A Gift to last a Lifetime

Our good friends had their baby boy last week, so this picture of the week is purely for cuteness sake…

But it did get me thinking about album ideas that are often talked about but rarely created, that are perfect for babies, toddlers and early readers. I’m talking about an ABC album or a Nursery Rhyme/Literacy album.

My oldest daughter and I made an ABC album when she was 4-1/2, her first foray into the world of scrapbooking. These albums are so easy, educational and best of all, use up all of those “extra” photos that you don’t know what to do with! We had a picture of an elephant that we had taken long ago on a zoo visit, and put it on the “E” page. We put an extra picture of one of the kids napping and put it under “S” for sleep. A picture of my daughter at a party with a ladybug painted on her hand made it on the “L” page.

These are all pictures that didn’t make it into other albums for whatever reason, some were duplicates and some just didn’t find a home. But here they made sense and my daughter and I had a great time picking them out and deciding what page they should go on.

I also read about a Creative Memories Consultant/Pre-School Director who made a songbook album filled with photos of her children as well as nursery rhymes and children’s songs. Think of the pages you can make using “Wheels on the Bus,” or “Patty Cake!”

Both of these albums can help children develop skills they need for reading. What a great gift - for a child, grandchild, niece, nephew, friend or any new baby - that will promote lifelong learning.