August 2010. It was back to school for the kids and the start of a new project that I volunteered to take on for two classrooms — Porter’s 2nd grade class and Claire’s preschool class.

I call these Personal Yearbooks. The idea of course, is to help students document their school life, introduce the youngsters to scrapbooking and personal history, and have fun while doing it. Each month I photographed every single kid. I edited those pictures, printed those pictures, prepared the supplies, and went back in to guide the students in putting their pages together. It’s a monthly ritual.

Many of you have done the same thing.

So here we are. May 2011. The end of the school year. The books are complete. All 43 of them. Each is unique and specific to that child, filled with his or her handwriting, stories, art, and imagination.

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{ a  few pages from Porter’s book }

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{ a few pages from Claire’s book }

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As I reflect on this year of doing this project month after month, I thought I’d share a few bits of advice to those (parents or teachers) who may want to do this next school year. Full details can be found here (you’ll see it there on the right side along with lots of other free downloads.)

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{ advice }

1. You don’t have to do it alone. You could alternate with another parent, month by month. Or one of your could be the photographer who also prints the pictures and the other person could be the one who prepares the supplies and goes in to scrapbook with the kids each month. My friend Keri did all the photography and prepared all the supplies but then she let the teacher actually do the pages with the kids each month. However you go about it, consider sharing the load so you don’t burn out.

2. Consider doing the bulk of preparation at the beginning. I’m talking about all of the printing, paper-cutting, and any other prep work. I often found myself doing last-minute stuff as I rushed out the door to get to the school. Always so much going on. Had I had everything already prepped and organized, I would have been a lot more relaxed about the project.

3. Involve your child. One thing I’m glad I did and would definitely recommend, is to involve your own child(ren) in the behind-the-scenes process. Porter and Claire helped me with sorting, matching pictures with folders (they know who’s who in their classes a whole lot better than I do), and things like that. They love it. It’s a family affair. And they learn to appreciate volunteer work a little more.

4. Stock up. If you have a stash of patterned papers and other paper crafting or scrapbooking supplies, set some things aside for this project if you’re considering ever doing this. Even though I don’t do much “traditional/decorative” scrapbooking anymore, I am so glad I have always hung on to some supplies. That stuff always comes in handy when it comes to projects with the kids especially.

5. Plan themes in advance. At the beginning of the school year, brainstorm with the teacher and come up with a list of themes you want to be sure to cover for the project. This will help you feel organized, as opposed to trying to think of a new idea each month. For example, here are some POTM (picture-of-the-month) themes we did this year: first day of school, my body system (a specific learning unit), gratitude, class holiday party, reading, field day, field trip, my teacher, recess, the library …

6. Don’t pose every picture. Obviously a child’s smile is priceless and we want to capture that. I also encourage you to mix it up. Take some of the pictures candidly and not always posed with the child looking & smiling at the camera. Catch them in the act of doing what it is that they do at school.

7. Details in writing. Whether the students are doing their own writing on the pages or you or the teacher are writing what the kids say (as it was with our little preschool class) … dig for a little more information. When you ask, “What’s your favorite thing about lunch time?” … follow up with “Why?” or “Tell me more.” This is where the flavor in their personality can really shine through their words.

8. Do it. Even though this year was a bit of a challenge for me personally to keep up with 2 classes worth of Personal Yearbooks, I am so glad I did. Obviously it’s always great to volunteer in the kids’ classes and be involved with their school. But also — these books very well could be the only form of memory-keeping some of these kids will have at this age.

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I learned a lot this year. I’m going to do things a little differently next year. Yes, I plan to continue the tradition. But — no more late nights cramming in last-minute preparations that look like this:

Here’s to teaching kids while they’re young, that documenting life is awesome.

It is completely & totally worth it.