Digital Scrapbooks and More Blog

By Cheri Barlow

Today is the 4th of July! Happy Independence Day! Today you probably will have a cookout, go to the park, or catch a fireworks show! You will probably snap lots of nice photos today that you can use in future digital scrapbooking projects. But why should you be alone in having all the “digital fun”?!!  What I mean is, why not let the kids get involve in taking some of the 4th of July photos for your holiday digital scrapbooking projects?

Depending on your kids age, digital cameras might not be in the budget and totally out of the question. Especially if your kids are really young, they might drop a nice digital camera and damage it, or just, plain lose the camera! But perhaps instead of spending big bucks on nice, new digital cameras, try something a little more cost-efficient for little kids that want to join in on the photo-fun and take some holiday pics. Try getting the kids a disposable camera that you can buy at any local grocery or drug store! These cameras are not too expensive and if one gets lost or broken it is definitely not the end of the world.

Why give the kids a camera today?  Well, it is the 4th of July and as a parent, I’m sure you have lots to do to prepare for the holiday festivities! While the day still will be fun, you might be busy cooking and baking food for the cookout, packing for the picnic or fireworks show, and need an extra hand when it comes to taking the holiday photos! With summer here, and many kids out of school, they have plenty of free time to help you out and take a few pics! Not to mention, giving them the responsibility to be in charge of the disposable camera and getting lots of family and holiday shots will help them keep busy and stay away from being wild, crazy, and bored!

Here some 4th of July photo and kid ideas:

1. Get a holiday-themed, cost-efficient disposable camera. Around the holidays, you can usually find disposable cameras that are holiday-themed. If you find a disposable camera that is decorated for the 4th of July, you might want to get that one to add to the holiday-fun! Using a disposable camera that has the American flag can get kids excited about the holiday and about being in charge of taking special photos!

2. Make a list of 4th of July photo-ops that the child should look for. You know if you give a small child a camera and ask them to take photos without any instruction then 5 minutes later they will have used up the whole camera on silly things and will be bored again!  Take a few moments and prepare them for their “important responsibility” ! Make a list of photo-ops that they should look for, and spread these pics throughout the day, like: getting ready for the 4th of July BBQ, the actual Independence Day celebration, the fireworks show, etc (for younger children, you may need to draw pictures of the shots they should look for like flags, food, people – yes, stick figures are perfectly fine!) Also, you might want to add some hints or suggestions for the photos. This way they have to think about what they are looking for. You might explain that a good photographer really looks around and thinks about the photos before they take the picture. You may even want to offer some hints or suggestions that might help them look for good photos! For example, you might add to their list “Take 2 photos at the BBQ, or Cookout” then you might give them these a few hints, “Look for the yummiest looking dish of food at the BBQ buffet,” or ”Find something funny, like a person doing something crazy or a pet being cute!” Take a few minutes to create a photo-checklist and keep your kids busy, feeling special, and excited to play photographer!

3. Leave a few extra of the photos on the camera for “creativity shots.” Ask your children to find surprises and take photos of anything that interests them too! It will be exciting to see what “creativity shots” your kids can come up with, when they know they have a few “wild card” pics that are special and should be saved for something unique! I always think that it is nice to give children structure because it helps to fend off boredom and gives them purpose.  However, I do think that adding some room for them to pick their own photo surprises also helps them to develop their own creativity! I think creativity is as important as structure, it really is nice to have both – don’t you think?

4. After the celebration, help them to digitally scrap the photos into digital scrapbooking pages, albums, and projects. For help on this, check out these blog articles: Helping Kids Start Digital Scrapbooking ~ Part 1 and also this blog article: Helping Kids Start Digital Scrapbooking ~ Part 2 . Helping your children preserve the memories of this 4th of July celebration and the day you let them take the photos could be a very special holiday memory! 

If you want some Digital Scrapbooking Page ideas to help your children digitally scrap the photos they shot, then visit Digital Scrapbooks and More’s 4th of July Idea Page! This web page shows digital scrapbooking kits and supplies and how they were made into Digital Scrapbooking Pages! Take a look,  it might give you some digital scrapbooking inspiration for all of your digital scrapbooking Independence Day scrapbooking projects!

Have a very happy 4th of July and make wonderful memories today!

Happy Scrapping,

Cheri

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