Scrapbooking For Kids

As a homeschooling mom of 4 girls, scrapbooking for kids has
been on my mind alot lately. Let me back up a bit. My 4 year
old was quietly playing one day with a roll of stickers. Afraid
I was going to later find a bunch of stickers caught in the
carpet, I asked her what she intended to do with them. She
pondered for awhile and then said, “I am going to put them in a
scrapbook. Mom, can I have my own scrapbook?” For some reason,
this caught me by surprise, as I thought how wonderful of an
experience this could be! So, I started thinking about it more
and have come up with some tips and ideas to share with you on
scrapbooking for kids.
 
First of all, I will admit, I am cheap! I wasn’t sure how
excited I would be at the thought of my 4 year old and her
sisters cutting up my beautiful papers and glueing everything
down in sight! I immediately thought of our local dollar store.
They have albums that would be perfect for showcasing their
creations in for the time being. The dollar store also offers
scrapbooking supplies in the form of kits, stickers and
embellishments. We have a reward system in place, where the
girls can earn a trip to the dollar store to purchase their own
scrapbooking supplies to do with as they please. This alleviates
the desire to “mess” with my stash while instilling a sense of
responsiblity to earn thier reward!
 
Here are a few more cost saving tips:
 
*Have too many pictures to scrap? Let the kids scrap the
leftovers.
 
*When developing photos, get double prints. Let the kids scrap
with the doubles.
 
*When you complete a project, put the leftovers and unused
scraps in a container for them to use. They can create their
own embellishments with the scraps. You will be amazed at what
they can create!
 
One thing I do want to mention, when you scrap for the first
time with your children, be prepared to help and guide them.
Don’t expect to get much done on your own pages until they
start to get a feel for what they want to do and accomplish in
their own scrapbooks. Now that they are ready to scrap, what
should they scrap? Here are a few kid layout ideas:
 
*Have them scrap a page all about their favorite things at that
particular age. (then repeat it for each year and see how their
favorites have changed or stayed the same)
 
*Have your kids scrap about their favorite activities or
sporting events they are involved in. I’m sure you have plenty
of photos!
 
*Turn it into a learning experience and have them interview the
subject of the photo. This would be great for older generations.

 
*If there aren’t enough photos, have them draw pictures of
people. Then watch how their drawings progress. Each one of my
girls have a specific style of how they draw family members. It
is interesting and fun to look at.
 
What about incorporating their artwork and creations? I am very
blessed to get cards, pictures and artwork on an almost daily
basis from my girls. But what do you do with all of them? Here
are a few ideas:
 
*Hang on the refrigerator for all to see. Then once the fridge
is full, take a picture of your child in front of their artwork
and scrap the photo. You can also incorporate their artwork into
the layout.
 
*Color copy and reduce the drawings/projects and use as photos
in your layout or as embellishments.
 
*Are you near the end of a roll of film? Use up those last
couple of shots of your child’s artwork.
 
*Use pocket pages to “hold” your child’s artwork.
 
*Create a “brag” book and give to grandparents or other family
members as a special gift!
 
Even though I can be anal at times, I still want to incorporate
my girls work into my scrapbooks as well. Afterall, they aren’t
really my scrapbooks but for all to enjoy! Here are a few more
ideas:
 
*Use child’s drawings as a background paper.
 
*Use their creations as embellishments. You’ll be amazed at
what they can create with some paper, scissors and adhesive!
 
*Interview them. Ask them questions about the photo, layout,
their mood. This would make for some awesome journaling!
 
I hope the above tips will give you some ideas on scrapbooking
for kids!

About The Author: Dawn Stegall is a homeschooling mom of four
girls and owner of http://www.FaithfullyYours.net a Christian
scrapbooking site. She is also a regular contributor at
http://www.ThatScrapbookSite.com