Scrapbooking for Kids
by Dawn Stegall
It's only natural that your children will want to start scrapbooking with you.
Learn tips on scrapbooking for kids, including cost saving ideas, page
ideas and more!
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 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!
I like to incorporate my girls' work into my scrapbooks as well. After all, they
aren't really my scrapbooks but for all to enjoy! Here are a few 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 is a regular contributor
to
http://www.ThatScrapbookSite.com
