Getting to know you! Photo albums for kids

If you dig around in those boxes in the back of the closet, you’re almost guaranteed to come across some old 4×6 photo albums and that stack of holiday photo cards (& birth announcements) that you couldn’t bear to throw away. Pull those goodies out and dust them off… I have a project for you! There’s that old saying:  “Out of sight is out of mind.” Well, don’t let those loved ones be out of your child’s mind. Put those photos to good use!

Start by organizing the photo cards into categories — family, playgroup friends, neighborhood friends, friends that live far away, etc.

For your very young child, cut the photo cards so that they’ll fit in the photo album. If your child is 3 or older, I encourage you to draw a line on the card where you’d like your child to cut, and hand the safety scissors over to those little (and likely very eager) hands.

Use blank address labels or small pieces of masking tape to label the FRONT of each photo with the names of everyone in the photo. Use clear, block letters so that your child may (or may someday) read the names.

Slide the photos into the sleeves of the album, maintaining the logical order you’ve established.

Read through the photo album frequently with your child, and encourage him or her to “read” it to you. Keep it somewhere accessible for your little one to browse through whenever he or she desires.

You’ll be amazed how much this book will help your child to be comfortable with your friends and family who live far away when you’re all together for those short, infrequent visits. He or she will also start to recognize names, and you can guide your child in sounding out the names.

So, here’s a way to consider the value of this project:

• That old photo album: $2.99 ten years ago
• Those holiday photo cards everyone else sent to you: free to you, but a lot of $$ to them
• The look on Great Aunt So&so’s face when your child seems genuinely happy to see her in person for the first time: priceless!

Photo family tree

Why wait until your child is in 1st or 2nd grade to start talking about family trees? Start now! Help your child see where he/she comes from and begin to build a sense of history. This is something you can do together. All you need is a large sheet of paper or a poster board, some crayons or markers, and, if you have them, photos of your family members. (If you have photos, you’ll also need scissors — preferably child scissors — and a non-toxic glue stick.)

In today’s age of digital photography, gathering photos of loved ones is SO much easier. Start by looking at the photos you have around your home, in photo albums, or on the computer. Have your little one help you identify the people you’re looking for in those photos.  (Hint: If you have your digital photos stored on your computer, first check the ones that you took around the holidays or large family gatherings. Chances are, you’ll find what you need there.)  If you don’t already have extra photos on hand, you may need to call/email loved ones and ask that they send/email a photo to you.

Print the photos and cut out the faces. This is a good time to introduce scissor skills if you haven’t already. (Using scissors is a skill children really need to have before entering kindergarten, according to our local kindergarten teachers.)

Since you already have an idea of the shape of your family tree, you may want to be the one to draw the outline of the tree. Encourage your child to color in the tree if he/she would like! Put a mark where each of the photos should be glued, and let your little one use a non-toxic glue stick to attach each of the photos to the tree. Label the faces with their names and their relationship to your child.

Ask your child to find him/herself on the tree, then you. Talk about how you’re connected on the tree. Then, ask your child to find your mother or father (his/her grandmother/father). This is a concept that takes a bit for little ones to understand, but you can talk about how the grandparent is your parent, and so on.

Post the tree somewhere your little one will see it often, and use it to talk about who will be visiting, who is calling on the phone, etc. Put names to those faces!