What child does not like to cut paper, remove stickers or stamp? Students of any age and skill level love every opportunity to work with arts and crafts. For this school year, try to guide 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, an independently owned scrapbook store located in Decatur, Georgia, was founded by four special education teachers who know the curriculum and know how to adapt it to meet individual needs. Children and adults can take classes or get individual assistance on projects.
We usually think of scrapbooking as a way to preserve memories and tell stories through the use of photos. However, with the variety of supplies and tools available in today’s scrapbooking market, the possibilities are endless. Below is a list of ideas that will allow your young student, with or without special needs, to use their imagination and develop their skills at the same time.
1. At any grade and ability level, students must learn vocabulary words, whether it be matching pictures, spelling words, or learning definitions. Unique flashcards can be very easy to make, especially with die-cutting tools in the shape of circles, labels, stars, and more. This hands-on approach is much more fun than traditional (and rather boring) tiles. Most scrapbook stores, especially independent stores, have a selection of dies that you can use in-store. Each set of words can be on a different color of cardstock or in a different shape; then, use a D-ring to attach them together. Teacher Tip: When they independently know the word, let your budding student add a button or ribbon to the card to reinforce 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. Children need notebooks for all subjects, and children with learning disabilities tend to have poor organization skills. Why not start the year by decorating the front of the notebooks with colorful patterned paper and stickers? It’s not a guarantee, but your child is less likely to lose something he’s invested time in making, and if she does, a decorated notebook is much easier to find in the lost and found pile! teacher’s advice: Use thick cardboard to make a pocket to glue inside the back cover. Loose sheets of homework or papers that need to be signed can be kept in the pocket.
3. Children with mild to moderate cognitive delays often need repetition and picture clues to help them learn new concepts. The cardstock can be cut out and run through a printer providing additional texture for kinesthetic learners. Students can trace the printed words on the page and then rewrite the word in a variety of ways: stickers, stamps, pens, or markers. teacher’s advice: Put the picture on a separate cardstock from the word to create a quick matching game or sequencing activity. Let your student stamp the back of the card each time they get it right.
4. Students with autism or pervasive developmental disorders may prefer to point rather than verbalize their thoughts. Create an accordion book with photos of activity options. It’s also a colorful way to display the daily schedule. Arrows can be used to point to specific activity. teacher’s advice: Involve the student in making the display. If they like the texture of the glue, let them help glue it to the page. Advanced students who prefer computer graphics can print on their own cardstock or use digital scrapbook templates.
5. To address speech and articulation issues, try making a mini album of clippings of pictures that match the skill being worked on. As the child shares her album with family and friends, she will automatically be practicing and thus improving her learning goals. A mini-album can consist of 8 pages that are only 4 by 4 squares. teacher’s advice– Have a stack of images already separated into categories, such as S sounds, R blends, antonyms, synonyms, etc. The student spends time working on the goal instead of searching for images.
6. For children who have multiple service providers, make a special picture book with a scrapbook page for each teacher and therapist. Each page should include a photo, even better if it can be a photo of the teacher and student together! teacher’s advice: Leave room for a journal block on each page so each person can include a positive message as your child progresses. At the end of the year, it will be like a personalized progress report.
7. Students with attention deficit disorder often have difficulty with multi-step projects. Ask the teacher if the project can be modified. Instead of completing a project on cardstock which may be too big of a space, they can fill out multiple pages in a 12 by 12 scrapbook to show off their knowledge of the subject. teacher’s advice: Ask your local scrapbook store about ways to make unique stickers; This way you can take any theme 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 can use textured papers, felt flowers, buttons, or raised stickers to create interactive projects. Cardstock and other papers can also be embossed. teacher’s advice: For younger students learning to count, use number stickers and number buttons to help them count. Use pop-up dots as an adhesive that will create a raised effect on the pages.
9. Celebrate success all year long. Use an album with at least 10 pages, one for each month of the school year. Together, you and your child can decide which important lesson, event, or achievement to highlight on the page. Take photos of completed projects, good test scores, friendships made, positive notes from teachers, or school events. teacher’s advice: Leave a space for your children to write in a journal; It will be interesting to see how his handwriting changes from August to May!
