How to Make a Printable Busy Book for your Child?

A Complete Guide to Assemble an Interactive Learning Binder at home

Busy Books are so much fun and an excellent way to keep kids Engaged.

Making a Busy Book at Home is Easy with a Few Tools and Supplies. This Detailed Article will Teach you how to make a Busy Book for your child or student.

Plus, I am sharing 3 Busy book Pages so that you can make one Today and try some activities with your child.

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

So what is a Busy Book?

Busy books are Books with Interactive Activity Pages to Keep Kids Quiet, Occupied and Work on Basic skills.

Busy Books are also Known as Quiet Books, Interactive Learning Fo,lder/ Binder and File Folder Games.

In this blog, I will show you Everything you need to make an Interactive Learning Binder for your child with a Video, Step by step ,instructions and a few tips.

Let’s Dive in.

How to Make a Printable Busy book?

Anyone can make a Busy Book by following the steps in the Blog. The method is shown with 7 Activity pages in the Video. You can download 3 of them from it for free at the end of the blog post.

The other Pages are part of the Child’s First Learning Binder with 15 Activities.

Watch the Video Tutorial

The Tools and Supplies I use to make the Busy Book

• Amazon Laminator
• 125 Micron Laminating pouch
• Self-Adhesive Velcro Dots 
• A good Scissors
• 3 Ring Binder
• Punching Machine

Optional Tools

• Paper Trimmer
• Corner Rounder
• Binder pockets

We Use Epson Ink Tank Printer to print our Busy book Pages on HP 120GSM Printing papers

Step-by-Step Instructions to Make the Busy book

Step 1: Print the Pages

All Busy Books have Activity pages and Cutout Pages (Sometimes a cover Page too).  Print the required pages.  You will see a Scissor mark on all the cutout sheets.

Segregate the Activity pages and Cut out pages.

Step 2: Laminate the Activity pages

Insert the Activity Pages inside a Laminating pouch. Ensure that it is plcentern the centre. 

Turn on the Laminator and Once the light is on, Insert the pages. Similarly, Laminate all the Activity Pages.  

Nowadays, we like to use 125 Micron Activity pages, as these are sturdy and look great compared to the ones done with 80 Microns. So my Recommendation is 125 Micron or 5 Mil pouches.

Step 3: Laminate and Cut the Matching pieces. 

Similar to the Activity Pages, Laminate the Cut-out Pages. Then, Cut the Pieces out when the Heat subsides.  

For Ease of Cutting, the pieces have a Border (Marked in Dashed lines) around the pieces. Use them as Guides to Cut Effortlessly.

Step 3B: Cut – Laminate – Cut again

Sometimes, We like to Laminate the Matching pieces in another way. First, cut the Pieces out from the paper. Place them inside the pouch and Laminate them. Now, cut again.  

This method is excellent when the matching pieces required Precise Cutting with a lot of curves and turns. It is always easier to cut the details from paper than the laminated ones.

So Cut them Precisely from Paper, Laminate and Cut them out again leaving a gap all around.

Ideas to Save Cutting Time:

1. Paper Trimmer

Use a Paper Trimmer to cut the pieces with Straight edges. This is a Real-Time saver when you make a lot of homeschooling resources. Great to make Flashcards, Clipcards, Fact cards, etc.

2. Corner Rounder

Some Matching pieces have Sharp Edges. It is always recommended to Trim the edges with a corner rounder. This makes the Cards Baby friendly with no Sharp Edges.

Now that all the Matching pieces are done, let’s affix them to the Activity pages.

Step 4 Affix the matching Pieces.  

The best way to affix the Matching pieces on the base pages is by using Self- Adhesive Velcro Dots.

First, Paste the Hook Dot on the Activity page. Then, place the Loop dot over the hook dot with the Glue side facing upwards. Finally, press the Matching piece over it, so that the loop dot sticks on the rear.

Likewise, affix all the Loose parts on all the Activity pages. 

Step 5: Organise the Pages

Punch Holes on all the Pages using a Punching Machine.

Organize them in a ring Binder or File Folder in the order you like them to be. 

Another option is that you can Comb bind the Pages in a Shop or at home.

Ring-binder is a Great option to add new activity pages as your child grows. 

Pick the one that is suitable for you and compile the pages. That is all you need to do.  Invite your Child to Play and have fun:)

A few Storage Ideas

Some Pages of Busy Book, Have Extra Matching Pieces that cannot be placed on the Activity pages.  You can attach these to the rear of the Activity pages with Velcros.

(or)

Use Zippable Ring-binder pockets to store the pieces. Some Activities have Factcards and Flashcards too and these are great for storing these Extra Learning resources.

So here is a Summary of the Instructions

• Print
• Laminate the Activity pages
• Laminate and Cut the matching pieces
• Add Velcro dots
• Organize

These instructions are suitable for any Busy book Printables that I created as well as Books from other sources. 

How Long does it take to Make a Busy Book?

Printing and Laminating the Pages is Quite Easy. Cutting the Matching pieces is the major part of the work. But, Cutting Guides make the Job easier. Furthermore, the use of a Paper Trimmer is recommended for pieces with straight edges.

So approximately you need 1.5 Hours to Make a Busy Book with 10 Activity Pages.

Download free Busy Book Printable

Want to try some Free Busy book Activities! Click on the image below to get 3 Busy book Pages as a Freebie.

Check out the 15 Activities from Busy Book – Stage 1 Learning Binder 

Check out the 22 Activities from Busy Book – Stage 2 Learning Binder

Save the Blog for Later

You can Pin this Image to refer back to when needed for making a Busy Book.

FAQ

1- When I cut the Pieces, Why does the Laminate Peel off From the Paper? 

There could be two possible reasons.

One, You are cutting the Pieces before the Heat Subsides. The Laminate should Melt and Cool down in order to blend with the Pages. So Cut after the pages are heat is gone.

Two, Your Laminator is not Efficient enough for a 125 Micron Pouch (Although they confirm it can laminate 125 microns. This happened with my previous one).

My Suggestion for this issue is to use the Cut-Laminate – Cut Method for all the pieces. This guarantees the laminate is merged and pieces are sealed around. No chance that the Laminate will peel.

Or get an Amazon Laminator, where you can Switch Based on different thicknesses.

2- Can I use an 80 Micron Laminating pouch? 

Sure, you can. But after using the two kinds, I feel 125 Microns looks great and Sturdy for kids to hold and play with.

If you have any other queries, please leave a message in the comment section.

I hope you found this In-Depth Guide helpful. Let me know your thoughts and share this with someone who might find this helpful. Thank you so much!   

You Might Also Like This Article on Everything you need to know about Busy book