Make a Child's Growth Chart

Children grow so fast, it is amazing. It can be fun to monitor their progress. Here is a craft that will let you watch your child grow over the years, and it will look pretty in your home. Some families just mark off a edge of a wall with a ruler and a pencil. But this will look attractive and it will proudly show how your children have grown over the years.

This growth chart also makes a very nice baby shower gift. If you know a woman who has just had a baby, consider making her a growth chart. She will surely appreciate your thoughtfulness and this growth chart will help her monitor the growth of her baby over the years. So this craft can also make a very nice gift for baby showers, or for other holidays.

This craft will take you a day and a half, because of the paint needing time to dry. Otherwise it does very quickly. The materials can be found at your local lumber and craft stores very easily.

For this craft you will need:

a five foot 1/4 inch thick piece of wood that is four inches wide. (Remember to sand it!)

small wooden frames from the craft store, at least ten

a glue gun

craft paint to paint the large piece of wood

contrasting paint to paint the frames

a paint pen to write on the wood

Begin by sanding your wood if needed. Then paint it with the craft paint. If you are doing a growth chart for a boy, a nice color combination can be to do the large piece of wood in light blue, the frames in dark blue and then the paint pen in silver. If you are doing this project for a girl then consider painting the large piece of wood in light pink, the frames in dark pink and the paint pen in purple.

Paint the large piece of wood and also paint the smaller picture frames. Put down newspaper to protect the surface that you are working on. Allow the wood pieces to dry, at least for several hours if needed. Once they are dry, continue with the project.

At the top of the large wood piece write the child's first name. You could also use stencils and paint to letter the child's name here instead. It is important to personalize the growth chart, especially if you have more than one child.

Decide where in the house you will hang the growth chart. You want to hang the growth chart so that the top of the wood reaches the 6 foot 5 inch mark. Use a ruler to measure. Hang the growth chart in the method that appeals to you most.

Once the growth chart is hung, you can measure your child for the first time. Use a pencil to mark off their height and a ruler to measure their height once they have stepped away. With the paint pen, go over the mark again and date the mark (example - June 14^th 2007 3 feet 5 inches, six years old). Then take your child's photograph and place it in one of the picture frames. Glue the picture frame using the glue gun above the measured mark. This is a nice visual way to show how your child will age and grow over time.