My childhood memories are rich and varied.
I loved visiting my grandma’s apartment, with its fringed window shades and faint smell of eucalyptus. Her desk drawers, lined in green felt, spilled over with card decks, cocktail napkins, and golf tees. Every door in the house was fitted with wobbly crystal doorknobs. The bathroom smelled of Listerine.
My brother and I would sleep in the small bedroom off the kitchen—the very room our mom shared with her own brother growing up in the north side of Chicago.
I can picture myself reaching way down into Grandma’s frost-filled chest freezer for the ever-present box of Eskimo Pies. Her well-stocked pantry and doily-covered tabletops contained loads of delectable treats I was often denied at home: pastries, chocolate-covered marshmallow cookies, and delicate bowls of jellied orange sticks and other candy.
This was the 1960s, long before big-box stores came on the scene. Together Grandma and I would walk to the corner of Roscoe and Broadway, where we’d explore the wonders of Simon’s Drugstore, Heinemann’s Bakery, and Martha’s Candies.
Those childhood memories of my grandma are largely synonymous with food.
In my mind’s eye, I can still picture driving from Illinois to Wisconsin beneath a canopy of crimson leaves against an blindingly blue sky. I remember Passover dinners with a million Jewish relatives in the basement of some wizened old uncle’s apartment building.
Other childhood memories recall the mysteries of new baby brothers coming on the scene, building a hideout among the branches of a fallen tree, and giving my best friend’s parakeet a ride down the stairs in her aqua Barbie convertible.
It’s good to write down our recollections. As vivid as the moment seems at the time, memories fade. These prompts will help jog them. This can be a great homeschool writing activity! Invite your older children to participate. They’re in closer proximity to their memories, and can usually remember the details more vividly.
There are no rules: Jot your thoughts in snippets or write them out diary-style. Either way, do your best to recall the sensory details that made the moment important, for it’s those little things that keep the memory alive.
Writing Prompts about Childhood Memories
- Who was your best childhood friend? Write about some of the fun things you used to do together.
- Describe one of your earliest childhood memories. How old were you? What bits and pieces can you recall?
- When you were little, did you ever try to run away from home? What made you want to leave? What did you pack? How far did you get?
- Can you remember your mom’s or grandmother’s kitchen? Use sight and smell words to describe it.
- Describe the most unusual or memorable place you have lived.
- Did you have your own bedroom growing up, or did you share with a sibling? Describe your room.
- Were you shy as a child? Bossy? Obnoxious? Describe several of your childhood character traits. How did those qualities show themselves? Are you still that way today?
- What childhood memories of your mother and father do you have? Describe a couple of snapshot moments.
- Write about a holiday memory. Where did you go? What did you do? What foods do you remember?
- Describe your favorite hideaway.
- Did you attend a traditional school, or were you homeschooled? Describe a school-related memory.
- Think of a time when you did something you shouldn’t have done. Describe both the incident and the feelings they created.
- Have you ever needed stitches, broken a bone, or been hospitalized? Describe a childhood injury or illness.
- Do you have quirky or interesting relatives on your family tree? Describe one or two of them.
- Describe your most memorable family vacation. Where did you go? Did something exciting or unusual happen? Did you eat new or unique foods?
- Books can be childhood friends. What were some of your favorites? Why were they special?
- Did you grow up with family traditions? Describe one.
- Describe a game or activity you used to play with a sibling.
- What was your most beloved toy? Describe its shape, appearance, and texture. What feelings come to mind when you think of that toy?
- Think of a childhood event that made you feel anxious or scared. Describe both the event itself and the feelings it stirred up.
- Write about some sayings, expressions, or advice you heard at home when you were growing up. Who said them? What did they mean? Do you use any of those expressions today?
- What are your happiest childhood memories? Describe one event and the feelings associated with it.
I hope you’ll get much use out of these writing prompts about childhood memories. What’s one of your most vivid childhood memories? Share a snippet in the comments!