Sketchbook Covers for Kids

We have been making sketchbook covers from donated file tab dividers.  My sister-in-law works in medical records and they were transferring everything over to digital, so they did not need all these file tab dividers anymore.  Of course, as an art teacher, I will take the free donations!  So I have lots and lots of boxes of these great cardstock papers.  They are two hole punched already and each have a colored tab with something printed on them (like “allergy” or “inpatient admissions”).  I showed the kids how they could either just leave the tab on or they could snip it off with scissors.  It is fun to see the kids get excited and say, “OOH I got a pink allergy tab!  What does yours say?”  Some of the kids were collecting the snipped off tabs.  Anyways… so my plan is to use these sheets as our sketchbooks.  They are thick enough to take paint pretty well.  Since they are already hole punched, we are going to collect our drawings in envelopes and then bind them with rings at the end.

Here are some of the cover assignments I gave:

Kindergarten Color Collage:
Find shades of one color in a magazine, cut out and glue to make a collage.

Kids cutting and gluing magazine clippings onto paper, engaging in a collage-making activity at a table, creating covers for their sketchbooks.
A child assembling pieces of cut-up red letters on a white paper, with books and papers in the background. Art supplies for kids are scattered around, showcasing their creativity.
A collage of various purple and lavender paper pieces, including Sketchbook for Kids covers, branded cards, and textured images, arranged on a white background.
White paper with various irregularly shaped blue and teal pieces glued on it, resembling a collage or abstract art project—perfect inspiration for Sketchbook Covers or creative ideas in a Kids Sketchbook.

Second Grade Circle Prints
Use cylindrical objects (like a toilet paper tube or souffle cup), dip in black paint and stamp on paper.  Let dry, then color in with markers. Thank you, Katie Morris for sharing this idea!

A kid painting black circles on white paper placed over newspapers, with scissors and a plastic container nearby, seems focused on their sketchbook.
Colorful circles of various sizes filled with different patterns and colors, outlined in black, on a white background.
Colorful abstract painting with overlapping circles in shades of yellow, green, blue, and orange on a white background, ideal for Sketchbook covers.

Abstract art with colorful circles and patterns, including multi-colored segments, stars, and various shapes on a white background.

More sketchbook covers to come soon.

How’s YOUR year starting?  I hope you are having a good transition.

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  1. Marcia! I just found your blog after looking all over pinterest for some kids art ideas! Love it! Thanks so much for sharing your projects! I have a daughter in kinder and a three year old son. Now that my daughter is in kinder I’m pretty dismayed that they don’t offer a formal art class in her school so therefore I’m doing my best to fill in the gap : ) and I’m taking a few of my friends kids on our new journey of art exploration too. Was wondering if you had any tips for getting cheap art materials. LOVE that you’ve included some of your favorite kids books! Any other books you’d recommend to the mom for reference for trying to teach her kids basic art principles?
    Thanks so much!

    • Hi Missy! Thanks for writing me! If you don’t mind I will probably answer your questions more in depth in a blog post. I have some of my favorite kids books on the side of my blog in a widget. I also intersperse them throughout my lesson plans. It would be nice to compile them all in one place though, right? I think I will do that. Cheap art materials… hmmm… I get a lot of bits and bobs donated. Ask everyone you know and let them know you like to do arts and crafts. You would be surprised what you get when people do spring cleaning. Garage sales and thrift stores are also good, but you have to enjoy the hunt. Michael’s and Hobby Lobby always have 40% off one item coupons. I have actually gone in and bought Copic markers one marker at a time because they are pricey!