Year-End Memory Books

I made a memory book for each of the daycare children this past week. My goal was to create a small photo book with some labels that the child can enjoy during the summer break. 

I know the memory book I have from Muffin Mouse's days in infant care is still special to me and I wanted to be sure to share this with my daycare families too.

It took more time and research than I anticipated so I'll share some things I learned for those of you interested in creating one:

• I used Walmart's online photo site.  I've used Superstore and Costco in the past for other projects, but Walmart came in with the cheapest option for a hard-cover book.  I chose the 4X6 photobook - one picture per page with room for a label at the top and bottom of each page. $12 each and they are ready in one hour to pick-up at your local store (no S&H fees).

• I went with the black cover and black background on each page.  There are a wonderful array of options for colour and format in the more expensive books, but this was simple and met my objective.  

• Each book allows for 20 photos. I organized my top 2 pictures from each month Sept 2011 - June 2012 in a folder on my desktop for each child. I tried to ensure there was a balance of activities, friends, individual, and memory shots.  Each child's first picture was a group daycare shot with labels highlighting the daycare name and year.  Having the photos for each child organized on the desktop saved time when I uploaded them to Walmart's site.

• My labels were generally chronological with quotes such as; "Learning through nature", "Learning through art" etc. as other titles.

Learning through nature.

• The front inside cover is black and I plan to write a personal note to each child in a metallic pen before wrapping it for them.  There is a plastic page between the front cover and the first photo.  The photo books are literally 4X6 photos bound together so there is not much room to personalize within the book itself once it is printed.

It took about an hour per child from start to finish so plan to work on a couple of books per day to allow yourself time to get the project finished before your due date.  It was a satisfying experience looking at all the pictures from the year - seeing how they've grown, and all the fun we've had together.

George at the recent Track & Field meet at UVic.

I also created books for my homeschoolers. These Year Books are a simple way to document their year and highlight some of the major projects and activities completed. I'm not a huge collector of sentimental stuff, but the books are small and having them frees me to recycle all their school work for the year guilt free!

Studying electricity at Science World.

The girls at their May dance recital.

Joyfully reminiscent,
Caz.