discovering joy in the journey

Joy to the Heart

In high school, I had the opportunity to work as part of our yearbook staff.  It was before everything went digital.  So, I gained experience taking and developing photos, using gridded paper to design layouts measured in picas and using the rule of thirds, as well as writing copy and captions.  I absolutely loved it!

Quite a few years later, with the birth of our first child, I was able to step back into that realm somewhat with the creating of a first year album and family scrapbooks.  Again, though, it was pre-digital and everything was done on scrapbook pages, utilizing real photos that needed cropped with tools, choosing paper backgrounds, borders, and other embellishments such as buttons and stickers to dress up each page, as well as adding sticker letter headlines and handwritten captions.

Jump forward to starting preschool at home and adding more sweet blessings … My time for having free nights and weekend scrapbooking parties with other mom friends became less and less and the albums came to a screeching halt as my responsibilities increased.  There was just no time available to keep creating albums for our family.

Well, now, all of my photos are digital and are taking up space on my phone and computer.  Rarely do the pictures get printed in order to be displayed in our home and they never get printed to form a memorable scrapbook.  It..just..takes..too..much..time!

But, the photos have not stopped.   I am still constantly taking pictures of our kids. 

And, having a scrapbook or photo album for our family to refer to is still very beneficial!

So….

We now create digital homeschool yearbooks!

One of the last things I do as our family wraps up an end of a school year is to make a homeschool yearbook.

Why?

• shared memories

  As a homeschool family, we spend a LOT of time together – singing, reading, playing, and  learning. So much growing and changing is going on each year!   It is important to have a way to help remember these days.  Our kids look at the different homeschool yearbooks made over the years and rehash what they did, where they were, and what they learned.  The shared memories always bring smiles and laughter!

• a record of the past

  I admit it.  I’m forgetful.  I need a place to remind me of the important events and activities in our busy family’s life.  We record holidays, birthdays, the first day of school, our 100th day celebration, any field trips, co-op experiences, photos of artwork, etc.  We also make sure to capture the everyday learning that is taking place.

• a sense of accomplishment

  We all know that homeschooling is hard.  We never feel like we are doing enough, being enough, providing enough for our children.  And, we tend to question ourselves (at least I do sometimes) as to whether it is really all worth the time and effort as our days blur together throughout the course of the year. Somehow, seeing the pictures of our children at the end of a long, challenging school year, can be just the thing I need to re-spark the joy of schooling at home as I can visually see the web of learning that was taking place.  It provides a much needed sense of accomplishment – for myself and our kids!

An online photo book editor makes the process of creating a homeschool yearbook so much easier than previous years of doing a book all by hand!  We have been using Shutterfly, but there are other online options available.

You first choose the size of album you desire and select an overall style or theme.  Next, you upload photos.  They can either be preplaced randomly or, if you are like me, you can organize them by page.  Then, the fun begins!  You can choose background patterns and colors, customize your layout, resize and crop images, and insert graphics and text for each spread!  Tinker and polish to your heart’s delight (and perhaps shed a happy tear or two as you see how much your kids are growing). Once you think you are done, you’ll want to carefully edit your text and picture placement.  Then, hit ‘add to cart’ and check out.  (Tip: Always make sure to look for coupon codes and specials before ordering.  They run deals frequently.  So there is no need to pay full price – unless you are in a hurry.) 

We have found the most difficult part is waiting a few days for our package to arrive in the mail! 

But, oh, when it does arrive, watch your kids’ faces light up with excitement!

I love observing them pour over the new book each year and watching them bring out all of the others… saying, “I remember when we did that!”, asking questions, and talking about events.

It’s a wonderful way to celebrate a year of homeschool learning!

Preschoolers and Kindergarten aged kids LOVE a good story.  How do you know if it’s a ‘good’ story for 3-6 year olds?

1) They will request it to be read again…and again…and again.

Although you may be tiring of reading the same story over and over, try to keep your enthusiasm!  Multiple readings increase your child’s vocabulary, improves listening skills, and builds a sense of story.  It opens up opportunities to briefly discuss story elements (sequence of events, characters, setting, beginning, middle, end, etc.).  Most importantly, rereading books generates enjoyment and positive memories/experiences of interacting with you and books – creating a foundation to build the love of learning for years to come!

2) They aren’t completely quiet as you read.

Do you hear your child trying to chime in on some of the words or phrases as you are reading? That’s a wonderful sign that you’ve found a perfect book with engaging text! The text in the book is probably repetitive, predictable, contains rhyme, or silly/nonsense words.  It may even be able to be sung. 

3) They ask questions and/or make observations.

Are your kids making connections between the illustrations and what is being read aloud in the text? Are they making predictions about what they think might happen next?  This shows they are interested and making connections!  They may be able to relate to the characters (people and animals) and look forward to turning the page and seeing what happens to them!

4) They continue to refer to the story long after it is over.

Do you overhear your child spontaneously retelling the story to someone else? Do they make statements in their play and everyday living referencing some connection back to the book? Do they desire to act out parts of the story?  These are positive indications that you’ve found a great book for them!

Whether teaching in a Kindergarten classroom or reading to my young children at home, these were the signs that a ‘good’ book had been discovered!

Over at Hubbard’s Cupboard, I have listed more than 25 ‘good’ books to use with preschoolers and kindergarten children.  Each book link gives ideas for rereading the book over a period of five days and lessons to accompany each story. May you be able to adapt these story lesson ideas and use them within your own home or classroom to encourage a love for reading!

Story Lessons

What are some books that your 3-6 year olds ask to have read again and again?