Memories of Me: Strengthening Memory Skills Through Photo Books

One of baby bookworm’s favorite books isn’t one that we borrowed from the library or bought at a book store, or any store for that matter.  It’s one that I spent many, many hours making this past December as a Christmas gift for her.  The book is titled “The First Year” and contains pictures from her life in chronological order from birth through her first birthday (you’re saying, “duh” right about now I know).  I created a story that goes along with the pictures so that we can actually read it like a book, and this of course provides me with documentation of those first months of life (wow, baby bookworm said “dada” at 5 ½ months?) that I am sure to forget when I’m 50…..or 35…….or maybe even tomorrow. I know that thanks to infantile amnesia baby bookworm won’t remember going to the pumpkin patch, her first trip to the zoo, or her first birthday – so this book provides important autobiographical memories for her too.

If you don’t have a book similar to this one for your own baby bookworm, I definitely encourage you to make one.  I mean, you might as well put those millions of pictures you have of your baby to good and educational use (it truly is amazing how you can have SO MANY pictures of the same little face).  I created mine as a photo book through Kodak Gallery, but you could just as easily paste some photos on to construction paper, write a few captions or a more detailed story, and then staple the pages together.  And if you’re really crafty or artistic and have older children, I’m sure they would find it really fun to be a part of this art project. 

Aside from this being a fun book to read, it truly is very educational!  And probably more than you realize.  Discussing memories or events that have real meaning to your child will help him or her develop autobiographical memory, build and maintain their own memories of the past, and develop a sense of “self”.  Be sure to discuss what you see in the pictures with your baby bookworm, and really try to relive the experiences - be a “storyteller” so to speak (which also conveniently helps baby learn important language skills about how to structure their own narratives, and also expands vocabulary).

Here’s just a few other ideas about how to enhance your baby bookworm’s memory skills:    

1. Remember those millions of videos that you’ve taken, in addition to those millions of pictures; well, pull them out & watch them!  These also provide valuable memory tools, help baby develop a sense of self by hearing and seeing him or herself in action, and help to sharpen language skills.
2. You know those recordable books sold in Hallmark? Turns out they not only make a great gift but encourage all of the same skills mentioned in #1.  Not a bad use of $20 after all.
3. Create flash cards with photos of important people in your child’s life.
4. We all have photos displayed throughout our homes, but remember your baby is small!  Try to find a hidden wall space where you can display a few photos at baby’s eye level.  We have a photo collage in baby bookworm’s room.  I used clear contact paper to adhere the photos to the wall.  It seriously is one of baby bookworm’s favorite spots in the room.

Library "Daze" -- Creating a Library Ritual

Ever since she was 4 months old, my baby bookworm and I have visited our local library on a weekly basis.  In the beginning our trips were really about me - I was looking for a good reason to get out of the house (and not spend money), but over time they have really evolved into a mother daughter ritual that we both look forward to each week.  I have always had a love affair with libraries, and I think baby bookworm is beginning to have one too.  Today she told me that she was "excited" as we arrived, and I was excited too - our visit meant new books to read, new things to learn, and new topics to blog about.

Our library ritual for the past year has involved 1) attending the baby story time, 2) play time with other baby and mommy/daddy/nanny pairs, and 3) time spent looking for new books (which is my favorite part)!  So, I thought it might be nice each week to have a blog entry about our weekly adventure to the library, our library day or "daze" if you would. At the very least I think this recurring entry will be a great way to document all of the books that baby bookworm has read (from the library anyway) and my thought processes for choosing these books.

Today our normal ritual changed a little bit, as baby bookworm has now graduated from the baby story time to the toddler or family story time.  The family story time we attended was focused around the topic of Spring; despite the cold and rainy weather it was, alas, the first day of Spring.  To be honest, I have no idea what books were read because I was too busy trying to keep baby bookworm from losing all attention in the activities and stories, a task which was not easy.  The books were not geared toward baby bookworms' age but I thought she did a better than average job at being a good little 15-month listener who was surrounded by children who were in some cases 3 times her age.

After story time, we found a couple of books for the week.  Normally I would have gotten more than 2, but considering I had checked out a huge cookbook for myself, I didn't feel like carrying around a load of books.  The first book we checked out was one that baby bookworm picked out herself.  I think it's important to let her find one book that she's naturally drawn to, for whatever reason.  Not surprisingly, it was an animal book.  The second book we checked out was a letter sound book on the letter d.  Although a skill that is advanced for a 15 month old, baby bookworm has really developed a liking for letters, and knows many of their sounds.  I figured I could reinforce these letter sound associations, which are an important precursor to learning how to read, with this wonderful book series.  I chose the letter d since baby bookworm knows that d makes the "d..d" sound, and "dada" was her first word.

So, here's our library selections for the week.  I think the Splash Splash book will become a favorite, and I'm looking forward to seeing how baby bookworm does with her first sound box book.  There's a lot of words in this book but the pictures are simple, and all things that she can easily identify and can most likely say.  I plan on trying to find our own "d" words in magazines and making a collage as a fun mid-week activity.

Splash, Splash
by Jeff Sheppard and illustrated by Dennis Panek
copyright 1994
A fun book about animals who fall in water and "splash, splash".  It is a great book for toddlers, and would be very appropriate to use as a part of a lesson on animal sounds.

My "d" Sound Box
by Jane Belk Moncure and illustrated by Linda Sommers
copyright 1978
Part of a series of "Sound Box" books that teaches children letter-sound associations through alliteration.  Would be a great book for a kindergarten student, or for younger children who are learning object recognition and word-object pairs (the book has great object labels).

Our D collage that we made from a Pottery Barn Catalogue


I am such an advocate for FREE public libraries and their programming.  We are very lucky to have several excellent ones close by to us.  I hope you are inspired to check yours out soon, if you aren't already a regular at it.

Building Vocabulary Through New Experiences: Our First Vietnamese New Year Celebration

Yes, Chinese/Vietnamese New Year was on Feb 3rd this year, but today is our own official celebration.  Baby bookworm will be going to her grandparents to eat some delicious homemade Vietnamese food, dress in a traditional outfit from Vietnam, and most likely receive her first little red envelope with "lucky" money.  Oh, and there might even be fireworks.  In preparation for her first Vietnamese New Year celebration I purchased a relevant book, of course, to introduce her to what this holiday is all about. The book that I thought would capture baby bookworm's interest best was Lucky New Year by Mary Man-Kong.  It's a brightly colored interactive book with parts that move, things baby can feel, and pop-out pages.  She really loves it! 

My real goal, however, with this book was to build baby bookworm's knowledge and comprehension.  Children learn through experience but this experiential learning can be enhanced by laying the appropriate groundwork ahead of time.  So, her trip to grandma's house and the various things that she will experience today will be heightened because she was first introduced to new vocabulary and concepts through her storybook!

So, before taking that trip to the zoo or the doctor's office, you can really advance your baby bookworm's learning experience by reading a relevant storybook beforehand.  Make sure to talk about new vocabulary and concepts so that your baby bookworm can assimilate their new learning into their knowledge base.  I plan on doing just that today!

Baby bookworm's New Year's outfit from Vietnam