Mark off a square or two on your Summer Reads Bingo board with Extra Yarn, by Mac Barnett, an inspiring story that just so happens to be written by one of our favorite authors. 

Over the years, we have learned that sometimes the best projects don’t require a lot of skill, time, materials, and preparation. So we have a simple, playful, summer book project for you that compliments the story Extra Yarn.

Children will love this story about a young girl with a generous heart who fills her village with color. If you haven’t read this book, look for it on your next trip to the library. You’re in for a real treat!

Then introduce children to working with yarn by making a simple craft called a God’s eye. The ends of the sticks are meant to represent the basic elements (earth, water, wind, and fire) as well as the four cardinal directions (north, south, east, and west) while the center of the eye symbolizes the power of understanding things we can’t see. Cool, right?

First, up a few sturdy sticks, a pair of scissors, and some yarn.

Want to make a few of your own? Start with two sticks, roughly the same size.

1. Lay the two sticks across one another, forming a cross. Take the end of a piece of yarn (approx. two feet long) and tie it around the middle, fastening the sticks together. Wrap yarn diagonally  across the middle of the sticks a few times in each direction to secure. Do this until you cover the middle completely. Don’t clip the end, as this will become your working string.

2. Working counter-clockwise, wrap the end of yarn over a single stick. As you pull the yarn up and around, bring it directly over the top of the next stick, pulling tightly and turning cross as you go. Continue around and around until you have about two inches left of yarn.

3. Attach another color by tying a new piece of string to the working string and trimming the ends. Continue working your way around.

When you’ve added all the colors and rows you want, it’s time to finish. If you have glue, you can glue the end of your yarn to the back of your design. Or, you can tie it to the strings in the back, like we did. Another fun idea is to add on a few small mini tassels and a small loop of yarn for hanging.

Use your imagination to think about other creative ways to be inspired by your summer reads!