How to Make The Sweetest School Work Memory Book
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Creating a school work memory book for your child is one of the best ways to store and organize your kids’ school work!
There are so many different ways to store and organize all of your kids’ school work but this is by far my favorite idea!
Before my daughter started Kindergarten I had an idea that I wanted to create a junk journal of sorts for her. What I ended up with was more a scrapbook but we’ll just call it a school work memory book!
It’s absolutely perfect because it doesn’t take a bunch of space but still has key and important memories in it!
This post is all about how to make a kids’ school work memory book!
How to put together a school work memory book
What to include in a school work memory book
Your school work memory book should include highlight moments from your kids school year. This can include both academic and personal things!
We had seven main sections that I made sure to include:
- Writing/spelling
- Artwork
- Report card/awards
- Academic work
- Personal highlights
- Photos/momentos
- First/last day questionnaire
Writing and spelling
I made sure to collect a lot of samples of writing! The way they write their name, spell certain words and write in general changes so much over the school year. It’s pretty cool to see how their writing evolves.
Artwork
I kept and included almost anything that was more than a mere stickman drawing. Especially little doodles that are colored in and illustrations from their writing journals!
Report card/Awards
At first, I was keeping each report card but then at the end of the year I realized I really only needed the final one because it also showed the previous semesters grades and comments! So that’s just a little helpful tip there lol
Keeping awards is a must too. Because my daughter was only in Kindergarten, she got several honor roll awards.. and I mean several. It got a bit redundant so we only keep one of them but I would definitely hold on to those during the year just in case!
Academic work
I saved and included things like math problem scratch paper and graded math quizzes.
These types of things are really sweet to look back on especially for your kiddo who will be amazed by their progress!
Personal highlights
Personal highlights can include things that happened in and out of school like birthdays, parties and special memories!
Photos/momentos
Take all the photos! So many photos. Be annoying with how many photos you take!
I have an instax mini that I used like crazy because I’m terrible at getting photos printed. Take photos of everything.. Their first/last day of school, spirit week days, their birthday, etc.
We also saved certain momentos like Valentines Day cards and the movie ticket stubs from her friends birthday for example. Just small things like that.
First/last day questionnaire
These questionnaires are a must in my opinion!
All it is, is a simple worksheet all about your kiddo and serves as great first page or album cover.
It’s so fun to see how their answers change throughout not just that school year, but also over multiple years. You’ll love seeing how much their hand writing, goals, likes and dislikes change in such a short time!
You can grab our free first/last day questionnaire printable here!
Memory book supplies list
Alright, time to gather your supplies!
I hit up Hobby Lobby for a lot of stuff just because I didn’t know exactly what I wanted when I first went into this idea. Now, after completing my first one, this is what I think you need!
1. Scrapbook album
Okay, let’s talk scrapbook albums!
I had no clue there were so many different type and sizes of photo/scrapbook albums until starting this project. Seriously, it’s kinda crazy!
If you’re wanting something similar to mine, where some pages are just photos and papers and others are more interactive, you’ll want to grab a scrapbook like the one I have listed and here’s why..
This album has card stock paper pages and not just sleeves! This is important because some photo albums come with sleeves or clear, self adhesive peel back covers. You don’t want those kind of albums because you won’t be able to interact with the pages and create pockets or foldable items!
If you’re looking for the exact same scrapbook I used, you can find it at Hobby Lobby – it’s a 12×12 strap hinge scrapbook.
The only problem is that it currently only comes in one design that says “life is an adventure” on the front. I wish it came with just a solid cover instead. On the flip side, Hobby Lobby does sell protective covers separately that you can slip over the pages if you want to keep certain pages more protected.
2. Adhesives
Next up, how to get your items to stick into the school work memory book!
Glue tape and glue dots are the best way I found to glue down papers and photos. I tried spray glue but it dried awkwardly and wasn’t sticky enough.
If you plan to add card stock backgrounds you might also want to grab Mod Podge for large surface coverage.
3. Card stock
Speaking of card stock, it’s an easy way to add a related or fun background to a collage.
The card stock collection linked above is actually perfect but I also suggest hitting up your local craft store for even more patterns and options!
4. Storage
So, I highly recommend saving everything throughout the year in a file organizer like this! This is the exact same one I use too.
It’s so much easier to compile and save stuff throughout the year in a quick and easy, low profile place like this and then wait to put together the school year memory book over the summer.
You can file by month or by category, either way totally works!
5. Camera
If you’re anything like me and stink at getting around to getting photos printed, grab one of these instant cameras!
We keep ours right in the kitchen were its easily accessible in last minute situations as we’re running out the door in the morning.
Another option is to get a portable instant photo printer like the HP sprocket so that you can print photos out as you take them before they get lost in your camera roll!
Time to get creative
Lastly, its time to get creative and start scrapbooking!
Grab your kiddo and let them join in on this to make a special memory in itself.
My daughter loved looking through her school work she forgot about and noticing how much she grew over the school year. I assigned her the task of picking what goes in the scrapbook and what she thought should be thrown away.
We took our time cutting out clippings of artwork and papers and creating the layout of each page.
All in all, it took two nights or about four hours combined to put the school work memory book together and we all absolutely love it to a million pieces! It’s so incredibly special and something I look forward to keeping as a tradition with each kid.
I know you will love putting together and looking through your kids school work memory books over the years too!
Happy scrapbooking!
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@angiebecker_ Heres a unique idea for how to store your kids school work ✏️? #backtoschool
