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DIY Kids Summer Memory Books

06.06.2015 by Marie // Leave a Comment

These moments right now are the moments that you will look back on and wish you could have held on to. Long after the tantrums have subsided and kisses no longer heal boo-boos you will remember. You will long for the little humans your children used to be while simultaneously being proud of the adults they are becoming. That is why I believe in creating and preserving memories (probably a little too much if you ask my family). This summer, I’m trying something totally new with my kids. We’re going to work together to make summer memory books! I want a way to preserve a little piece of who they are, right now in these moments. Remember the activities, events, and crafts they get excited about. These aren’t just for parents to hold on to the memories. This is also for kids to have something they can look back on later in life and smile at who they used to be.

Affiliate links may be used in this post. Ordering a product through these links may result in a commission. Read the full disclosure here.

Orange Spiral Bound Book with text overlay - DIY Kids Summer Memory Books

 

Hold on to these moments with these DIY summer memory books for kids. #kidcrafts Click To Tweet

 

DIY Summer Memory Books Materials

 

DIY Kids summer memory books Materials

  • Foam Scrapbooks
  • Stickers
  • Markers (Sharpies work best on the cover, but washable markers will also work)

 

 

Kids Crafting at Kitchen Table

Kids Crafting at Kitchen Table

Step 1

Let the kids decorate the cover of their memory books however they want. Younger children may need more hands-on help from you.

 

Close up of girl Crafting at Kitchen Table

 

Step 2

Have each child write his or her name and the current year on the back of the front cover.  (You can do this for them if they are unable to write yet.)

 

First page of orange summer memory book

 

Step 3

Throughout the summer tape keepsakes and pictures into the book.  You can also have the child journal periodically about their days and activities. This is the part to let his or her creativity shine!

Tips:

  • For toddlers, you can have them draw pictures, write in memories for them, or both!
  • These are a great place to put things that you get on vacation like ticket stubs or things you find camping.

 

Kids Crafting at Kitchen Table

Orange Spiral Bound Notebook with stickers on the cover

It is that simple to create this summer memory book with your kids. It is also one of the closest ways you can get to hold on to these fleeting moments. This is an awesome activity for summer fun and an incredible keepsake that they can look back on for years to come. My kids are already crazy excited and all we have done thus far is decorate the covers! Keep all the fun coming on our Summer page!

See where I’m linking up!

Don’t Forget to Pin It!

Orange Spiral Bound Book with text overlay - DIY Kids Summer Memory Books

Categories // Crafts, Crafts, DIY, Holidays, Kids, Papercrafts, Summer Holidays

Kid Made Mother’s Day Storybooks

04.26.2015 by Marie // Leave a Comment

Last year for Mother’s Day I wanted to come up with gifts for the grandmothers that were not only meaningful but also that my oldest son could help construct.  He was five at the time and still learning to read and write so I also wanted to find an activity that helped him hone those skills.  The result?  Child written and illustrated storybooks! These kid made Mother’s Day storybooks are a wonderful and meaningful gift surprise for moms and grandmas this year.

Affiliate links may be used in this post. Ordering a product through these links may result in a commission. Read the full disclosure here.

Child and woman reading book together with text overlay - Kid Made Mother's Day Storybooks

These Mother's Day storybooks are a meaningful gift easy for kids can make! #Mothersdaycraft Click To Tweet

 

Materials for Mother's Day Storybook

Kid Made Mother’s Day Storybook Materials:

  • Pen and paper
  • 6X6 Scrapbook Album (I got mine at Hobby Lobby for $4.56 after coupon)
  • Crayons

Step 1: Pick your story

Again, because my son was only five when we did this, he needed a little more direction than an older child would need.  Because we wanted it to be personal, we decided that the first book would be about why he loved his grandma.

Step 2: Pre-Write

The albums standardly come with 20 pages and each page has white inserts (10 inserts in all).  So when the book is finished you should have 9 pages of writing + 1 title page.  Before even starting on the writing and coloring part with your child, sit down together and come up with 9 sentences that fit the theme of your story.

Since my son was still learning to read and write letters, I had him dictate to me these sentences and I wrote them down on a sheet of paper.  I asked him repeatedly “Why do you love Grandma?” to prompt him to stay on topic with his responses.  Then I neatly printed each answer.  It is important to print them neatly so that your child can later copy them from the list.

Some of his adorable answers included:

  • We go to the museum.
  • Because we play a lot.
  • We go to the park.
  • We play hide-n-seek.

 

Blank White Paper Laying on Open Scrapbook

Step 3: Getting started on your inserts

Pull out all of the inserts out of the album and place the book to the side.  Now have your child write the sentences on one side of each sheet with his or her crayons.  At this point it doesn’t matter what order as long as one side is left blank.  Make sure that the 10th page includes the title of your story.

Older children can write the sentences on their own with you just reading them back to them.  With beginning writers, like my son was, letting them copy what you have written is fine.  They are still practicing writing their letters and the repetitive use of the words will also be helping them learn to read those words.

Step 4: Ordering your pages

Before you move on to illustration, it is important to put your pages in order.  Starting with the title page, place all of the inserts together with the writing side facing up.  Once you’ve done that, flip the pages as if you were reading a book to ensure they are all in order.  It should be:

  • Title Page
  • Blank
  • First Sentence
  • Blank
  • Second Sentence
  • Blank
  • Etc. etc.

 

Open museum pages in kids mothers day book

Step 5: Illustrate

This is the part that younger children tend to enjoy the most.  Keeping the pages in order (again, flipping them as though reading a book) have your child illustrate the blank pages with the corresponding sentences.  For instance, on the blank page next to “We play hide-n-seek” my son drew a picture of himself hiding in a closet.  I cannot stress enough the importance of keeping the pages in order at this point to make sure that the pictures are on the appropriate corresponding pages.

 

Open play pages in kids mothers day book

Step 6: Finalizing your book

Once all of the pages are finished slide them back into the page protectors, again taking care to keep them in order.  If during this step you find that the pictures have somehow gotten messed up, don’t worry.  You can always just redraw or rewrite the corresponding page on a separate blank white sheet and put it in the page protector… I just like to save money whenever possible, and didn’t want to use the extra paper.

That’s it!  You’re done.  Now you have a hand-made meaningful gift that your children’s grandparents will cherish for years. They are easy to make but can require a lot of patience when working with little ones (older children can take more personal responsibility over the project).  We had to make 3 and I chose to spread the entire project out over a week.  You can tailor this to your child, of course.  If he/she starts getting distracted or uncooperative, set it aside and go back to it the next day.

See where I’m linking up!

Don’t Forget to Pin It!

Child and woman reading book together with text overlay - Kid Made Mother's Day Storybooks

Categories // Crafts, Crafts, DIY, Holidays, Kids, Mother's Day, Papercrafts, Spring Holidays

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