Tools and Supplies for Making a Busy Book (Quiet Book) for Toddlers
Creating a DIY busy book (also known as a quiet book) for kids is a fantastic way to combine creativity with educational play, particularly by incorporating Montessori toys that reflect Montessori theory. This blog will guide you through the essential tools and supplies needed for your project, along with tips on where to purchase these items. Let’s dive in!
Essential Tools and Supplies
To craft an engaging busy book, you'll need specific tools and supplies. Here’s what to gather:
- Scissors
- Ring Binder or Hinged Rings
- Laminator & Laminating Pouches
- Hook & Loop Dots (Velcro Dots) or Blu Tack
- Hole Punch
- Paper Trimmer
- Corner Rounder
Scissors
To cut out laminated pieces, especially those unregularly shaped. This is something that almost everyone has, and you can buy from most of your local shops.
Ring Binder or Hinged Rings
I normally use hinged rings (metal or plastic) to organize the busy books (quiet books) for my kids, they are cheap and easy to use. You could also use ring binder to have a durable cover.
- Size: depending on the number of pages of your busy book, I recommend 15mm for 10 activity pages (note that a complete busy book design contains activity and cut-out pages)
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Where to buy:
- Local stores: Officeworks, Bunnings, Spotlight, etc.
- Online stores: Amazon.com.au, ebay.com.au
Buy from Amazon:
Hinged Rings: https://amzn.to/3zGIJab
Binder: https://amzn.to/4eXhtmI
Laminator and Laminating Pouches
It is highly recommended to laminate both the activity and cut-out pages to protect them and make them more durable. It’s especially useful if you want to create reusable activity pages.
- Size: make sure the laminator and laminating pouches are compatible with the printout. It is very common to use A4 size. As for laminating pouches, it is recommended to use 80 Micron for a better final result.
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Where to buy:
- Local stores: Officeworks, Bunnings, BigW, etc.
- Online stores: Amazon.com.au, ebay.com.au
Buy from Amazon:
Laminator: https://amzn.to/3ZW3g4Y
Laminating Pouches: https://amzn.to/3ZYm4AS
Hook & Loop Dots (Velcro Dots) or Blu Tack
These are perfect for creating interactive elements that can be attached and detached easily.
- Size: For Velcro dots, I recommend using size of around 15mm since it is compatible with most cut-out elements unless they are too small.
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Color:
- For Velcro dots, I recommend using white dots since they are more durable. However, they may cause interference to images, in which case transparent dots are more suitable.
- I have designed our Busy Book (Quiet Book) to minimize the potential interference issue caused by white dots.
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Where to buy:
- Local stores: Officeworks, Spotlight, BigW, etc.
- Online stores: Amazon.com.au, ebay.com.au
Buy from Amazon:
Hook and Loop Dots: https://amzn.to/3BBNuSV
Blu Tack: https://amzn.to/4dDXQPm
Hole Punch
It is necessary for making holes in your activity pages for rings or grommets.
- Size: I normally use 2-hole punch, you could use other sizes such as 4-hole punch to be more efficient.
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Where to buy:
- Local stores: Officeworks, BigW, etc.
- Online stores: Amazon.com.au, ebay.com.au
Buy from Amazon:
2-Hole Punch: https://amzn.to/4h0kVP6
4-Hole Punch: https://amzn.to/4eQULwg
Paper Trimmer:
This is especially helpful to achieve clean, straight cuts. And it can help speed up the cutting process for rectangular pieces. I have designed our cut-out pieces mostly in rectangular shape and perfect for paper trimmer.
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Where to buy:
- Local stores: Officeworks, Spotlight, BigW etc.
- Online stores: Amazon.com.au, ebay.com.au
Buy from Amazon:
Paper Trimmer: https://amzn.to/4dMS6De
Corner Rounder
This tool is used to round the corners of your pages, making them safer for little hands.
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Where to buy:
- Local stores: this product is not common in local shops, it is easier to buy online.
- Online stores: Amazon.com.au, ebay.com.au
Buy from Amazon:
Paper Trimmer: https://amzn.to/3TY8pWw
Interested in Busy Book ideas, visit our website for more lovely and engaging ideas!