create (with kids): The ABC's of Collage

We've been in the middle of one of my most favorite holiday traditions- the great post-holiday minimizing! It's become a tradition to welcome in our new holiday treasures by re-evaluating what we already have. So I have been going through our drawers and closets and toy shelves, finding things to add to our growing spring yard sale pile in the basement. I have also been going through all our holiday decorations, deciding what to keep and what to pass on for someone else to enjoy. And last, but not least, the holiday cards. I love reading them once more and thinking of our family and friends, especially those who live plane-distance away. I tuck a few away, but my sentimental self still dislikes parting with the rest. I've found that adding them to our collage collection helps soften the blow. And being able to practice the ABC's at the same time? Yes, that helps too.

Our alphabet binder was a present from our little friend Luna. (Isn't that a sweet idea for a gift?) It's been perfect for collecting collage pictures, including this sweet little house. And such great practice for beginning letter sounds and letter recognition.

It's a fun activity to share with other little friends too! Just be warned, once you start a file of this sort you start to find material everywhere. Especially if you have a destructive little baby boy around with a penchant for books. (Ahem)

Extension activity: For older artists, you might consider a larger alphabet file to keep reference materials in. These can be pictures for sketching and tracing purposes, as well as other artifacts that inspire them. Yes, there're always Pinterest, but it's good practice, I think, to still learn to file things the old-fashioned way too (wink).