In a perfect world the health, safety and spiritual well-being of our children would be as economically important as the entertainment provided by movie, sports and rock and roll stars. Our teachers, police officers and other public servants would be compensated for the real value and service that they infuse into our society. Our school, park and recreation centers budgets would not have to be cut to bare bones. But, alas, that is not the case and with the drain and strain of our economy as it stands today, the creative process has been the first of an ever growing list of children’s enrichments to be cut from the fold. However, some schools and teachers are taking it upon themselves to try and put a little color back into this drab picture.



One such person is Renae Davis, reading and creative writing teacher at Cottonwood Elementary in the Vail School District of Tucson, Arizona. In this progressive school district, efforts are made to get some balance back into the school curriculum through EEP, Education Enrichment Plan. Teachers are offered a small stipend and/or incentive points, as well as an even smaller ‘budget’ to organize and instruct these programs. But for the most part, their time and money for supplies comes out of the their own pocket. Because of Renae’s personal love of scrapbooking and her conviction of the need for artistic expression and process for kids, she started the after-school scrapbooking club, The Cottonwood Coyote Cuties, open to all students from third through sixth grade. The club only had ten members it’s first year, but exploded to thirty members this year. Members are asked to contribute ten dollars as a registration fee for tools; however, Renae shoulders most of the expense for supplies. To further supplement, she asks for donations of unused supplies from parents who are scrappers and culls any other source she can find. The members are encouraged to have a basic set of supplies for themselves and their own photos to scrap, but if someone is without, there is a true spirit of sharing between these kids that can only be viewed as one of the positive values being gently encouraged in this club.



The goal of each meeting is for the children to finish one or two scrapbook pages before going home. Although the heart of the program is for the kids to have fun with the process of art through scrapbooking, there is also instruction on the use of tools, embellishments and, even, organization. Responsibility is also stressed in the use of community materials and cooperative clean-up is mandatory at the end of the session. The last fifteen minutes of each meeting is dedicated to a community critique where all the children bring their pages and sit in a circle. Two to three children are picked each week to show their page while Renae and the rest of the group ooh and ahh, discuss the design the child used and offer up more suggestions while heaping praise on every effort.



Renae wants to branch out to teach the kids how to make cards and other special projects each month, utilizing the supplies that they already have on hand. Last year they put together a collaborative cookbook where each child scrapped themselves making the recipe included on their page, then, Renae copied and bound them so each child could have their own copy. Due to the club’s current size, she is going to set up small groups to make it easier to offer instructions to one group while the rest of the members work independently on their scrapbook pages, then move to another group the following week until everyone has been taught the project before she moves on to another.



Friends are important at this age and a lot of the members signed up for the class with their friends to reinforce their existing relationship and others, to initiate new ones. In an uncertain world, this is a safe place to play with their friends while still accomplishing something creative. Walking around the classroom loaned to the club for their meetings, I noted the amount of concentration as each child went through their photos, sometimes asking their neighbor which would be best, then, turning to their supplies to start on the journey of their page. Even though the process is inherently independent, there was a lot of encouragement from each other, help with design decisions, experimentation and teaching each other different tricks.



Renae counts herself lucky to have one volunteer, Vicki Smith, who was with her last year and others who have shown interest in the club this year to lend a hand and a bit of their own heart. With so much she wants to share with these kids, the volunteers help to make it possible for her to have a little more one-on-one time with students who request it. Although the volunteers are there to help with any need that may arise, they do not give artistic advice unless they’re asked, but rather offer choices and encourage the children to use their own judgment, then praise them for their decision. This is the type of positive reinforcement that lays the groundwork for a well-rounded, secure adult that a child cannot get sitting in front of a television or computer.

This scrapbooking club is a great success: for the instructor, the volunteers and especially for the kids. It puts art within reach of children who revere the process of realizing what they have imagined. It’s a great time for sharing inspiration, group encouragement in creative play and patting each other on the back. Everyone goes home with a smile for a job well done and a sense of personal accomplishment. You can’t ask for more than that.