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What kid doesn't like cutting up paper, peeling off stickers, or stamping? Students of any age and ability level love every opportunity to work with art supplies. For this school year, try channeling some of your child's creative energy into scrapbooking and paper crafts. Scrapbooking is a great way to spend time with your children, share a favorite hobby, and reinforce skills learned in school without them realizing it.

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 todays scrapbook market, the possibilities are endless. Below is a list of ideas that will allow your young scholar use imagination and develop their academic skills. These projects may be especially useful for kids with special needs.

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. Each set of words can be on a different color of cardstock or in a different shape; then, use a D-Ring and hole punch to clip them together.

2. Kids need notebooks for every subject. Why not start the year by decorating the front of the notebooks using colorful patterned papers and stickers? Its 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!

3.Do you dread helping your child with their poster board project? 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. 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.

4. 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. Important Tip: Leave a space for your kids to journal; it will be interesting to watch how their handwriting changes from August to May!

By: Kelly Standridge, Ed S. Kelly lives with her daughter, Condaleeza, in metro Atlanta. She is a 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 http://www.scrapchicboutique.com for a list classes and events on our calendar. The ideas presented can be modified for specific needs or learning outcomes. For specific questions, you can e-mail info@scrapchicboutique.com or see the calendar of events at http://www.scrapchicboutique.com Learning is about remembering- use scrapbooking to engage your child in The Art of Remembering- the results will last a lifetime.