Body Part Baby Book
Every chunky inch of your kid is worthy of a photo...or twelve!
Submitted by
Kayla Chong
Kayla Chong
Help your baby learn his body parts with a homemade photo brag book. He'll be the cutest model in town.
- You
- A model:Your kid
- A camera:Digital or old-school-style, as long as you can make real live prints with it (remember those?).
- A photo printer:Or a place that will develop your film (depending on how old school you are).
- A photo album:Pick up a cheap brag book at the dollar store.
- Album embellishments:Fabric scraps or scrapbook paper for making a cute cover.
- Hot-glue gun:Kids and hot glue don't mix so make sure you do all the gluing!
- Blank stick-on labels
- Markers
Set up a photo shoot with your baby. Get your kid and yourself comfortable in a well-lighted room. Great photos need lots of light, so open the curtains and turn on the lights.
Next, start taking pictures of the body parts you want your baby to learn: feet, hands, eyes, nose, ears, etc. (Go ahead and get carried away ... when else are you going to be able to justify taking 87 pictures of her toes?) Try to get in as tight as possible as you snap, so you're focusing on just the specific body part you're photographing.
As you're snapping pictures, try to take advantage of your baby's natural actions. If she turns to crawl away, try snapping a quick photo of her foot. If she's interested in chewing on her hand, take a picture (you'll have two body parts in one!). Don't try to force the photo shoot, which usually just results in pictures of a crying kid.
Don't forget to take a bunch of cute pictures of her whole face. You can put some in the book and send the rest to relatives who complain that you don't send enough photos.
When you're finished, upload the pics and print 'em out (or take them to be developed).
Choose your favorites and put them in the album.
Next, write the body parts on the labels and use them to label each picture. Sure, she can't read yet, but a little head start never hurt, right?
To make a cute cover, hot-glue the fabric scraps or scrapbook paper over the cover. (It'll look way better than that boring navy blue with gold trim those albums always seem to come in).
You might want to also put a title, like "Sophie's Body Parts" or "Body by Sophie," on the front.
When you're all finished with the decorating, sit down with your baby and flip through the pictures, teaching her the parts of her body. Point to the picture and identify the part for your baby. Then help point to the body part on her body, then on yours. For instance, "There's Sophie's chubby belly in the picture. And here's Sophie's real chubby belly! And here's Mommy's chubby belly!"
- This works best if you think your little one is a visual learner. You may want to incorporate other methods to the lesson depending your kid's learning style. Not sure what your kid's learning style is? Check out our article on The Four Basic Learning Styles.
- Did you take too many pictures? Use the easier parts for now, and later you can make an "Advanced Edition" complete with those chubby thighs, teeny thumbs and her adorable external auditory canal.
Submit!
