Let’s be honest. It’s easier to nail Jell-o to a tree than it is to keep tiny humans excited and engaged in learning during the last few weeks of the school year. My solution? End of the year memory books. It’s a fun project that has always been a hit with my tiny humans. They love spending time reflecting on the good times they had throughout the year and get so excited to see the finished product. I’m often asked about the memory book creation process so here are four of your end of the year memory book questions answered!
What do you include?
I actually start memory books at the beginning of the year with a self-portrait. I have my tiny humans draw their portrait during the first week of school and I hold on to it until it’s time to assemble the books in June. We formally start the project with an end of the year self-portrait and other book pages include:
Best friends
Favorite things (food, shows, movies, color, etc.)
Summer bucket list
Lunch/Recess
Field Trips
Allied Arts (gym, music, art, library, garden, and guidance)
Goals
Meet the teacher
Autographs
My absolute favorite pages are peer pages and the letter from a loved one. Everyone in the class completes a page about each person in the class. They write words that describe the person and their favorite memories with that person then draw a picture.
I enlist the help of families for the letter. I send a note home with a special piece of paper and ask them to write a note to their child that highlights their hard work and accomplishments throughout the year. They secretly return it to me and I add it to the book when I’m binding it. The tiny humans have no idea and it’s so much fun to see their face light up when they turn the page and find a note from someone they love.
How long do they take to make?
This completely depends on how many pages you do. If we put a huge focus on the project, we can usually complete it in a few days. I’ve also done it in a couple of weeks. This year, I’m giving us about four weeks to complete it. Not because it actually takes four weeks to complete but it’s a lot less pressure. The kids look forward to completing their pages each day and this will also give me some extra time to assemble them. I’ve been known to assemble books at 11:30pm the night before the last day of school and I’m trying hard to avoid that this year.
How are they assembled?
Always start by laminating the front and back covers! This gives the book a little more stability and a more finished look. If I’m binding the books at school, I use the comb binding machine in the teachers room. I do own a coil binding machine so if I’m assembling the books at home, I’ll use that. This is the machine I have. It’s an investment but I’ve had it for about four years now and it’s really paid for itself.
What about distance learners?
I’ve created a digital version that is PERFECT for distance learning. It’s editable in Google Slides so all you have to do is share the pages with your students and they can fill in their information!
If you’re looking for a fun end of the year project, this memory book is it! You can grab this digital and printable End of the Year Memory Book in my TeachersPayTeachers store. Have other questions? Let me know in the comments below.
I hope you enjoy these last few weeks with your students and the trip down memory lane as they create their books.
xoxo,
Chelsea
*This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase any of these books through the links provided in this post, I will earn a small commission.*