Make a Photo Autobiography

What You Need:

• Variety of old pictures
• Blank paper
• Ink pen

What You Do:

1. Sit down with your child and look at pictures from when she was younger. If there are photos that she doesn't remember taking, or people she can't recollect, make sure to tell stories that give some background to the photos.
2. Help her pick out several pictures of herself that represent happy memories to her, although they don't need to represent actual events that she remembers. For example, your child may wish to pick out a picture of you holding her right after she was born.
3. After she's made her choices, help her glue one picture to the top of each page.
4. Under each photo, ask her to write about what is occurring, and why it's such a great memory. Encourage her to discuss the people in the photo, what she's wearing, or anything else that stands out to her.
5. When she's done, have her slide each page into a sheet protector and put the pages into a three-ring binder. Make sure they're in chronological order.
6. Finally, sit down with your child, and let her tell you the stories from her book of memories.
7. When she is done telling you about each of the pictures and why she has chosen them, point out to her how many happy memories she has. Encourage her to look at the book whenever she is feeling down. This is a great way to help her to focus on the happier events in her life.

Your child can add to this photo book as she gets older. Whenever an especially happy event occurs, make sure to photograph it and add another page to the her photo autobiography. Digital cameras make it easy to catch those special moments in action!