Fun & Learning Through Scrapbooking

Take a walk down memory lane with your family today. I remember finding my mom’s old wedding photo album, then her baby album. Then I pulled a photo from my parent’s dresser drawer. It was a beautiful picture of me…. no wait…. my dad when he was a baby. Wow. We looked so similar as a baby that I thought for sure it was me when I was born.

Have you ever taken the time to look at the pictures from your family’s past? Get your kids involved in getting to know your family history more. There is fun and learning through scrapbooking your history.

First, make a list of all of your family members as far back as you can think of. Maybe even get the family tree out to help, or make a family tree as you go. Write in their names, year born/death, and state they last lived in.

Secondly, find photos of the family members in your list. Many times, especially with large families, we lose track of history and who was married to whom, or what kids belonged to what couple.  There are so many things that can change from generation to generation. What do you think was the price of gas 25 years ago compared to today? What were some of your family’s favorite meals 20 years ago compared to what your family eats today?

It is amazing how times can change so fast. Make sure you capture your family growing through the use of scrapbooking and a time capsule.  Create a Walk Down Memory Lane themed scrapbook page using all this information and photos you find. This will keep your family’s history all in one place for safety. It would be like a timeline of your family’s life.

Mix and match photos to create a timeline of your family’s life story so far. It will be a learning activity for your children as they help place the photos in order of your family’s story. What all has your family been through and what all have you done? It would be interesting to see how many wars your past family members have been involved in. How far back in history has your family members had twins born? Celebrate your accomplishments and progress by re-creating the road you’ve traveled. Then, years later when your children are grown, re-open the scrapbook or time capsule with this page in it, and get ready to take a nostalgic walk down memory lane as you all reminisce. What other heirloom items can you keep in the Family Time Capsule along with this scrapbook page?

You could find a stepping stone scrapbook background, or make your own family background for your scrapbook page. Resize the photos if you need to in order to fit them all on the family time line. Along the way, you can include notes about how some family members look just like their mom or dad. Also include notes about milestone moments that happened in your family’s history, shaping who you are today as a family.

As you work through this scrapbook memory page, you may have to call your old family members to ask questions about their history. That is a great thing to do to be able to talk to the few family members you have not spoken to in years. Let them know what you are working on and I am sure the stories will begin to flow out faster than you can keep up.

For everything that does not fit in a scrapbook, put it in a Family Time Capsule that you all can make together with your family photos on the outside of the tin time capsule to decorate it. Get the “Any Occasion” DIY Time Capsule today to make your own Family Time Capsule here.

What is your favorite family history story of all time? Comment below.

Making Milestone Moments Count,

– Marcie