Collections

Collecting anything you have an interest in can be a great way to obtain extra education for you or your child. Maybe you are thinking, “I don’t need a bunch of stuff with little value just cluttering up my home!” However, there are ways to control this and by utilizing a collection, you provide your children a more “hands on” approach to learning as well as excitement about a topic.

Incorporating other subject areas for a whole learning experience is not very difficult either. Some of these can be as simple as labeling the collection (Writing), counting the objects (Math), or making cool design to display them (Art). Of course you can dig deeper by including a study of how the items came about (History), where the items came from (Geography), or even something as obscure as what people are called who collect certain objects–and YES there are names for these people!

Cool Collector Names – The Museum of Online Collectibles Museums
There are 3 lists of names on this site: Official Collector Names, Should Be Collector Names, and Unofficial Collector Names.

Youngsters and Collecting: Helping Them to Start a Collection – About.com Collectibles
A nice starter article to get you going.

Cool Collections for Kids to Start – Smart Poodle Publishing
50 different ideas for collections, but certainly you or your children can think of more!

Collections on Display: A Kid’s Guide to Collecting Things – CurioCabinetSpot.com
Although this is a commercial site, this guide is an excellent compilation of resources! It includes everything from the benefits and types of collections to collecting methods and spending advice.

Tips to Keep Your Child’s Nature Collection Under Control – National Wildlife Federation
With spring just around the corner, getting your children outside in nature is a great way to start a natural collection. This article suggests ways to determine what to keep or not keep and creative ways in which to show off your collections.

Buttons, Buttons – SimpleKids.net
If you or your child collects buttons, this post suggests several simple activities you can do with them.

Starting a Rock Collection With Kids – GoExploreNature.com
This site promotes a particular rock of the month club and gives tips and a video on collecting rocks. (I am in no way affiliated with the company or the club, I just thought some of you may be interested in the possibility.)

Nature Garden Activities for Kids - TLC-How Stuff Works
Here is a practical yet unique collection–seed collecting. Although it is not mentioned in this article, I once saw a seed collection that was stored in cardboard slide holders–you know, the kind that were used in a slide projector. A more modern option would be to use cardboard coin protectors. Either type can be put in plastic coin protector sheets (similar to, but smaller than baseball card protectors) and then placed in a three ring binder.

Did you have any collections when you were young? Do you still have them? Maybe you’ve started a collection since childhood or are living vicariously through your children and their collections. Whatever the case, we would love to hear about them! Please comment below with links to photos so we can see what you are collecting!

You can find Sheri blogging at Learning Pavilion, a place where nature, education, and crafts meet.