When my children were small, they loved pulling out our family photo albums and looking through the pages. Whether they ended up giggling over leggings and side ponytails or reminiscing about a favorite stuffed toy, they were able to revisit key moments of their childhood with each turn of the page.
A Book About Me
Children love to look at their baby pictures and hear stories about when they were younger, don’t they? Here’s a simple, creative way to help your child record some of those special times by making “A Book about Me.”
Gather a handful of photos of your child at memorable times in her life. Look through the pictures together and talk about them. If your child doesn’t remember certain incidents, share stories and memories about those photos.
Ask your child to choose a few of her favorite photos from different stages—as a newborn, a toddler, and a four-year-old, for example (it’s OK if she can’t remember the event or moment when the photo was taken). Have her paste each photo to the top of a fresh sheet of blank paper.
Below the photo, ask her to write some things about the picture (or if she’s reluctant to write, let her tell you about the photo while you write down her words beneath). Prompt her with simple questions, such as:
- Where was the picture taken?
- How old were you?
- What’s happening in the picture?
- Who else is in the picture with you?
- What are you wearing?
- Why is this a special or good memory?
After she has finished, insert each paper into a page protector sleeve and place the sleeves into a slim three-ring binder in chronological order.
Ask your child to flip through her book of stories and share some of the memories with you. Encourage her to read her memory book to other family members too.
Isn’t this a great idea for helping your littles recall happy times? And as they get older, they can continue adding pages to their books.
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