Draft: Local Queensland early childhood educator review pending.
Rights: © NeuroForgeIO Pty Ltd 2026. CC BY 4.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (original work; note changes if adapted).
About 15 minutes. Planning link: QKLG 2024 Identity; EYLF V2.0 Outcome 1. This is an invitation to express a sense of self, not a request for personal details. Framework sources.
Gather: Two sheets of scrap paper and a crayon. Fold the sheets into a little book. A grown-up can do the folding.
Invite: “Want to make a book about a place you like? It can be real, imaginary, near or far.” Let the child choose the place, the pages and whether anyone sees the finished book. They can draw, arrange safe objects on a page, act out a visit, or tell you what to mark. A blank page can be “the part I haven't decided yet.”
Say: “What should go on the first page?” “What do you like doing there?” “Is there anything you want me to leave out?” Follow their lead rather than correcting the drawing or asking them to explain their household.
Notice, without scoring: What did they choose to show? Did they change a page or add a detail? What did they want kept private? Record their own words only with consent and for the purpose of planning the next invitation.
Change the route: A vehicle lover might make a garage; a nature lover a tree or beach; a child may invent a moon base. Use home language, signed language, gesture, AAC, photos they already own, or an adult drawing to their directions. For a low-vision route, make the pages with textured fabric or large objects and describe them together. No one needs to read or write.
Screen: None needed. Optional: an adult can take one private photo of the book to revisit with the child, only if the child and family want that. Do not upload or share it by default.