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How to Make a Homeschool Memory Book / Yearbook

Creating a memory book for your kids is a great way to remember all of the fun times you and your family have had during your homeschooling years. Preserving memories throughout childhood and being able to reminisce over them as your children get older is priceless.

Why Should I Make a Memory Book for my Homeschooler?

My Reason…

I spent 7 years in the public school classroom. Five of those years were spent in the wonderful grade of Kindergarten. One thing that we did for our kinder students that the parents looked forward to each year was a thoughtful and thorough memory book. We would present these thick books to the parents on the last day of school. Tears and laughter would flow as their children showed off different memories of the year. Trips to the farm, the first day of school, learning how to write their names, and so much more filled their books.

When I left the classroom and began to homeschool my own kiddos, I tried to keep a memory book on the whim. I didn’t prepare for it, I just started putting random things into a folder. I would forget, however, as the busyness of homeschool life and young children occupied me. When the end of the year came, I opened my “memory folder” to a couple of random pieces of paper. It definitely didn’t look like the memory books I had put together for my kindergarten students so many years ago…

I admit, I was sad that years went by and I never had a complete memory book (or even a partial one for that matter) for my own kids. How sad!

SOOOO…. I learned how to make a template that I could simply follow. I chose one day of the week to work on a page or two. And I learned to start printing up photos as I went.

NOW, tada! I have memory books for my kids. AND I must say that the joy we get from looking over them is priceless.

DIY Homeschool Memory Book PDF Printable

I created this Printable Homeschool Memory Book for my children so that we could start creating a beautiful way of remember all the fun that we had each year. Memory Book Time became a regular part of our homeschooling and my children looked forward to creating the pages that filled it.

I know that you are busy. Whether you homeschool, work, or are simply busy with the duties of a household and children. Starting a memory book can be overwhelming. Where do you start?

Or you can buy it at one of the sites below.

When Should We Start Making Our Homeschool Memory Books?

I think that starting a Homeschool Memory Book at the beginning of the year is ideal. However, just because you don’t start it on time, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t start one at all. I suggest that you JUST START!! You may regret not starting a memory book at all. At least if you start the memory book mid year, you will have a starting point.

Starting the Memory book at the end of the year may prove to be overwhelming and it may cause you to give up. At least that is how I would be.

Tips and Tricks to Create Your Own Homeschool Memory Book

The #1 tip to creating your own homeschool memory book/ yearbook is consistency. I chose one day a week (it is what worked for our family).

Integrating the writing portion of the memory book into your actual writing plans for the week is another way that you can make the memory book a consistent part of your homeschooling. You can use the memory book to practice penmanship, spelling, and so much more. Let your kids take ownership of their memory books. You will end up with a fabulous (and probably hilarious) end product.

Allow your children to be creative. Put on some music or an audio book while they draw their pictures each week. I read aloud to my children when they are working on their memory books.

I give them art supplies, pictures, and stickers.

I am available to help them with the writing. My 3rd grader is capable of writing her own answers to the questions or filling in her memories. My first grade son requires a bit of help. I often write for him, or I allow him to do copywork- I write his answers and then he copies it into his book.

Side note: My daughter always draws her self-portrait with her stuffed animal Toothless. It has become her trademark. I know we will look back on those cute additions with such sweetness!

How do I keep up with a Yearbook? I am so busy!

Don’t overthink your child’s yearbook.

Let your child take control of it (as much as they can).

Purchasing a high quality printer that you can hook up to your phone is a simple way to add pictures to your yearbook easily. While it is an investment up front, it will make printing pictures easy for you.

Finally, choose one day of the week (or every other week) to work on your memory books. The consistency will ensure that you will have a completed yearbook by the end of the year.

Making a Memory Book —Supply List

You have a ton of freedom in how your memory book turns out.

My kids use the following items to create their memory books:

Prismacolored pencils (we don’t use markers because they sometimes bleed through the paper)

Fun and colorful stickers

A mobile printer that hooks up to my phone so that we can easily print pictures

high quality paper to print the memory book pages on

Laminator and sheets

binder and spiral bindings

optional- 3-ring binder

(see below)

Who is this Printable Memory Book For?

I created this printable memory book for grades K-3. I am currently working on an updated version for the upper Elementary grades and Middle school. Since my own children aren’t that age yet, I do need suggestions for what is appropriate at that stage of life. Feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments below or drop me an email using the contact me section of my website.

How to capture good memories with these photography tips

I will admit, I am not the best at taking high quality pictures. However, as I started taking more pictures, I wanted to get better at my photography. I found this amazing photographer who has lots of tips on her website. I have learned a lot from her, so I wanted to share with all of you! Her name is Courtney Slazinik and she is the owner of Clickitupanotch.com. Her site is a great resource for those of you who want to create lasting memories with amazing pictures.

