Scrapbooking Your Child's Kindergarten Class

[Douglas Joyce]

When our children enter kindergarten, many of us wish we could be with
them, watching every moment and enjoying all of their happiness in
this wonderful new world of theirs.
We can actually capture quite a bit of their kindergarten year by
taking photos and putting them into a scrapbook.
If there are opportunities to volunteer in the classroom, offer to be
one of those volunteers. Ask the teacher if taking a dozen photos
would be appropriate. Offer to make a second set of prints for the
teacher.
When my kids were in kindergarten, they brought home a lot of artwork.
Both parents and kids love to display and save the artwork.
Over time artwork rips, tears, fades and yellows. Also, unless the
artwork is 12x12, it will hang out of the scrapbook. The way to
scrapbook artwork is through photos. Take photos of the artwork hung
on the wall. A white background makes it easy to crop the photo
digitally. Take photos of your child holding the artwork.
Does your child take the bus to school? Ask the bus driver if he/she
would mind you getting on the bus and getting a few photos of the kids
sitting on the bus.
Does your school have a kindergarten graduation? If so, make sure to
take lots of photos.
If your school is open on the weekends, pay a visit to the deserted
playground and deserted hallways. Take photos of the school and the
kindergarten playground empty.
Friend photos are just wonderful. These can be taken during play
dates, while you're in the classroom, on a field trip or during recess
as long as you have teacher approval. Again, offer a second set of
prints to the teacher.
When my kids were in kindergarten, they did some writing projects. The
kids would dictate and an adult would write the words. Like the
artwork, these pages will yellow and show signs of age within a few
years. These pages can often be copied onto acid free paper. And of
course you can take photos of these pages, again either on a wall or
with your child holding the page. My first choice is a copy on acid
free paper.
Using all of these tips will help create a wonderful scrapbook memory
of your child's year in kindergarten.