Bookmark It!: Preserve Family Memories a Little Bit Longer

Watching your children learn to write is a proud journey for any parent. But along with all that pride comes something else… souvenirs. From the moment your children take pen to paper, the pangs begin. After all, how long can you expect to be getting love notes depicting you as a smiling baked potato on matchsticks? And will that scribble that reads "I love yu momy" be the last of its kind?

Rare is the parent who doesn't want to clip and snip and save tidbits of every precious stage of their child's development. But there are ways to do that other than collecting dusty shoeboxes full of papers, or scrapbooking your Saturdays away. One way to make use of those special memories is to wrangle up the kids and spend time together turning all those bits and pieces of their handiwork into bookmarks. Anything that emphasizes reading is a good thing when it comes to young kids, but bookmarks also have another benefit – they make great one-of-a-kind gifts.

So how do you figure out what to use, and what not to? First of all, don't dismiss anything. Chances are that if there is a scrap of paper haunting your house that you just can't bring yourself to throw away, it'll look good in a bookmark. Think in terms of your child's first concert tickets to the see The Wiggles, a valentine with a drawing of a wobbly heart, or a strip of penciled-in math problems snipped from a first grader's math test. Postcards from a favorite uncle, photos of your kitten, dried flowers or leaves collected on a picnic also work. So do bits of gift wrap, a favorite charm from a child's broken bracelet, a feather found on a cub scout hike, or pastel foil from favorite candy in an Easter basket. When it comes to bookmarks, anything goes. Even snippets of wallpaper will do.