Scrapbooking Your Child’s School Years – Part 1

Do you have pictures of your child from his/her school days still in boxes and unsorted, on your computer or even your camera?  Do you feel overwhelmed by the amount of pictures needed to be scrapped?  Then let me help you get started and you’ll be on your way to enjoying these memories in a whole new way with your family.

Here’s one way to consider when you are ready to start your child’s scrapbook. This method worked for me when I put together my son and daughter’s school years scrapbook.

Getting Started

• Start by getting a photo box and begin sorting your pictures.  Discard those pictures that are very blurry or have no meaning at all.  (If you are the type of person that does not like to discard pictures then put the pictures in another box.)
• As you sort your pictures, jot down any notes you can think of regarding that picture/event.
• While sorting your pictures, organize your pictures chronologically by year.  If you have digital pictures, create folders for each year on your computer so they’ll be in the right place when you need to print them.
• After you have organized your pictures, take one year at a time and decide which pictures you want to include in your scrapbook – you don’t need to include all your pictures, especially if you have similar photos of a specific event.   Some items to include in your scrapbook are a picture of the schools they attend, first day of school at each grade, annual school picture, special events such as starring in a school play and their friends.
• Set aside a file folder or large envelope and place any memorabilia such as awards, report cards, essays, drawings, etc. in it and organize it by year.
• Start scrapping your pictures with the most recent years since those memories are fresh on your mind then work your way back to the beginning.
• If you choose to crop any of your pictures, make a copy and keep the original just in case your cropping doesn’t go well or you change your mind.  Remember that sometimes the background of a picture says a lot about the surroundings.  It’s fun to look back many years later when the surroundings have changed.

These steps should help you get started. Come back tomorrow to find out what tools to use for your scrapbooking and different things you can do to your scrapbook pages.