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Service Project for Kids: Busy Books for the Hospital

I came across The Angel Zoe Kindness Project today through the magic of sharing information through the internet.  I told the boys about it, and we wanted our “penny of time” today to be in honor of The Angel Zoe Kindness Project.  We thought about doing something extra special.  And, like most times when we want to do something special, we focus on our local Children’s Medical Center.

Busy book for the hospital are inexpensive and easy for kids to do, especially on an assembly line.  Whether you have one kid or fourteen of them in a group, this project works well.  Busy books help kids that are in the ER or waiting for procedures at that hospital by giving them something to do to pass the time.

We know that they need busy books right now.  So, after a quick trip to the store to buy supplies, we went to work.

Materials needed:
Coloring books
New crayons
Ziploc bags
Stapler

Step One:

Cut the coloring books apart.  It is fastest to use a paper cutter to do this.

Step Two:

Staple 4-5 pages together in a packet.

Step Three:

Put 4 crayons in a Ziploc bag (make sure to get a mix of light and dark colors).

Step Four:

Staple the bag to the back of the packet.

Final Product:  A busy book that a sick child or a sibling can use at the hospital.

We like to make the busy books in an assembly line.  I make packets and the boys count out the crayons and put them into the bags.  We staple the final books together once all the supplies are used.

When buying supplies, if you have a certain number of busy books you want to make, I start with the crayons.  A pack of 48 crayons will help make 12 busy books.

Keep in mind:
4 coloring pages + 4 crayons + 1 Ziploc bag = 1 busy book
In 15 minutes, we were able to make over 30 busy books. 
The boys can’t wait to deliver them to the hospital!
Update from Sheila: Since the publication of this article, readers have shared with me that over 3,450 Busy Books have been donated across the world by families, community groups, and scout troops. That goodness has been done by YOU! Thank you! Thank you for helping the kids in your world learn to be kind to others and thank you for making these kids. Your efforts are worth it!

Please take a moment and visit The Angel Zoe Kindness Project.  You can complete a kindness or service act in honor of Zoe.  (The Angel Kindness Project on Facebook)