Simple Living: Book sock/cover

You know the drill, it's 8:00pm and your relaxing after checking homework or helping with homework and you hear the infamous statement, "mom/dad I need (insert school supply item here)". For us the school supply item was a cover for a book, sometimes referred to as a book sock to slow down wear and tear on our children's school books. So I get the full story on why we need to go out this evening and purchase said book sock.

My daughter's Science teacher has decided that he will implement a rewards program for anyone who returns to school on Tuesday morning with a book sock or some other type of book covering. The incentive goes like this: on Tuesday the bookcover is worth 50 points, Wednesday 30 points, Thursday 15 points, and Friday a big fat zero. Me, being the rewards minded person that I am, think to myself well we need the 50 points, and anything less just won't do.

So first I explain to my daughter that while I would love to run down to the local Wal-mart to buy the sock, I believe that it is an impractical way to use our gas. I further explained that if I go out to buy something I also do any other errands that need to be done to save on gas and don't make special trips. I immediately get the "oh mom you've let me down look". I then went on to explain that not every single kid is going to arrive at school tomorrow with a book sock on their Science book. I think back to when I was a kid and remember that my mom devised some sort of book cover for me that was made out of a paper sack, so I set off around the house to gather the needed supplies.

I remember that a couple of years ago I was shipping something through the postal system and opted for wrapping the item I was shipping in that tough heavy duty shipping paper instead of packing it in a box. I never thought I would have a use for that paper again, but thankfully I had saved it thinking I may have another use for it someday. I found the roll of packing tape that we had used while moving, and of course some scissors.

So, I lay the book down on the floor and I'm ready to make my book cover. I do a lot of pondering in my head wondering how in the world I'm going to make this cover, but still open the book. I have to say that my first try at making the cover was not a success. The cover was really pretty, but the book would only open half way. I sat and thought some more about this book cover because now it wasn't that my daughter needed the 50 points, it was that I wanted the 50 points. I scoured the internet and found a site that seemed to be what I was looking for, and followed the directions although I had to improvise a little.

The end result was an inexpensive home-made book cover and the 50 points. The Science teacher ended up using my daughter's book as an example of what a home-made book cover looked like and there were only a couple of students with book socks purchased from the store. If you need help making a book sock at 8:00pm one evening, just let me know and I'll walk you through it.