Last school year I did a scrapbook project with Porter’s Kindergarten class. I’m stoked to be doing it again this year. By the way, my purpose in doing this (besides introducing youngsters to scrapbooking) is 1) increasing their self-esteem by helping them feel extra special; 2) helping them express their creativity; 3) getting a sample of their handwriting each month; 4) preserving their school life in simple format. This may be all the child gets in the scrapbook-related department. I hope they’ll want to keep it forever! Don’t you love seeing your old school papers and projects?
I’ll share what I’m doing with his first grade class, in case this project/system is something you want to adapt for your own use. Last year, as many of you will remember, I happened to have a bunch of 6″ x 6″ albums. It worked well but this time I wanted to do something a little easier to “copy” since so many of you expressed interest in doing this. Here’s my new system:
1. I found these clear folders on sale at Office Max around the time that school was starting. I think they were about 80 cents a piece or something. They are standard size (8.5″ x 11″). I like the clear so the title page will show. (Note: I’ll show you the title page a little later. I haven’t done that with the kids yet because the first layout was more time-consuming.)
2. I got a box of clear page protectors at Costco. Each child’s book will need 11 page protectors (title page plus each month, August to May). I loaded the 11 page protectors in each folder so they’re ready to go.
3. I printed & cut the pictures that I took on the first day of school. This is the focus of our first layout in the book, but you can have the pictures from whenever you want within that first month of school.
4. I cut strips of patterned paper so each child got a couple to put across the top of their pages.
5. I printed & cut the title and caption strips, and used my corner rounder punch to give them a finished look. This is so fast.
6. I got a bunch of ziplock bags (one per child) and labeled each one with the child’s name. I will use these bags to distribute their pictures and pre-cut pieces, etc. and I will use them over and over, each month that we do this. I pass the bags out at the same time I pass out their cardstock pages.
7. This sample layout shows how the pages are put together. Very simple for the kids to glue their patterned strips and title/caption strips. I designed the pages with places to put their pictures so there was no guesswork.
8. I had each child start with the writing part (in this case, fill in the blank statements about starting a new year of school). Each child then put their pictures & pieces on the page to complete the layout.
9. I collected all the finished pages and put them in each child’s book. We’ll repeat all of this each month that I go in.
In case any of you want to just print what I’ve already done, I’m going to share the files with you soon. I’m having a bit of a technical hiccup in uploading those, but I’ll try again soon.