What Pages are Included in the K-3 Memory Book Available for Purchase?

Don’t let this extensive list overwhelm you. Choose only the pages that suit your homeschooling. Place the pages in an order that works for your family.

ADD any additional pages such as artwork, stories, or poems that you may want to remember from your child’s year.

You can even print up more copies of pages that you would like, such as the field trip pages, monthly memory pages, birthday pages, etc.

Organizing your Memory Books

I bind my children’s memory books together at the beginning of the year. However, I have a friend that uses a 3-ring binder so that she can continually add to her child’s memory book.

I keep my children’s memory books in their school rolling cart Language Arts drawer. They know that on Thursdays we will spend 10-15 minutes working on them.

What if I Don’t Want a Detailed Memory Book?

I have a great solution for you. I have also created a FREE PDF pre-K through 12th grade homeschool memory book. It is one page per year. You can complete the page at the beginning of the year or at the end. It is really up to you. Simply subscribe to my website and you will receive it in your inbox! Bonus: It now comes with 2 banners, one for the first day of school and one for the last day of school. I hope you enjoy them!

Get the FREE Homeschool Memory Book Printable for K-12

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Check out this article on the memory book for k-12. One Page per year.

Do you keep a memory book for your children? What are some ways that you keep up with it?

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Beginning the habit of organization and time management comes at different times for different kids. When your child is ready to take on the responsibility of time management, getting them a simple and easy to use planner may be an effective strategy.

“This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using this link. Please see my disclosure for more details.”

My daughter, when she hit nine years old, asked me if she could have a planner. She always saw me filling in my planners and I guess that sparked her interest. I love planning and so some of my habits may have rubbed off on my daughter. I have always believed that I am more productive when I write out my tasks and goals. If I neglect to do that, I find that my productivity level goes way down. I don’t know if everyone is like this, but I have met quite a few other women who share my love of to-do lists, check-off boxes, and post-it notes.

I like to use fun pens, stickers, and really get my planners to work for me. While I used to buy my planners, once I discovered how to make my own, I never looked back. I now create and design planners for myself (and now my children) to suit my needs. I decided to use this same strategy to create a planner for my daughter.

Benefits of Your Child Using a Planner

Learning to organize and prioritize activities in life is an important life skill. We are not born with this skill, it has to be taught to us. Many of us learn our organization skills by simply observing our parents. This could be good or bad, depending on the style you followed. Luckily there are so many resources available to help us grow in our organization skills. We should always be learning.

I wanted to make sure that I gave my children the opportunity to learn the skills of organization. I still have a lot of growth to do myself and feel as if I am always learning how to better organize my life. (Many times us creative folk struggle to keep our plentiful ideas in an orderly way).

Teaching Your Child How to Use a Planner and Prioritize Tasks

When your child is ready to take on the task of organization, here are some tips:

Allow them to personalize their planner in any way that they want. Add color, stickers, drawings, etc. Allow the planner to be theirs (not yours You can even use colored paper to print their planner on if you choose one that is a printable.

Fill in the dates for their monthly pages. Add in any important events for the month.

Go over any budget goals they may have (if you are working on budgeting with your child)

Guide them at the beginning of each week. Go over what tasks they need to complete each week. Help them to plan out any goals that they may have or any daily items they may need to accomplish. Ask them guiding questions such as:

“What is the most important thing you want to finish this week?”

“Is there anything that you need from me to help you meet that goal?”

“What is in your schedule for the day?”

“Are there any supplies that you need to help you accomplish what is necessary in your planner for the week?”

You know your child best, if daily help is necessary at first as they learn the habit of organization, then set aside some time each morning to go over the tasks for the day.

I Have Designed This Simple Printable Planner For My Child:

Items Your Child Can Place in Their Planner:

Birthdays

Holidays

Homework

Chores

Money-Earning opportunities (yard sales, entrepreneur fairs, etc.)

Church Events

Supplies You Can Purchase to Make Keeping a Planner More Engaging

Stickers

Highlighters

Fun and colorful pens

Erin Condren Kids Planner (if you are looking for a very thorough and comprehesive all in one planner)

See my picks below:

“When we teach our children how to be organized and prioritize their daily activities, we set our children up for success in life.”

ACreativeLearner.com

Other Websites that have great information on Planning and Goal Setting for Children:

BigLifeJournal.com

TeachsKidsHow.com

Connect With Me!

How do you help your child with their organizational skills? Do you have any advice to help with this skill?

Other posts you may like:

Free Minimalist Homeschool Planner

New to Homeschooling? Click Here.

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