So often, 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 turns them into scrapbooks for the whole family. The house is cluttered with stickers and paper and it may, be a major investment of time and money, and turn an otherwise organized home to a craft haven. In the end everyone is happy because they have something to look back on and remember the past. Happy memories get trapped in the pages and they can be shared for years to come. 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 crazy carpet color in the basement will all be frozen in time in a book that can be browsed through at any time. Best of all, you can create simple or elaborate books with your child.

If you creating a scrapbook with your child; start by sitting down with them and listing what they would like included in the book. You may be surprised at the crazy memories and details kids love. Listing things that stand out for them may give you a place to start. Any items mentioned with no pictures yet can be caught on film so they can be included. You know all of those funny details from your childhood 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 memories are on paper and the photos have been taken, you can create the book. You can arrange things chronologically, events, by theme, the options are limitless. Each family relative could have a page, or you could create a book filled with events. Include journaling sections where the child describes the importance of the memory, how they feel about the relative, or what they did at the event. All of these things are precious memories to capture. If the child is too young, write down what they say in your own writing. If old enough, let them handle the journaling. Those who are more technologically savvy may enjoy creating their scrapbook on the computer and including audio and video. Creativity is endless on the computer and you can save it all on a CD or flash drive. Kids will love seeing themselves in scrapbook movies!

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