Collections For Kids

Information about Collections For Kids

Why collections is a great activity for your kids?

The developmental phase from 6 to 11 years old is when most kids start collections. Some also have short-term collections from age 4 to 5. Collecting is a great way to keep them busy. They spend hours organising them by category. They feel a sense of satisfaction when adding something new, arranging and rearranging them, and showing them to their friends. Collecting gives them a sense of identity. It also makes their lives more interesting. Did you also have a collecting phase when you were a child? What items where part of your collections?

Why should we let our kids keep things even though sometimes they don't know what to do with them? Collecting as an activity can be a good tool for learning. Collections are fun, creative, and educational. It teaches kids about values and concepts. It also helps them develop life skills.

• Responsibility
  Having collections also means having something that you really value. Kids will learn to be responsible for their own things Ð looking after them, keeping them organised, and making sure that nothing is missing.


• Recycling
  Kids sometimes have shell or rock collections, or other things that some might consider as trash. Those can be interesting things to collect as they come in different kinds. This will teach kids the concept of recycling. If they get tired of collecting them, or there just isn't any more space left for them, they can use them as decorations or as paper weights.


• Education
  Collecting will help teach kids basic math and organisation skills, such as counting, classifying, and sorting by size, colour, and other categories. Collecting coins, postcards, stamps, and the likes will help them identify the names of different animals, places, and personalities from Australia and other places.


• Mirror of their personal interests
  Collections can give us an idea of their interests. Kids who are into basketball usually collect trading cards. Their collections can also give us an idea of what they want to be when they grow up. Mere postcard collecting can lead to an interest in travelling; the same with collecting dolls leading to an interest in modelling or fashion design.


• Money management
  Some kids buy collectibles from their own allowance. The desire to buy a collector's item will teach them to budget and spend their allowance wisely.

The parents' role in a kid's collecting frenzy is to guide them to keep collections that don't cost a lot and are worth saving. It is not advisable to collect items that wear out or rot over time, such as candies. Leaves and petals can be tolerable as long as they are not left untended. They can be kept in resealable plastic bags or glued to sheets of paper that are compiled in a folder.

Collections don't require spending much. One of the reasons they collect a particular item is because of the sentimental value. They can collect souvenirs from places they have visited. They also like it when they bought the addition to their collections with their own money. Here are some ideas for collections that might be interesting for your kids:

• Old postcards
• Stamps
• Coins
• Small rocks
• Memorabilia
• Bookmarks
• Stickers
• Fossils
• Flags
• Seashells
• Trading cards
• Baseball caps
• Tickets
• Action figures
• Dolls

Kids can get most of these items for free. Some can be souvenirs, some can be found in our surroundings, and some are recyclables. The rest are sometimes bought, but they don't have to cost a lot since most collectibles can be bought from markets and garage sales, where you can haggle the price. Toys can be expensive, though, especially if they are collector's items, like special edition figurines or models. You can tell your children you could buy it for them as a reward if they do well in school. The reward may serve as a motivation.

Some particular items have collectors' clubs that organise shows and conventions. Your kids can meet fellow collectors, make new friends, compare collections, and trade items. It is always fun to meet someone who has the same interests as yours. You can find out if a club exists for your kid's interest by searching the ActiveActivities directory.

Show support for their hobbies by encouraging them to show off their collections. Bring them to school for show-and-tell, perhaps? Having a unique and interesting collection is something your kids can be proud of. What's also nice about collections is that your kids get to keep rare items. Coins that they found some time ago may become obsolete in the future. The rarer the item, the more valuable it becomes. If they grow out of the habit of collecting, they can sell their collections to other enthusiasts for a good price.

For more tips on kids collections and other kids activities, feel free to browse our ActiveActivities Directory .

Encourage your kids to make ordinary things special by having collections out of them!