Digital Storybooks Featuring Art by Your Child!

Besides spending time on the computer, Little Miss Techie spends a great deal of time creating art. At preschool she paints the most gorgeous watercolors and when she comes home, she loves to draw. She’s always making cards for friends, grandparents, and neighbors. And when she’s not drawing, she’s asking to paint. She has a portfolio of school art and also one for art done at home. She’s such a prolific artist that both portfolios are quite full!

What’s a parent to do?

Parents Magazine’s March 2008 issue says to save your child’s art digitally. Use a scanner to scan in art or photograph it with your digital camera. By doing this, you will create a digital image of your child’s artwork to save for all eternity. Parents Magazine recommends transforming digital art into wallpaper on your computer or viewed as a slideshow. I have a better idea….

Create a digital storybook of artwork using PowerPoint!

A digital storybook enables your children to view their artwork over and over again on either the computer or as a printed hard copy. With your child’s help, you can add text to help your child remember each picture and reinforce the importance of reading.

To create a digital storybook in PowerPoint:

1. Select PowerPoint presentation
2. Using the top menu bar, choose Insert and select Picture to put a picture on each page
3. Repeat until the artwork has been added
4. Invite your child to sit with you at the computer
5. Ask them to tell you about each piece of art
6. Create a text box underneath each picture
7. Write a sentence or two about your child’s picture
8. Read the book on the computer and/or print it out on a color printer
9. Bind your new book by punching holes in the pages and placing it in a 3 prong portfolio folder available from your nearest office supply store.

Now your child has a brand new book featuring their artwork and words! Nothing is more empowering than writing a story about your very own pictures!

And digital storybooks can be created with photos too using the same steps above. Sure you can create beautiful hardbound versions through Shutterfly, Kodak, Snapfish, etc but by using your own printer, you eliminate the wait time and provide instant gratification to your child.