Teach Your Child How to Make a Scrapbook

Scrap-booking is a very popular family hobby. It’s inexpensive, fairly easy, and brings out the artist in everyone! Teaching your child to make a scrapbook can be something fun to do together.

Some good reasons to teach your child to make a scrapbook:

• Scrapbooks document life, saving precious memories for later.
• Scrapbooks preserve photographs safely through time.
• Kids can express their creativeness in a tangible form that can be shared.
• Scrapbooks encourage sentimentality and family closeness.
• Kids of all ages can do it- even the youngest toddler can take part.

Why not introduce the craft to your child? It’s fun, and represents an evolving record of your child and their accomplishments.

You will need:

• Acid-free paper of favorite colors, shapes and sizes
• Crayons, markers, pens of various colors, tempera or poster paint
• Safety scissors
• Glue
• Glitter and/or sequins, stickers, yarn
• Favorite personal items- buttons, ribbons, certificates, photos, etc.

You may want to buy a pre-made scrap-book with acid-free pages. You can also take shirt box or cereal box cardboard and make your own, fastening the sides with yarn or ribbon. Either is fine. There are loads of sites with great ideas.

Preschool

Preschoolers will love the idea of making a “Me Book E Combining early photos with birth records and announcements, Mom and Dad’s anecdotes, and your child’s art work can form the basis of the book.

Adding decorations, special items like memorabilia from a walk in the woods or a trip to Grandma’s, and perhaps birthday cards or invitations will round out the content. Don’t forget to have your preschooler dip their hand and foot in their favorite color tempera paint and press on a page. Adding new prints every year or so can be a fun family tradition!

Store the work in progress in a large Ziplock bag and keep in an out of reach place, as your toddler may want to carry it from place to place!

Main points to address:

• Use photos and memorabilia along with inexpensive decorations.
• Don’t be too fussy! Let your preschooler safely cut and glue some of the decorations.
• Include some favorite artwork and whatever else comes to mind.

Grades K-3rd

This is an age when children are growing and branching out into the world in a big way. Use life’s everyday richness to add to the “Me Book Eor start a new one!

School provides lots of people and events to remember. Keep select photos, certificates of accomplishments and souvenirs from parties, celebrations and family vacations. Take time every month or two to add to the scrapbook.

Children of this age love to design and decorate! Supply them with fabric, ribbons, twine, burlap, colored cellophane and watch them go!
They will still need to be supervised with scissors and glue, but they will be able to do much of the work all by themselves.

Main points to address:

• Children of this age love to “do their own thing E
• Vary decorating materials.
• Save memorabilia, photos and other potential items in a clear bag for your child to pick and choose from.

Grades 4-6th

This may be one of the optimum times for childhood scrap-booking! Spending time with friends and family is a priority for the upper elementary child. They are beginning to be more active in clubs, sports and outings. There will be many people and events to remember.

Boys will enjoy including items from camping and field trips and documenting important current or sporting events. Girls may want to include a lock of hair after a major haircut, pictures of animals or faraway places, or even recipes from a favorite aunt. Having a place for titles of favorite books, movies or hobbies will preserve this time of their life to remember and enjoy later.

Kids this age are old enough to matte their own work and use fancy edged-scissors. Leafing through a “how-to Ebook on scrap-booking or visiting a few websites can inspire them.

Teaching your child to make a scrap book will help them learn to treasure and celebrate their life! Good luck!

Main points to address:

• Older children need little or no assistance.
• Providing them with information on scrap-booking from a book or a good website can fuel their imagination.
• Help them find a safe, but personal place to store their scrap-book.

Resources
Resources that can help you in your venture include:

• Scrap-booking with Kids ideas and supplies – http://www.makingfriends.com/scrapbook_kids.htm
• Free printable scrap paper – http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/scrapbook%20paper.htm
• Make It Yourself (Great images) – http://www.maddylane-decor.com/Miy-Kids-scrapbooking.html

Posted in Leisure.

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