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scrapbooking journaling templates
Fibers & Ink Trio
The Art of Remembering for Students With (and Without) Special Needs
What child doesn’t enjoy cutting up paper, peeling off stickers, or stamping? Students of any age and ability level love every opportunity to work with arts and crafts. For this school year, try guiding some of your child’s creative spirit into scrapbooking and paper crafts. Scrapbooking is a wonderful way to spend time with your children, share a favorite activity, and reinforce skills learned in school. Scrap Chic Boutique, (www.scrapchicboutique.com), an independently owned scrapbook store located in Decatur, Georgia, was founded by four special education teachers who know the Georgia Performance Standards curriculum and know how to accommodate to meet individual needs. Kids and adults can take classes or get individual assistance on projects.
Typically, we think of scrapbooking as a way to preserve memories and tell stories through the use of photographs. However, with the variety of supplies and tools available in today’s scrapbook market, the possibilities are endless. Below is a list of ideas that will allow your young scholar, with or without special needs, to use imagination and develop their skills at the same time.
1. At any grade and ability level, students must learn vocabulary words whether they are matching pictures, spelling words, or learning definitions. Unique vocabulary cards can be a breeze to make, especially with die cutting tools in shapes of circles, tags, stars, and more. This hand-on approach is so much more fun than the traditional (and rather dull) index cards. Most scrapbook stores, especially independently owned stores, have a selection of die cuts that you can use in the store. Each set of words can be on a different color of cardstock or in a different shape; then, use a D-Ring to clip them together. TEACHER TIP: When they know the word independently, let your budding student add a button or a ribbon to the card to bolster their sense of pride. Add pictures from clip art or cut out of magazines to more difficult words to give your kids a visual representation of what the word means and a context for its use.
2. Kids need notebooks for every subject, and kids with learning disabilities tend to have poor organizational skills. Why not start the year by decorating the front of the notebooks using colorful patterned papers and stickers? It’s not a guarantee, but your child is less likely to lose something that they have invested time in making- and if they do misplace it, a decorated notebook is much easier to find in the lost and found stack! TEACHER TIP: Use a heavy cardstock to make a pocket to glue inside the back cover. Loose sheets of homework or papers that need to be signed can be put in the pocket.
3. Children with mild to moderate cognitive delays often need repetition and picture clues to help them learn new concepts. Cardstock can be cropped down and run through a printer which provides an added texture for kinesthetic learners. Students can trace words printed on the page, then re-write the word in several ways- stickers, stamps, pens, or markers. TEACHER TIP: Put the picture on a separate piece of card stock from the word to create a quick matching game or sequence activity. Let your student stamp the back of the card each time they get it correct.
4. Students with Autism or pervasive developmental disorders may prefer to point rather than verbalize their thoughts. Create an accordion book with photos of choices for activities. It is also a colorful way to display the daily schedule. Arrows can be used to point to the specific activity. TEACHER TIP: Have the student participate in making the display. If they like the texture of the glue, let them have a hand in glueing it to the page. Advanced students who prefer computer graphics can print on their own cardstock or use templates for digital scrapbooks.
5. To address speech and articulation problems, try making a mini-album with cut outs of pictures that go along with the skill being worked on. As the child shares their album with family and friends they will automatically be practicing- and thereby improving- on their learning objectives. A mini-album may consist of 8 pages that are just 4 by 4 squares. TEACHER TIP: Have a stack of pictures already separated into categories such as S sounds, R blends, antonyms, synonyms, etc. The student spends time working on the goal rather than looking for pictures.
6. For children who have quite a few service provides, make a special picture book with a scrapbook page for each teacher and therapist. Each page should include a photograph- even better if it can be a picture of the teacher and student together! TEACHER TIP: Leave space for a journaling block on each page so each person can include a positive message as your child makes progress. At the end of the year, it will be like a personalized progress report.
7. Often students with Attention Deficit Disorders have difficulty with multi-step projects. Ask the teacher if the project can be modified. Rather than completing a project on poster board which may be too big of a space, they might complete several pages in an 12 by 12 album to display their knowledge of the topic. TEACHER TIP: Ask your local scrapbook store about ways to make unique stickers- this way you can take any topic and make stickers from clip art or die cuts.
