How to Make a School Days Memory Book

Somewhere in the house or garage is box filled will your school papers, report cards, and photos. Wouldn't it be nice if you could pull them all together in an album instead have them in a disorganized mess?

You have your kids papers, too. How about starting a school days memory book now? When your child is an adult they will appreciate the effort you've put in to preserving their memories.

There are many different styles of books to choose from--or make your own! I chose to make my own. I've includes some examples to give you ideas. Now, go out and organize those school papers!

Anyone would cherish having your school memories organized and in a special book. It will be fun to look through, whether it's your school memory book or your child's.

A book for each of my siblings

A few years back, I decided to put together school days memory books for myself and my four siblings. The papers were scattered throughout the house. They were in closets in boxes, in a big bin in the garage, and in my Mom's hope chest. It was quite a chore getting them together.

Once I had all the papers together, I sorted them by person. Each stack had report cards, school assignments, certificates of recognition, and any paraphernalia from sports, clubs, and organizations the person belonged to during their school years.

I decided to make my own books, mainly because of the cost. You can make your own or buy a special book made especially for school memories.

There's an awful lot of paperwork involved with going to school. Some folks like to look back on those memories and have a good laugh. Others tossed out the old report cards and math homework when they got out of school.

An Easy Project

I needed a couple of things for my memory books:

Presentation Covers with a clear cover

Plastic pockets to organization items

Dividers for each sections

Some of the paper was delicate and frail. Instead of punching holes in every page, I decided to protect everything in either plastic pockets. This made them easy to view and easy to pull out if I wanted a closer look.

I decided to divide my book by school year. I put all the items in the appropriate pockets. I used several pockets for each year, though I grouped some of the similar items together.

Next I divided them into sections. I used standard binder page dividers to separate each section.

All that was left was putting everything in the presentation cover.

I made my own cover using Microsoft Works. It has some nice school themed graphics that I could copy and paste into my design. Any software that lets you create your page will work just fine!

I created several different designs for the books to make them original. On my sibling's books I added their names to the cover. This gave it the personal touch. It also helped me keep each book straight so I didn't put the wrong person's papers in the wrong book. LOL

You can make a cover on your computer or create one from scratch. You can make a collage of school photos and hand letter the title. There are so many things you can do!

There are many options as far as this goes. A 3 ring binder will suffice especially if you have a lot of papers to put together. You don't have to worry about it becoming too thick.

There are special books specifically designed for this purpose. They have pages where you fill in information, pockets for small items, and a place for each paper. The style varies greatly.

I preferred a simple clear report cover. I wanted to be able to see my cover pages. I also wanted to organize it simply. A three hole binding is good enough for me.

There are two ways you can go about this. You can do each page scrapbook style. Create a collage of similar items or items from one year on the same page. You can add fancy headings and notes if you like, too.

You can go the easy route, which is what I did. I used pocket sleeves to organize my records. My book is separated by year, so the papers for each year are put into sleeves for that year. I only have two pieces of paper in each sleeve. If I put more it would be bulky. Plus, you would only be able to see the top page.

It all depends on how much time and effort you want to put into your book.

There are numerous ways to go about this. If you have a nice printer you can design fancy dividers. If you know how to draw, you can do it free hand. If you'd rather have tabbed dividers, you can buy packs of 10 or more. Label each tab and you are done. An extra advantage to tabbed dividers is they are easy to thumb through and won't rip as easily as regular computer paper.

Whatever dividers you choose, you have to decide how to divide it. I separated mine by school year because that made sense to me. You could divide it by class and then extra curricular activities. You could do report cards and class assignments, then awards. This is really a matter of personal preference. No way is the right way.

From Albums to Scrapbooks

Not the do-it-yourself type? No problem! Don't let that get in the way of putting together a nice memory book.

You need to think about which kind of book will suit your needs. There are many different styles available.

If your child is starting kindergarten, you might want to collect all their kindergarten memories in their very own book.

If your child is graduating from high school, you might like a larger album that focuses on all the school years.

If you're putting together a book that includes photographs as well as documents, you might want a book that allows you to present them both.

There are many books to choose from. Choose the one that you like best!

Yep, they make that! You can find books designed for many school years. Typically, they cater to elementary school. But, you might also find them for senior graduation.

The books are designed so that you can put all your memories for one year in special pockets and sleeves. They also give you a place to record memories from the year. Some even have places for the child to add their own special touches.

These are the type of books you'd want to create at the end of the school year. That way it isn't such a humongous project when your kid turns 18!

Some folks really enjoyed their school years. Some folks...not so much. Our time spent in school can be filled with challenges, hard work, making friends, creating memories, teasing, homework, and stress.

Do you look back fondly on your school years?

There are albums designed to cover every year of required education. You're on your own if you kid goes to college! These albums are typically thicker to hold a great deal of paper.

The albums usually give you a pocket for the records for each year. Then, they have prompts where you either fill in the blank or you are prompted to fill in a more detailed story or memory. Books like the "School Years Record Book" also have a special place to keep each school photograph.

When choosing any type album, you should consider the dimensions of the book pages. You may have some larger sized pieces of paper which are going to have to be folded in order to fit. If you have several large still sheets of paper, you may be better off with a scrap book.

These memories belong to your child. Why not let them help you put the book together? Though you will certainly want to save some things that your child will appreciate later, you can have your child pick out what they feel is special.

These books are made to be filled in by your child with your help. They include prompts and questions for your child to answer. Some have places for them to draw out scenes from the year or about things that were special to them.

I can't think of a better way to put a book together that represents what is important to your child. You can work on it at the end of each year if you like or put it together all at once. It will certainly eat up some time in summer vacation. Have fun with it! And, cherish the time you work together.

I showed you the book that I created. What I didn't tell you is that I made five of them--one for each of my siblings.

I gave them their school days memory books one year at our Christmas Eve get together. Everyone had a great time looking over their report cards, seeing some of their school papers, and basking in the memories. We got a good laugh at how I got marked down one year for destruction of school furniture (maybe I wrote on my desk), how my sister who is somewhat bossy was commended for her ability to work with others and get along, and how for two years running my brother got the same comment on his progress report "works well with others but never turns in his book reports".

I'm glad I put the books together. Not only did we have a chance to share our school memories together, we were each able to take our books home and refer to them when we like. It was a wonderful way to keep those memories alive.

I hope you enjoyed this project and are motivated to get a school days memory book together.