When we think about increasing kindness in the world, we often think about completing ideas of random acts of kindness. For our kindness project, Sundays are intended to be this sort of kindness.
Today's suggestion brings two of the great loves of most homeschooling families together: libraries and creating fun projects.
For this project, you can choose to make bookmarks in may different ways. There are some easy suggestions that include household supplies below.
1. Upcycling old cards by cutting them into bookmark shape and adding a message on the back is one easy way to complete these. Because they are being put into library books, adding a fun message about reading might be enjoyable too.
2. Another suggestion could be to use extra laminating pouches and glitter (or embossing powder if you have a scrapbooker around). I know, I know. Glitter gets everywhere. But when it is safely enclosed in a lamination pouch, there is nowhere for it to escape to and it adds fun sparkle to an everyday item. You will want to add some space between each of your bookmarks to make sure you can cut them without losing the glitter. You will also want to make sure that you don't let them sit in your laminator for too long. (A personal side note: I destroyed my first laminator doing this project because I left it inside for too long. Oops. But it did result in purchasing a brand new, fancier laminator, so I call this a homeschool win.)
3. Using old workbook pages as the canvas and adding drawings or paintings to them could also make some beautiful bookmarks. This idea comes from a project I did with my daughter in a co-op class I taught years ago that was based on the art that came from the Indigenous Nations who lived in the Kansas City area. Starting in the 1860s, old ledger books were used as a canvas for communal art created by members of the Indigenous Nations. By the 1910s, art in this style was mostly sold to tourists. For a deeper dive, see the Milwaukee Public Museum and Plains Indian Ledger Art.
4. Watercolor or pen and ink drawings are also great ways to create bookmarks if you are feeling artsy. There are so many great tutorials on YouTube that teach simple watercolor techniques, but one that is accessible and child-friendly is Shayda Campbell, who focuses on floral and other botanical imagery. These would make excellent small art projects that could easily be put into library books as gifted bookmarks.