Scrapbooking Enables Kids Remember their History

More often than not, the person in a family in charge of compiling family photos and memories is mom. She takes the snapshots, develops or prints them, organizes them, and creates scrapbooks for the whole family to enjoy. This may leave stickers and cut-outs all over the house, be a major investment of time and money, and turn an otherwise organized home to a craft haven. In the end it is all worth it because each member of the family will have something to look back on and remember the past. Happy memories get trapped in the pages and they are fun to share with grandkids, friends, and spouses in the future. Best of all, the tiny things left behind as families grow up are all frozen in time on the photos. The painting on the wall of grandma and grandpa’s house, the Bauhaus furniture or Modloft furniture you could barely remember the details of, or the outdated basement carpert will all be frozen in time in a book that can be browsed through at any time. Best of all, these books can be as simple or as elaborate as you choose.

If you creating a scrapbook with your child; begin with a list of their favorite memories. You may be surprised at the crazy memories and details kids love. Making a list of things that stand out for them may give you a place to start. If there are items they mention that have no photos of them get them captured on film so they can be included. Remember all of those great family memories you remember that you share with your family now? There will now be photos so everyone will believe just how crazy things were “back in the day.”

Once the memories are jotted down and the photos have been taken, you can create the book. You can arrange things chronologically, events, by theme, any one of several options. Every member of the family could have a page, or you could create a book filled with events. Include sections of journaling where the child describes why the memory is special, how they feel about the relative, or the things that happened at the shindig. All of these things are precious details to capture so they can be remembered. If the child is too young, write down what they say in your own writing. If old enough, they can do their own journaling. More tech savvy families may enjoy creating their scrapbook with computer software. Creativity is endless on the computer and you can save it all on a CD or flash drive. Kids will adore a video scrapbook!