Happy Monday,

Interesting way to start the morning- writing the summary of our April online survey.  This past month's survey addressed teaching classes for children.

I'm a huge proponent of youth crafting education that incorporates the three F's FUN, FINISHED, FEELING GOOD.

Unlike other sports and lifestyle activities, nobody is teaching America's youth to craft- so it is up to the industry to do it. But I am always suprised by the attitude from some folks who don't want to be bothered. The (profitable) future of our industry is rooted in inspiring children to create. If we opt out of youth classes because they "mess up the store" or are "kids are too wild to teach" we are missing out.

Some thoughts on this.

The majority of folks who responded to our survey said that they don't offer classes because there is no interest. I find that curious seeing as there are bunches of moms and grandmas who scrapbooking in stores every day. Those are the folks most likely to influence a future generation.

All I ask is that you give some thought to why there is no interest. Could it be that you haven't hit upon the right timing, teacher, location or class subject? Many a fabulous class has gone unattended and dismissed because the timing wasn't right for the audience. Look at the teacher- not every great scrapbook teacher is great with kids. Do you have any customers who are school teachers that you might be able to engage as a teacher? Ask your customers- I bet there are some moms and grandmas who wouldn't mind taking on the occasional youth class.

Maybe you need to take your youth classes outside the store- through local park and recreation or Scout groups. When are the classes offered? Do they conflict with soccer practice, religious studies, school activities? Some craft retailers have had great success sponsoring scrapbooking workshops during the school year on inservice or teacher conference days.

To the 75 percent of you who are currently teaching  young people to enjoy papercrafting -- KUDOS. You are laying the groundwork for a solid customer base in the next few years. To those who say there is no interest, please take a moment to analyze why there is no interest. You may find it is a problem that is fairly easy to resolve.--Beth