8. Although scrapbooking is primarily a visual craft, there are many textures that can be incorporated for students with visual impairments. Students may use textured papers, felt flowers, buttons, or raised stickers to create interactive projects. Cardstock and other papers can be embossed, too. TEACHER TIP: For younger students learning to count, use number stickers and buttons to assist with counting. Use pop-dots as an adhesive that will create a raised effect on the pages.
9. Celebrate success all throughout the year. Use an album with at least 10 pages- one for each month of the school year. Together, you and your child can decide what important lesson, event, or accomplishment to highlight on the page. Take pictures of completed projects, good test scores, friendships made, positive notes from the teachers, or school events. TEACHER TIP: Leave a space for your kids to journal; it will be interesting to watch how their handwriting changes from August to May!
The ideas presented can be modified for specific needs or learning outcomes. For specific questions, you can e-mail info@scrapchicboutique.com, see the calendar of events at www.scrapchicboutique.com, or call 404-378-2115. Learning is about remembering- use scrapbooking to engage your child in “The Art of Remembering”- the results will last a lifetime.
About the Author
Kelly lives with her five-year-old daughter, in metro Atlanta. Ms. Standridge is the co-owner of Scrap Chic Boutique, located at 906 W College Ave in Decatur, GA 30030. She has been a special education teacher for 10 years and holds an EdS in Teacher Leadership. Visit www.scrapchicboutique.com
Scrapbooking is one of the fastest growing and ever changing hobbies in the world. With new products coming out daily, it’s no wonder a beginner gets overwhelmed by all the supplies. You may find yourself asking what you should buy first. What’s actually needed to make beautiful scrapbook pages? Here are some of the bare minimum.
Cardstock is a must in scrap booking. Basic colors are good to start with. Then once you are a more experienced scrapper you will probably want to expand your color selection for more variety. Buying cardstock in value packs is more economical then by buying by the sheet and gives you numerous colors in the same pack. Make sure it is acid free to protect your pictures from harmful chemicals. Even though it’s cheaper, don’t use construction paper which is thinner than cardstock and isn’t fade resistant. Themed paper is perfect for certain photos. For example, if you have pictures of a beach, then using themed beach or water paper would give your pages more interest. These papers are usually sold by the sheet at your local scrapbook store or craft store. Themed paper packs are also becoming popular. Many manufacturers now have kits with the paper as well as accessories to fit a certain theme.
Adhesives are usually personal preference. Glue dots, photo stickers, glue sticks and double-sided tape are just a few on the market today. Sample different kinds to find which ones you like. Most scrapbookers use several different adhesives depending on the project they are working on. Which ever glues you decide on using, just make sure to use a photo safe adhesive on your projects.
A 12″ paper trimmer is a tool most scrapbookers couldn’t live without. This will not only make all your cuts straight but is also faster to use than scissors. Small precision scissors are also convenient for cutting small items when the paper trimmer is too big to use. Decorative scissors cuts paper in designs such as zigzag or in the shape of grass. These come in numerous designs and can add an extra touch to your scrapbook page.
Gel pens and markers can be used for journaling on your pages. You don’t have to write a long story about your pictures but you will want to write at least who is in the photos. Add the day and year if possible so that future generations can enjoy the pictures without wondering who is in them or when they were taken. Black is the most versatile color for journaling and is all that’s needed in the beginning. Buy additional colors as you need them and store them lying down so the ink runs freely.
Templates (or sometimes called stencils) are a fun way to cut your photos and paper in shapes such as, hearts, stars, balloons, bears and more. Each template has numerous designs so a couple of them will give you a variety of shapes.
Die cuts come in different shapes and sizes and are for accenting your pages. These are usually made from cardstock and are sold individually and by the pack either in themes or assorted.
Stickers come in every theme you could possible imagine. They add a nice touch to pages and are fast and easy to use.
Sheet protectors are used for completed scrapbook pages. They are available in different sizes and finishes, such as, glossy or matte. These protect your pages from dust and fingerprints and keep photos from touching each other on facing pages.
These are just a few of the items available but are the basic supplies. Once you become a more experienced scrapper, you will have a better idea about what you like and then buy products that appeal to you.
Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Scrapbooking [http://scrapbooking-guides.com]
