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My daughter has been a fan of National Geographic magazine for a long time. She loves anything having to do with the outdoors and also loves looking at pictures of other cultures. The photography in National Geographic magazine is breathtaking and I can’t deny that she gets a lot out of it. Her reading is still not very good. If she doesn’t have me to read it along with her and explain the articles to her, she gets very frustrated. Although I don’t want to discourage her from reading the magazine she loves, I also want to complement it with something more at her reading level. That is why I got her Your Big Backyard Magazine.

The your Big Backyard Magazine is put out by the National Wildlife Federation for kids. I expected it to be kind of heavy handed and propagandistic, but it is actually pretty down to earth read. Kids all love nature, the outdoors, and animals. There are lots of nature magazines for kids, but what is cool about Your Big Backyard Magazine is that it has an emphasis on what you can do around your own home. Not everyone gets to live on the edge of a big wilderness. Your Big Backyard Magazine is a great read for people who live in the suburbs or the city, people without access to wild spaces. It tells you how to look around your own backyard to find different plants and animals, and even how to create habitats for wild creatures.

Your Big Backyard Magazine is still not her favorite – not by a long shot. The pictures are cute and there are drawings submitted by kids, but none of them compare with the spectacular photography in National Geographic Explorer. Still, there are some great things about this magazine that National Geographic does not offer. For one thing, it has the project that I was talking about. No matter where you live, nature is all around you. It just takes a little bit of training to be able to look and see what is there. I have always believed that it is crucial to instill a love of nature from a young age in children. That way, as they grow up, they will realize that it is their responsibility to take care of the earth that they live on. Is there a better lesson on that?

A great way to preserve cherished memories of family and friends, of special places visited, as well as milestones such as graduation, weddings and the birth of a baby is with a photo scrapbook. If you have boxes and boxes of old photographs and mementos, a photo scrapbook is what you need to get your memories organized.

A visit to your local hobby and craft store will afford you the opportunity to examine the many different styles of photo scrapbook that are available. They come in all shapes and sizes, as well as in a multitude of colors. You may want to purchase a plain one and customize the cover yourself. As for the inside of the photo scrapbook, there are endless choices when it comes to photo mounting pages, papers with pockets for securing mementos such as napkins, ticket stubs and matchbooks, and different tools to use for decoration purposes.

Some families are so organized and so thoroughly enjoy putting together a photo scrapbook, that they end up having to purchase bookshelves just to store their photographic creations on! People who enjoy making photo scrapbooks as a hobby will make one for just about any celebration or occasion. I have seen a photo scrapbook made for birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, the birth of a child, graduation from high school and college, retirement, as well as ones centered on a families’ genealogy. Many people also enjoy putting together scrapbooks that center on family vacations.

There are many ways in which to make yours’ unique. Different colored paper can be used within the photo scrapbook, as well as different sizes and fonts for the text pages. Colored pencils, markers and paint pens will also add a personal touch. If you have loose mementos such as napkins, invitations, hotel receipts or the like that need to be secured, stiff paper featuring pockets can be put into your scrapbook as a way to keep these items together.

When mounting photos for your book, it is wise to first sort the pictures by date, occasion, etc. before placing them into the photo scrapbook. More than one picture has been ruined because it was mounted on the wrong page and then had to be removed. Also, to add some flair to your photo scrapbook, consider using both black and white, as well as color film when taking pictures. The contrast between the two when mounted on the same page is dazzling.

Don’t be afraid to experiment! Use stencils, glitter glue, border edge scissors, multicolored paper, textured paper and different types of film to make your photo scrapbook one of a kind. It can be passed down from generation to generation, and will provide your loved ones with wonderful stories of all the memorable times your family has shared.