Reading has always been an important part of any child’s development. To make this fun activity even more enjoyable, why not let your kids make some homemade bookmarks? You can either make awesome bookmarks by hand or get some fun printables that you can download and print on some cardstock or even photo paper. There are tons of free printable PDF bookmarks ready to be printed, cut, and assembled. Different websites can be a fun, free resource for kids and teachers!
Whether it’s for a great rainy day activity or a classroom activity, making your own adorable bookmarks will delight kids of all ages!
How To Make a Simple Kids’ Bookmark
There are many ways to make a simple kids’ bookmark. You only need a few items, such as the following:
- Cardstock
- Ruler
- Pencils
- Crayons, markers, or gel pens
- Scissors
- Puncher
- Ribbon or tassel
As mentioned, you can also get free printables if you want a different kind of bookmark design. If you and your kids are going to make bookmarks by hand, here are simple instructions you can follow:
- Step 1: Cut your cardstock in the shape of long, thick strips. You can use a pencil and ruler if you want a specific size and length for the bookmarks. Regular paper won’t really work as bookmarks need to be sturdy.
- Step 2: Get creative and design the bookmark however you want! You can use crayons, markers, or gel pens for these. Simple designs like squiggles or typical shapes like flowers can be a good start.
- Step 3: Once you’re happy with the design, punch a hole through the top of the bookmark. Attach a ribbon or tassel on the hole punch.
Voila! You have a new bookmark! Pretty cool, right?
Free Printable Bookmarks for Kids
Of course, there’s an even easier way to make bookmarks, and it’s by getting free printable bookmarks from a variety of free resources. All you need to do is download the printable bookmark designs, which usually come in PDF format. Once the PDF download is done, you can print these bookmarks on cardstock or photo paper then decorate it with a ribbon, tassel, or whichever way you like!
For cute printable bookmarks that you can use or even give as a gift, here are some recommendations:
- If your child’s favorite book is the Harry Potter series, The Daily Prophet has free printable Harry Potter bookmarks that will delight your young witch or wizard!
- The book lover in your kid will also enjoy these Beauty and the Beast stained-glass bookmarks from Pazzles. Members of the site can see the tutorial on how to use an electronic cutter for the stained-glass effect.
- Budding wordsmiths are going to love these feather quote bookmarks from Botanical Paperworks.
- Celebrate the arrival of spring with these colorful floral bookmarks from Designthusiasm!
- Real Life at Home has its own version of floral bookmarks in the form of free printable coloring bookmarks.
- More bookmark coloring pages can be found in Coloring Home.
- If your kids want to share even more free coloring bookmarks with their best friend, head on to Lady and the Blog for more designs and printable files!
- Unicorns have always been a favorite character among kids, so it’s no surprise that they’re also popular bookmark designs! Muse Printables offers PDF files, but take note that the free graphics include a watermark unless you purchase them.
- Printable Wares has black and white bookmarks that can be easily edited using Microsoft Word or a PDF reader. These black and white designs come with inspirational quotes.
This is just a short list of free printable bookmarks that you can download. There are still tons of themed bookmarks out there that you and your kids can use for virtually any season, such as Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, etc. You can also check out sites like Pinterest, Etsy, Instagram, and other social media sites for more DIY bookmark ideas. Fire up your printer and start getting creative!
What kind of bookmarks did you try making? Did you and your kids enjoy this activity?