There is a plethora of ways to document what your child says. Today I’m touching on two of those ways.
And by the way, this isn’t just for kids. Of course the ideas are applicable to adults just as well. Perhaps to David’s dismay, I have been known to document his exact words once in a while, particularly in those years before our children came along. I may or may not have made him answer a full list of interview questions once or twice. In the name of personal & family history of course. (He must love me?)
{ interview style }
First I’m going to pass along an idea from reader Meggan in Sequim, Washington. Perhaps you’ll relate.
Meggan wrote, I was trying to recall the last time I actually sat down with my kids and just had a conversation with them. Well to be honest, it’s been a while. I’ve been so busy with errands, taking kids to school, meetings, etc. that I haven’t spent that one-on-one time that each kid deserves with his/her parent. So, I put a hold on our morning activities, and sat my kids down & talked.
Meggan’s creative twist on the activity was to treat her child like a star and she was their fan and they set up an interview. The key is to write down their answers exactly as the words come out of their mouth. That’s what makes it so precious, so real, so accurate. For example, her 4-year old stated that he likes candy as his favorite food, and it came out “Can-knee” so she wrote it down just as that.
Meggan added, It was such an amazing moment with each of them. I enjoyed hearing their cute little voices & mispronunciations. To tie it in with my POTD, I set my camera up across from us, set it on “self-timer” and took a picture of us conversing.
Meggan is adding this interview page to her Project Life book. She continues, I am truly enjoying the POTD idea– it’s allowed me to look at my life more in depth rather than just scratching the surface. If you’re interested in seeing how she set up her document to include, here it is:
……….
{ capture the quote }
It’s as simple as that. Your child says something you don’t want to forget because it is so precious, so funny, so witty. Write it down immediately while it’s fresh & as accurate as possible. Same principle applies when someone (a friend, a sibling, a teacher) tells you something your child said or did. W R I T E I T D O W N .
For those of you doing a picture-a-day with Project Life, including a funny quote or story is always a great idea. You can accompany the story with a picture of that child or something related to the story. Or not.
Example. This is a POTD from one day last week:
This is so helpful. I agree writing it down is great. I only wrote down a few things from when my kids were little and I treasure them. Thanks for the post reminding us what is important. Spending time with out kids talking.
I love this!! I already have the Mommy & Me interview printed 3 times and ready to go for today!!
Thanks!!
Love this idea! We do an interview type session with similar questions on the 1st day and last day of school plus birthdays, just to see if it changes year-to-year.
This is great w/days that are full of kids, errands & such. Just take those few moments to do this! I’ve always loved Simple Scrapbooks Special Issue ‘scrapbook shortcuts w/quizzes & questions’ This issue covers all ages from kids to grandparents! I’ve used it time & time again! =)
My eldest daughter (aged 12) has always LOVED the video button on my camera. She takes TONS of hours of footage of her little siblings and cats. I used to get annoyed because she filled up my camera card and used up all my battery. Then I started downloading and watching the video. Amazing footage of dancing, eating, playing with lego etc. Not hockey games or birthday parties, but the real slice of life. The stuff we might even forget that we miss . . .
I just posted a link to your post on my blog. I can’t wait to try this out today!
Here is another fun list of questions…ask your kids what they know about “mom and dad”. It is interesting to see how they “think” at different ages, and many times the answers are funny and/or surprising! (This is best for school age (and up) kids.)
http://rko-ideas-galore.blogspot.com/2010/09/dadmom-questions.html
Great ideas!!! And thanks for the set of questions!
I have a weekly spot on my blog for just this sort of documenting! I call it “Seen & Heard Saturday”. Participants/Linker-Uppers are encouraged to share the little things their kids say during that week and to share pictures of the cutesy/other things we might have seen them doing that week. I started this so I’d remember to be writing those things down but also to maybe inspire others to document the same things. (Whether or not they’re linking up!)
my last seen & heard saturday:
{ http://theunexpectedworldofmommyhood.blogspot.com/2011/01/seen-heard-saturday-january-29-2011.html }
Thank you! I have been wanting to do something like this with my three children. I am printing it out now and will interview the kids when they get home.
oh, I LOVE it!
