Digital Scrapbooking For the Ages

For most kids who have grown up with the internet, mastering the art of the digital scrapbook can be easily accomplished with a little assistance. That idea can be a difficult idea to fathom for adults, considering some of us are still learning how to properly save a JPEG.

For kids, working on computers and with the internet is nothing new - in fact, it's practically ingrained within their DNA. Helping them create fun digital scrapbooks on the computer is an excellent way for your child to continue to master the internet and to create some fun art projects to boot.

Get Focused

Help your child understand why he is creating a digital scrapbook in the first place to help him want to see the project through. Create a list of questions for your child such as Who, Where and Why? These questions can help the child start thinking about the purpose behind the digital scrapbook.

Who? Who is going in the scrapbook? Grandma? Daddy? Friends from school?

Where? Where should the scrapbook be located in time and space? Is it in a magical forest? New York City? At the North Pole? These ideas can help your child start categorizing to create the...

Why? Why are you making the digital scrapbook? Is it to show to friends, bring to show and tell? Give as a present to Daddy? Once your child understands the why, it will be easier for him to focus and not get overwhelmed by the hundreds of digital scrapbooking ideas and colorful digital scrapbooking layouts.

Shop Around

Once you know your child's theme, go through the paid and free scrapbooking sites on your own and pick out the scrapbook pages that match up with the theme your child has picked. Bookmark several of these pages and let your child pick out one to three choices, depending on the aptitude of your child.

Searching for these types of pieces ahead of time solves many common problems. Typically, when confronted with the hundreds of websites and pieces to choose from, a child will get overwhelmed or too excited, wanting to download and purchase everything. Then the project becomes about fighting over downloads rather than making the project you were planning on.

Find Tutorials

Depending on the age of your child, pull up some of the easy to understand tutorials found on many of the digital scrapbooking sites. These can help guide your child through simple to understand activities, such as cropping a photo to fit into a layout.

However, use your teaching wisely. Boring your child to tears will defeat the fun. Sometimes, the best way to teach is to talk your child through where to click on the keyboard and let him pick it up as he goes.

As with anything, patience is key. When you work on a digital scrapbook with your child, start small and be encouraging. Don't be surprised if he has a knack for it and ultimately, ends up teaching you new tricks.

Marie Perrow is a scrapbooking queen extraordinaire. She has been scrapbooking since she was 5. Her scrapbooking are gaining immense Find out more about her scrapbook layout, scrapbooking tools and scrapbook here.