Capture Childhood Memories

Capture Childhood
Memories

Journals, Memory Books,
and Memory Boxes provide
wonderful opportunities for
children to experience mental,
emotional, social, and artistic
growth. Here are some ideas to
help your child capture their
childhood memories.



Create a Monthly Calendar Journal

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What You Will Need:

• Monthly Calendar (click here to download our customizable Monthly Calendars)
• Pencil
• Colored Pencils or Crayons

What You Do:

• This Monthly Calendar Journal is great for young children. At the end of each day, have your child write a few words or draw a small picture about their day into each square.
• Record important birthdays, holidays, and upcoming events. Having this information on the calendar gives your child something to look forward to (and practice math skills as they count down the number of days).
• Make sure to keep the calendars in a folder or 3-ring binder — they make wonderful momentos of your childs life.

Create an End of Day Journal

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What You Will Need:

• Blank Book, Notebook or Binder (or click here to download our End of Day Journal sheet).
• Pencil
• Colored Pencils or Crayons

What You Do:

• Before your child goes to bed each day, have them record what was good about their day in a journal. Make sure to date each page of the journal.
• Encourage children to think about the things they accomplished, no matter how big or small an accomplishment.
• Focus on writing about things that were good about the day. This ends each day on a positive note and encourages feelings of gratitude.
• Help your child write about something new they learned each day. This helps children realize that learning is fun and something that is always occurring.

Variations:

• If your child is too young to write, write for them.
• Encourge your child to doodle around the edges of the page or add drawings to the page. This helps your child express themselves artistically when they don't know which words to use.

Create a Memory Book

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What You Will Need:

• Lined or Unlined Paper (or a spiral notebook)
• 3-Ring Binder or Presentation Folder to hold paper (or staple paper together along one edge to form your own booklet)
• Pencils
• Colored Pencils or Crayons
• Gluestick (or stapler)
• Souveniers, Tickets, Drawings, Pictures, Invitations, Letters — anything your child would like to keep.

What You Do:

• Assemble paper into a 3-ring binder, presentation folder, or staple pages together to form a booklet.
• Have your children glue or staple their momentos onto a page in their Memory Book.
• Write captions or paragraphs on each page beneath each momento. Make sure to include the date!
• Have children record important events in their Memory Book.
• Add drawings, doodles, or sketches to the pages.

Variations:

• Memory Books help children preserve their childhood memories. Memory Books are good practice for interpersonal intelligence, linguistic intelligence and creative expression.
• If you are using 3-ring binders, you might want to add colored dividers, pocket pages, or plastic sleeves.
• If you have stapled together paper to form a Memory Book, you could use colored paper for special days. Use cardstock or construction paper to form the covers.
• If you are using presentation folders, you might want to have a separate folder for each month of the year.

Create a Memory Box

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What You Will Need:

• A Storage Box (for example, a sturdy gift box, a hat box, large jewelry box, a tool box, or a plastic storage box).
• Notepad or small sheets of paper (index cards work well)
• Pencils
• Colored Pencils or Crayons
• Souveniers, Tickets, Drawings, Pictures, Invitations, Letters — anything your child would like to keep.

What You Do:

• Have your children add their momentos to their Memory Box. Glue or staple the item to an index card.
• Make sure to date each item and encourage your children to write a caption or paragraph for each item they save. (Obviously, it is easier to write on the card before attaching items to it).

Variations:

• Kinesthetic learners love Memory Boxes!
• Plastic storage boxes are our favorites — as they allow your child to see their treasures!