Preschool is a very important time in a child's life and probably in mom's and dad's as well!  This is one of the first real signs that their child just isn't a baby anymore, and one of their first steps out in the real world.  So it's only natural that many parents want to keep those memories alive by creating preschool scrapbook albums so that they can look back on those precious months - especially when the kids are all grown and preschool seems like a lifetime ago!  So how can you create fun and memorable preschool scrapbook albums?  There are a few things you might want to keep in mind for your own scrapbooks in this regard.

For one thing, preschool scrapbook albums are one of those types of albums where it's very easy to get overwhelmed and try to keep every photo and every memento.  Whenever the child brings home a finger painting or paper with some scribbles on it, the parent just cannot bear to part with it.  And into the preschool scrapbook albums they all go!  This can easily lead to someone getting overwhelmed with the scrapbooking project and if you're overwhelmed you may even want to abandon it, or the scrapbooks become so numerous that no one wants to look at them.  This of course defeats the purpose of creating those great preschool scrapbook albums in the first place.  So it's important to be choosy when considering what you want to add into those albums.  Pick your favorite pictures and some really striking mementos or important items.  Other items can be put in regular photo albums, but preschool scrapbook albums should showcase the most important or most striking items you have.  Be choosy and you'll enjoy your project that much more.

And speaking of getting overwhelmed, many scrappers also make the mistake of trying to fit all those fun embellishments onto every page of their preschool scrapbook albums.  There are so many fun scrapbooking items you can buy for kids!  It's no wonder that a scrapper might fall in love with all the small school buses, alphabet letters, and other items that are good for preschool.  But here too is where you want to show some discretion.  If you try to add every embellishment to every page the album is going to look busy and crowded.  Try one big embellishment like that school bus or schoolhouse and then just a few other embellishments to add personality around the page.  As with other scrapbook projects, with your preschool scrapbook albums you should set out your page and embellishments and really look at everything before you start gluing or adhering anything.  Try taking away a few embellishments and see if that doesn't look better.  Remember too that preschool scrapbook albums can be as many pages as you like, so save all those embellishments for another page or for when you start to do their kindergarten scrapbook and elementary school scrapbook as well!

Be careful of the wording you add to the pages also.  When a child heads off to preschool a parent can be full of so many thoughts and emotions, all of which you might be tempted to add to those pages.  But be selective here as well.  When making up preschool scrapbook albums you may want to use one word or brief phrase in large letters and then just a sentence or two in smaller letters.  For example you might write out "Preschool!" in a large and fancy font across the top of the first page, and then use small block letter to write out a sentence or two along the bottom or down one side.  This way your words don't overwhelm your preschool scrapbook albums' pages and nothing seems busy or crowded.  Just remember the old adage, "Less is more," and you'll probably do just fine with your wording.  And if you're looking for lines you can use for your preschool scrapbook albums, try these:  Imagination is more important than knowledge; School is a place were you learn how to be a child; and If they give you ruled paper, write the other way.

One thing you might consider about making up preschool scrapbook albums is whether or not you can work on this project with the child himself or herself.  One way you can do this is to purchase premade scrapbook templates and then having the child glue on the photo and some stickers they choose.  You might also use stencils they can trace and then color in.  It's easy for young children to try to get overwhelmed with trying to make preschool scrapbook albums and of course a parent shouldn't make the mistake of assuming their work should be perfect - like with coloring, they can't always stay within the lines.  So choosing some very easy templates or embellishments can help when the children are making up preschool scrapbook albums with you.

Remember too when you're making up preschool scrapbook albums that the child has a lifetime of learning and school ahead of them.  Saving every report card, graded report, and special project might seem like fun now but eventually you'll need to get selective or you're going to have twelve or thirteen year's worth of scrapbook albums in your home!  While preschool scrapbook albums are of course very special, you can save some room and some ideas for pages you'll want to make for their fist day of kindergarten, their last day of elementary school, the day they get their driver's license, and so many other important milestones!  Consider your preschool scrapbook albums as just a stepping stone to a lifetime of this fun and enjoyable hobby and don't worry about whether or not you've saved everything you can or have used up all the ideas you have in your head.  Those milestones may seem like an eternity from now, but ask any parent with grown children and they'll tell you that preschool is only the beginning!