Back to school …

There are many mums around NZ right now checking off lists as they prepare for kids heading to/going back to school.  For the first time in 15 years I’m not one of them :(.  It is hard to believe that both my boys are finished at school and are now at Uni.  Dean was deliberating about going to uni in Victoria, but I am very glad he has decided on Auckland – I’m not quite sure I’m ready for him to be leaving home just yet!!

Anyway, I digress.  If you do have children heading to school, it’s easy to get caught up in the stress/excitement of it all, and to forget about ‘recording’ those moments.  So I thought I’d share a few ‘photo’ tips to help ensure you capture all of the firsts and special moments in their school life.

Some photo recommendations;

First year of school;

• Purchasing their uniform – trying it on in the shop
• Class visits
• First day of school, all dressed and ready to go, waving goodbye from home, walking down the driveway etc
• One of the school itself

I really love this page below that I found on Pinterest – the photo is not a ‘posey’ shot but it has so much in it.  I love how big the backpack is in comparison to him – and this would be a good ‘comparison/measure’ each year.   And I love her journalling – it really tells the story (like all good journalling does).

I love this page also by Vicki Wizniuk from the Wizards Hangout.  Just like her, all through the kids school years we took a photo of them in their uniform outside our front door – one together, and then individually.  It is so special looking back through them, seeing when their uniform changed, how they grew, and now, it’s funny to look and see how small Dean was compared to Jackson  (our baby is now now 6’2″, the tallest in the family and still growing!).

Although on this next page the photo was taken the first day, the page has been created at the end of the year – the journalling tells the story of the year.  If you’re going to do your page like this, make sure you put notes in your diary as the year progresses, so it’s easy to remember the milestones and write that story!

Each year consider taking photos of;

• Get a programme of daily routines from the class, and take photos of your child participating in all of these, ie. classroom study, PE activities, morning tea, art, music etc
• Class trips
• Special events and sports days
• With school friends
• School assembly, and them achieving recognition
• Your child and their teacher
• As they grow make sure you include the subjects they study each year

Along with the photos, consider including these;

• Have your child do some writing in your album, alongside their photos.  At the very least get them to sign their name, that way you can see how it changes over the years.
• I also like to record pieces of information that I think will be interesting to look back on.  I ask them questions like;
• Why do they like their teacher?
• What’s their favourite lunch?
• Who are their best friends?
• What they like best about school?
• What’s their favourite music at exercise class?
• What they like to wriete their stories about?

Some people I know have a list of questions that they ask each year – so the same questions, asked annually.  It’s quite funny and really interesting to see how it changes.  These are questions like, what’s your favourite colour, what would you like to be when you grow up etc

• Their artwork.  Especially in their younger years, children create a prolific amount of artwork at school, and I know it’d be wonderful to include it all in an album.  For me that wasn’t practical, so I collected all my favourite pieces, and at the end of the year I put them all up on a wall, and took a photo of them.  That photo then went into the album.

Where and how do you store their report cards and certificates?

I like to store these in their albums, so everything that relates to school is together, is safely preserved, and I know where it is.

Depending on the format of the item, I find the CTMH flip flaps are great for adding memorabilia into my pages, that I don’t necessarily want adhered.

Have a great time recording your child’s life at school.  They spend a significant amount of time there, recording it will make you feel more a part of it (you’ll be surprised how much you learn along the way), and it will be a wonderful resource of memories that you’ll both have forever.

As you turn your photos into treasured memories, don’t forget that CTMH have some wonderful products themed to make accenting your school photos a breeze.  Here’s a few;

If you’d like to order any of these products, pop onto my website www.cropcraftcreate.co.nz

What else do you find has been an important ‘school’ memory?  Feel free to share your top tip, and if you have one of the ‘question’ lists, what are your questions?

Megan

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