Interviewing Your Child For a Scrapbook

Have you ever considered interviewing your child and journaling from your child’s perspective instead of your perspective?

When we create scrapbooks we tend to see the photos through our adult eyes and write the words though our adult perspectives. However if you ask a child questions, you’ll get a whole new perspective.

Many times while putting photos in scrapbooks, one of my kids will share her memories of how that photo came to be. How wonderful to capture those words and add them to the scrapbook.

Children of all ages can be interviewed. Depending on the age of the child, different questions can be asked. For example, a young child might be asked "do you remember going to Disneyland?" and then listening for the child’s view on the trip. A child who is a bit older can be asked "what was your favorite ride?"

The interview process can be about a trip, a favorite recipe, school etc. We have created school days scrapbooks. Ask your child about their favorite teacher, their favorite topic, where they sat in the classroom and who they ate lunch with. As kids get older you can ask question such as "what did you admire about that teacher?"

Right now my daughter is in high school. She has tons of stories to share about each teacher, all of whom have very different personalities and bring something different to each of her classes. It’s fun to let her talk about class and jot down what she is telling me to add to her scrapbook. Even in high school, teachers are so flattered if the student says "can I get a photo standing next to you?"

Does your child have a favorite dinner? Take a few photos of them helping to prepare the meal. Copy recipes onto acid free paper and then let the child tell you why they like this certain food.

We have always had photos of friends. Ask questions. "What do you like about this person"? "How did you and this person meet?" "What are some of the things you and this person have in common?

My daughter has a friend who she has known since kindergarten. If you asked me how the girls know each other, I would tell you that they met in school. However if you ask my daughter how they met, she remember they were on the playground and it was the first day of school. She actually remembers the conversation they had that eventually led to them playing together and becoming friends. Her story of how they met is very different than mine.

Try a few pages or even an entire scrapbook of seeing things through your children’s eyes instead of yours.

About the author:
Audrey Okaneko has been scrapbooking for several years. She can be reached at audreyoka@cox.net or visited at http://www.scrapping-made-simple.com