Scrapbook Ideas for Kids while Homeschooling

Are you looking for craft ideas for your child in today’s world of homeschooling? Are you running out of project ideas for the kiddos and need to keep them busy while you are also trying to work?  You are not alone, my friend!  A great project and low startup cost project you can do would be scrapbooking!  Keep reading for some great scrapbook Ideas for kids to get you started!

You know that here at JK Crafts, we always want you to dedicate lots of time to your crafting hobby.  Take those few minutes each day, or week, guilt-free, and scrapbook, make cards, and create to your heart’s content.

However, we also know that 2020 hasn’t been the most typical year.  Especially if you’re a mother or grandmother to younger children, suddenly, your free time usually set aside for crafting might have been turned into mandatory homeschooling or childcare.

But, instead of finding reasons to craft less, we encourage you to invite them into your hobby. That’s right, today we’re going to talk about five awesome scrapbook ideas for kids that you can do together!

As you already know, scrapbooking encourages creativity, calmness, and problem-solving skills… So why not introduce it to our children?  And if you do, who knows, you might have a new crafting buddy on your hands!

5 Unique Scrapbook Ideas for Kids

1)   Scrapbook for Children’s Artwork

If you have an elementary schooler or preschooler in the house, you might have TONS of their artwork lying around.  Whether it’s random coloring pages or cute holiday-inspired crafts, odds are you’ve got a lot of artwork… And nowhere to put it!

That’s why our first of 5 awesome scrapbook ideas for kids is to use artwork they’ve already completed.  This is an excellent scrapbook idea for Preschoolers, especially.  Because not only is this a fantastic organizational method for you and a fun activity for your child… But it also makes your child and their work feel valued and important!

To get started, get some construction/scrapbook paper, your child’s artwork, a glue stick, some safety scissors, and stickers.  (If you’re not sure what type of paper is best to use, check out our article all about it here: Types of paper every crafter needs.)  Next, guide your child in cutting around their artwork and gluing it down on the colorful pages.  Encourage them to decorate the pages further with glitter, drawings, or stickers.  You can even have them sign and date the first page to make the final product that much more meaningful!

2)   Get Inspired by Their Hero

Perhaps your child has a role model they look up to.  And yes…that person might be real or fake.  Maybe it’s grandpa, but, at the same time, perhaps it’s Superman.  Whoever it is, locate pictures of them, either from your collection or the Internet, and give them to your child.

Ask them to sort the pictures into groups of twos or threes, as a way to prepare your pages.  Then, ask them what criteria they’re using to sort the images.  I.e., Maybe they’re from the same day, or maybe they have similar colors in them.  Whatever it may be, sorting is a great exercise for little ones and something they typically really enjoy!

It will also help you organize your photos, brainstorm layouts, and ensure they’re spread out evenly among pages.  But, even if you’re new to scrapbooking, don’t sweat it.  We have an introductory article all about it for your reference right here: scrapbooking in today’s world.

Once your photos are sorted, go ahead and distribute scrapbook paper, a glue stick, and stickers to your child.  Because now comes the fun, creative part!  Allow your child to unleash their creativity with as little interruption as possible.  Because, to be honest, the more they feel in control, the longer they’ll spend doing the activity!

You can even aid them in labeling different photos or adding captions if they’d like!

3)   Check if a Special Occasion is Coming Up

Perhaps a birthday, Mother’s Day, or Easter is right around the corner.  Whatever it is, your time quarantining can be used to entertain your child and create a heartwarming gift… All at once!

Provide your child with photos or embellishments that make sense for the occasion.  Whether that’s pictures of the upcoming birthday celebrant or grandma for Mother’s Day, and help them organize the photos.

Explain to your child that you’re making a special gift for an extraordinary someone and to try their best!  Feel free to aid and guide your child along the way- and maybe cover up the tabletop before starting too! …Just to be safe…

4)   Accomplishments

In this day and age, it doesn’t take long for your child to rack up lots of awards and accomplishments.  Whether they’re certificates from school, ribbons from dance class, or a new belt in karate, there’s always something to celebrate!