Also thought I should share that, like your Claire, I’ve been signing my name with a smiley face ever since I could write. I’m 28 now and that smiley face is still there. You might be seeing that heart & flower for a very long time.
I noticed that the way I was documenting the funny things my boys said was in my facebook status. I went back through my statuses from the beginning of my account and copied and pasted them into a word doc and when I was done I had over 8 pages of funny things they said or did. I need to print that puppy out!
I do like the idea of the interview. I will have to try it!
Love this little interview!! I will definitely have to use it with my kidlets. Too often I let their little comments go or put them in an email or on Facebook. I need to track them back and put them together to save! Thanks for the share, I’ll be using it, for sure! :>
Great idea! Can’t wait to see what my little man says. : )
I LOVE the new grid journaling cards you are offering just for that little quick capture! I find I can write it down quickly on a card and either use it as is or transfer it to my cute journaling card from the Amber set if I want it to match my layout. No more missing great quotes. Seriously, this is a fantastic product that I hope you will offer for a long time to come! Thanks Becky!
I just blogged about asking your kids what they remember about their birthday party and quoting them exactly for journaling. It is amazing to see their perspective of their own party!
http://jamieslay.blogspot.com
record via video…place on CD and put it in your project life album in a CD page binder insert…you can capture the actual moment…that is what I did in my 2010.
What a great idea! Thanks for sharing! I want to tell you that I started Project Life this year (with last year’s kit that I had bought and never started!), and I’m just loving it! It is so much fun and easy, and it really got me out of the stress of having to take every picture, and having to print everything and put in an album. It is just an amazing project!!!! Love, Débora (from Brazil)
I keep a recipe card box with plain 3×5 cards inside. I keep a thin sharpie inside the box too. When my kids say and do something cute I jot it on a card with the date at the top. My kids at random times ask me to pull them out and read them – and of course we laugh or feel good as we read. Someday I may be able to journal them but for now it works.
EXAMPLE:
Feb. 2010: Elizabeth had been asking for a snack shortly after I had just given her one. I told her “no”. She asked “why?”, so I informed her it wasn’t healthy to eat too much and then she’d get fat and then couldn’t do the fun active things she liked to do. To which Elizabeth responded, “Well Mom, I just want to be a LITTLE fat!”
HI Becky–I just did a blog post on how project life has changed the way I document life and how I’m keeping things organized…thought you might like to check it out
http://angelamoore.typepad.com/my_life/2011/02/things-ive-learned-about-project-life-and-how-my-philosophy-on-how-to-document-life-has-changed.html
Not on facebook, so leaving comment here. Don’t know if you will read it or not…but…Hot Glue doesn’t work well for scout badges, but if you go to the scout store they have an adhesive that does work, comes in sheets. If you do sew them by hand, I learned after many to just catch the edge threads in my work and not try to go through the heavy badge. Have fun…it is so worth it!
Hello Becky,
I’ve always enjoyed seeing your work in CK. I’m hoping to find a specific layout (& which CK issue) you did many years back. I believe it was a lo about your first son’s 1st year. It was a two page lo with pictures taken each month. I remember I loved the color combo and how you arranged the photos. I later had a second child and took the monthly pictures but now I can’t find that CK issue.
Thanks in advance and thank you for the never ending inspiration.
My 6yo has become a master at his own wisdom……Gabeism wisdom, we call it. You never know what he is going to say or to whom or when. My husband and I have decided we will put these “quotes” as our status updates in Facebook. There is a FB application that allows you to put all your “stati” on one page. That way we have record if it somewhere!
[...] was reading a blog online this weekend that had a cute story about spending a sweet moment with your child. The idea [...]