| Issue #36, December 1, 2006 |
Just For Kids
Save Every Little Memory
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Cameras have been clicking like crazy and you have downloaded tons of pictures from your Thanksgiving feast and very cute Halloween. Hanukkah and Christmas are coming soon, and there are still so many memories to capture. What will you do with all of those pictures? Will you stick them in an album, or take the time to make a scrapbook? Scrapbooking is a fun activity for everyone, and adults and children can work together to capture those once in a lifetime memories, and keep them preserved in style.
Children love art projects. Glue, stickers, markers, crayons, bits of lace, buttons and pretty, colored paper can lead to hours of fun – especially when scrapbooking. With those long winter days ahead, creating a scrapbook will be a great project for your child. Sit down with your child and sort through pictures. Categorize them by event, season, month, day, etc. and come up with a theme for each page – Snowy Day, Mom’s 50th, Thanksgiving Day, 2006, etc. Once you have a theme, all you need is a little creativity.
Hit your local stationery or scrapbooking store for a journal or scrapbook for your child. Let them pick out the color, size and material. Stock up on stickers, photo corners, markers, colored pencils, craft foam, glitter, glue and fun, colored paper. Look for paper with patterns such as confetti, holiday themes, hearts and other shapes. Purchase a few fine markers, or if your child is really inspired, felt-tipped calligraphy pens can be really fun to write with. Calligraphy makes everything look a little bit more formal. Once children master the basic movements of the pen, freestyle calligraphic writing can add very special touches to their scrapbook pages.
What do you do if your child wants to place a too-large photo on their scrapbook page? You need to teach them how to crop it. Trimming pictures might not be easy for the very little ones, who might not know where to cut the photo and how to place it. You might want to turn the photo over and draw pencil lines on the back to guide their trimming.
After the photos have been cropped, it’s time for your child to mat. Non-toxic glues work just fine, but a glue stick will save on the mess factor. Once the picture has been matted, it’s time for the creativity to begin. Framing the picture on the scrapbook page is easy when you use pre-cut craft paper, or craft foam cut into 1-inch strips. Take the paper or craft foam and carefully glue it around the picture. Craft foam can be a little slippery, so allow enough drying time before you move on to the next page. If you want a “firework” effect around your pictures, add some thin glue designs and sprinkle glitter all over them.
Here’s where learning the ABC’s come into play. Part of the fun of looking at a scrapbook is reading the captions. I highly recommend using a ruler and a pencil. Once the writing looks even and neat, allow your child to go over the letters in marker and erase the pencil marks. Let them write their feelings about a particular event, or a quote that someone might have said at the time. You’ll be amazed at what children can remember. Sharing these memories with your child will lead to laughter for both of you.
Now that your child has mastered the art of scrapbooking, they can plan their own scrapbook. If they don’t have a camera, it might be time to get them one. Next time you go on vacation, let them collect brochures, menus and ticket stubs to use in their scrapbooks. When they begin their next scrapbook they will have accessories to add to it. Scrapbooking can offer hours of fun to your child and what a wonderful way to work together to capture family memories.
–Jessica Gold
 |