Therefore, it might be exciting for your little one to make a book to preserve all of these accomplishments.  Of course, you might be nervous about handing over these delicate memorabilia to your child… But remember that putting these into your book can be the last step that you do together.

First, ask your child to decorate some construction or scrapbook paper with glitter, stickers, crayons, etc.  Once those are dry, help your child in gluing or taping down the accomplishments you want to remember.

You can even ask your child how they feel about each accomplishment and write down their direct quotes.  Talk about cute and crafty!

5)   Family Memories

Of course, the last of our scrapbook ideas for kids is most similar to a traditional scrapbook.  If your family recently went on a vacation or has lots of photos, print them out!  And then, let your child organize and embellish them.

One of the best things about digital photos is there’s no limit to how many prints you can make. So, why not let your child get creative?  Even if that does mean they butcher a few photos along the way.

Of course, if you want this scrapbook to look somewhat presentable, you don’t have to give your child scissors.  Additionally, you can make this a more structured activity, where you lead your child in matting and placing photos.

However, much or little guidance you want to give your little one is a-okay.  Because, after all, you are preserving memories while making new ones- and isn’t that the goal?

3 Quick DIY Hacks for Scrapbooking with Kids

We all know that children aren’t the most adept at tasks that require tedious motor skills like scrapbooking sometimes can. So, here are some hacks to make creating these scrapbook ideas for kids a little bit easier!

1) Glue Hack
Believe it or not, big bulky glue sticks might be hard for little ones to maneuver. Instead, get a disposable cup cheap paintbrush,and some non-toxic school glue to set them up for success!

Pour a little bit of glue into the disposable cup. Then, encourage your child to dip their paintbrush into the glue and apply a little where needed. This is an excellent method because kids are more familiar with paintbrushes than glue sticks.

Additionally, providing them with a tiny paintbrush ensures they can only use a little bit of glue. They are potentially avoiding some big glue puddle catastrophes!

2) Decorative Hacks
While we all know kids love stickers, starting at the preschool age, there are other crafting tools they can handle! Namely tissue paper and dot markers
Tissue paper is great for adding a pop of color and texture to the page. With your child (or beforehand), cut or rip tissue paper into tiny pieces. Encourage children to glue the small pieces around the page, or scrunch them up into “pom-poms” before gluing them down. This is a cheap and creative way for your child to decorate the page. Plus, it’s great for children who need help developing their tactile senses or fine-tuning their motor skills.

Dot markers, on the other hand, is every Preschool’s secret to kid crafting. They’re large so kids can grip them comfortably, colorful to keep kids happy, and easy to use. Open the cap and dot or draw away! And, kids as young as 2 ½ can enjoy this crafting tool.

3) Binding Hacks
While, of course, you can go ahead and purchase a child’s scrapbook kit here or herethere are other inexpensive ways to get your child’s book to come together too.

The first is using a 3-hole-punch and some yarn or ribbon. Punch the long edges of your child’s finished pages and have your child help you in guiding fun yarn like this or ribbon-like this through the holes. Then, tie them into knots or bows, ensuring there’s enough slack for pages to turn, and you’re good to go!

Another quick and easy way to bind together your child’s finished product is by using a three-ring binder. Feel free to do this by punching the pages like our idea before, or using page protectors. Whatever you choose to do, we’re sure it’ll look fantastic, and your child will be obsessed with it for years to come!

In conclusion…
We hope this gave you a good starting point for figuring out some meaningful scrapbook ideas for kids. We know 2020 has been hard on all of us, and kids are no exception. So the more activities we can offer them (and ourselves) as a distraction, the better!

Have you tried scrapbooking with your child before? Got any tips or tricks you’d like to share? If so, let us know in the comments below! Because ideas are so much better when they’re shared!

Lastly, for more scrapbooking ideas for children, don’t forget to check out our Pinterest boards and comment on Facebook or Instagram and show us what you and your kids are working on!

Crafting Out!

Iva

Below is a Pinterest Friendly Photo so you can pin it to your Crafting Boards with ease!