Yearbooks for the Kiddos

A homeschooling friend of mine (thanks, Annie) inspired me to put together a yearbook of the pictures that are taken of school related activities, projects, etc... After getting overwhelmed at the idea of doing 4 of them for the kiddos, it occurred to me to just let them do their own. So, I purchased art notebooks with plain white pages, decorated the front cover and coated the cover with clear contac paper to protect it. Then, after giving them a short explanation that this would be something that we spend time putting together every 2 or 3 weeks and that we will be able to look back on the books as a yearbook of school stuff, they were free to charge ahead. The photos for each child were in a ziploc bag so that they had the pictures that they were involved with and with a couple of jars of rubber cement and some colored paper, we began. It was fun to watch them each plan out their pages and enjoy every step of the process. Shaeanne said that it was the most fun she's had all school year (and for it being the 3rd week of school, that was a big step for her!) and the girls spent most of the afternoon and early evening working on their books. The books will be put away (unless one of them wants to show theirs to someone) and the pictures will pile up again until a few weeks from now when we'll pull it all out and do it again. It is really a joy to watch the children have fun with the projects and learning activities! Being home more and not having as big of a teaching responsibility at church has made a world of difference in our routine. The house is still a mess and I quickly slip into wanting to spend more time on the computer than with my children, but with the Lord's faithful help and guidance, we'll take it one step at a time! :)