I have blogged before about getting your kids to love heritage scrapbooking. It is not an easy task, but kids love to help. And, depending on their age, you can let them. My two little ones love to just look at my stuff and touch all the pretty, shiny things. But, there are ways that you can let them help a little more.
Now, before you cringe at the thought of your two year old destroying your expensive scrapbooking supplies, let’s think of the reasons why we should get our kids involved. First, think of the memories that will be made doing it together. How often do we spend good, quality, one on one time with our kids? If you’re going to be at your scrapbooking table with them bugging you every five minutes anyway, try letting them help with a few things.
Second, they will learn about their ancestors. If you were to sit a child down and say, “I want to tell you about your great-grandpa” would they be receptive? Maybe. But, maybe not? However, if you pull out a picture, and ask them to help you put together a page about their great-grandpa, then maybe they will be a little more excited to know what he was all about.
Last, you are teaching someone else to take over for you one day. You won’t be around forever, and having a child that loves genealogy as much as you do can only be beneficial. Taking the time to teach your children about their heritage will help the legacy continue on for a long time.
But, how can you get them more involved?
Here are ten ideas for how to sit down and scrapbook with your child. Some of these can be used with even the littlest scrappers. But, pick and choose the ones that are age appropriate for your child. Have your child:
Find the letters you need for your page’s title out of your alphabet sticker pile
Apply glue, or other photo adhesive to the photos and put them in the appropriate spot
If your child has good penmanship, let him journal for you
Teach your child how to matte a photo
Let your child pick out some embellishments for your page
If you are feeling really brave, let your child doodle on the page
Show your child how to coordinate patterned paper with solid papers
Let your child apply photo corners to the photos
Have your child place the finished page in the sheet protector, or album
Let your child sit next to you and just watch! You’d be surprised at how much kids love just being near you
As you involve your child in heritage scrapbooking, you will find that it serves a greater purpose. Scrapbooking is all about family, and why not use it as an excuse to spend more time with yours?
Meredith Ethington is the author of this blog. To learn more about Meredith, and her history with Scrapbooking and Genealogy, go here. < Return To Scrapbooking