1/2″ X 8 1/2″. Fold under on both long edges about 3/8″. These measurements aren’t exact — just eye it. Glue one folded edge to the edge of the front cover and the other folded edge to the edge of the back cover. Now you have a sturdy cover that adds strength and beauty to your pop-up book.

Now all that’s left to do is to send the books home. These books are great to use during worship services as as quiet activity. My boys looked through theirs again and again.

Baby Jesus

Parables of Jesus

Miracles of Jesus

That You May Believe

Peter

Paul

Plan of Salvation

I AM Pocket Book