Hello fellow Brookline neighbors! I’m Nicole, saying hi from down the street in bustling, beautiful Coolidge Corner.   Right in the heart of this wonderful city lies a small children’s book company. We’ve been bringing books to life for kids, and want to share our stories with you. Our everyday experiences, our top picks for children’s books (which you can always buy locally!), and ways you can foster reading and creativity with your families.

We have been making books for a little over a year now, finding writers and illustrators who want the chance to publish their great stories, but have yet had the chance to do so. We’ve given them that chance, and think your kids will love what we have to offer! So look forward to more posts from Pinwheel Books, thoughts we like to call “Kidslit Musings”.

For now, we’d love to share an activity you can do with your kids to encourage creative learning. We call them “Pinwheel Pencils”: a game, a tool, all in one, and so easy to make. We made them with kids at our event at Brookline Booksmith in March, which we filmed and attached here for your viewing pleasure.

[Instructions courtesy of http://crafts.kaboose.com/pretty-pencil-pinwheel.html]

What you'll need:

• · Colored card stock or construction paper
• · Thumbtack or stick pin
• · Pencil with new eraser
• · White craft glue
• · Scissors
• · Sequins
• · Pattern

How to make it:

1. Print the pattern onto plain copy or printer paper.
2. Cut the square pattern out, cutting on the solid lines.
3. Lay pattern on top of colored paper and trace the square. Cut out the square from the colored paper.
4. Keep the pattern square on top of the colored square. Either hold it in place with your fingers or tape it down lightly on two of the sides.
5. Cut through the pattern and the colored paper along the dotted lines but do not cut in to the center circle.
6. Use a thumbtack or stick pin to poke out the holes in every other corner as indicated on the pattern. Set the pattern piece aside.
7. Take one corner (one with a hole) and fold it toward the center of the square. Fold the next corner that has a hole and fold it toward the center on top of the first holed corner. Repeat with the other two corners with holes until all four are folded into the center. Glue the folds to each other and to the center. Hold together until dry.
8. Push the thumbtack through the center of the pinwheel and into the eraser of the pencil. Make sure the pinwheel isn’t touching the eraser or it won’t spin.
9. Glue some sequins to the flaps of the pinwheel and let dry.

Tips:

• · You can use plain white paper and have children color with crayons or markers to decorate before cutting out the pinwheel pattern.
• · Decorate with lightweight items such as sequins and stickers or glitter glue. Items like buttons and craft jewels are too heavy.
• · If the pinwheel isn’t turning properly, try using a longer stick pin rather than a thumbtack to allow more room between the pinwheel and the eraser.

We hope you check out our video, and get to know us a little. We’re excited to get to know you too. Let us know what kinds of stories you and your families are into!

-Nicole and the Pinwheel Books Team. Find us on facebook or online at www.pinwheelbooks.com.