Recently, my friend's 10 year old son did a wonderful job of presenting his part in a program at church. He spoke
with such amazing grace and sensitivity that I was moved to write him a
special note and acknowledge his contribution to the service. It
reminded me of notes that had been written to my older children when
they had shared of themselves in similar ways. My friend was touched and
said the note was "one for the scrapbook". I shared with her something
that was suggested to me, many years ago by a wise school staff person.
I created a Kudos! book for each of my four children where I keep their
paper mementos. Every time they receive a certificate of achievement or
completion, I put it in a sheet protector (two documents per sleeve,
front and back) inside this 3 ring binder.
~ I just put about 50 of the sheet protectors inside so they are there when I need them.~
I keep things like certificates from swim lessons,
sports participation, religious school, extra curricular clubs,
honor roll and awards of achievement and excellence. I also include
programs from special musical events and productions, samples of
excellent work, poems and personal notes of acknowledgement and encouragement written to them by others. Each year, I include the class photo of the grade they are in.
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| A certificate from the beginning of his math path. |
My kids have
enjoyed collecting these mementos in one spot and over the years they
love to look at them and see what they have done in the past. It is an
excellent chronological sequence of their lives and when it came time
for Matthew to apply to college, it was a helpful review of the many
ways he was involved over the years. I am still adding to his today,
after his induction into his college Math Honor Society!
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| Graduation from HS with 22 College Credits in Math |
To access a free template like the one I made for my binders click here. It will open a window in Google Drive and you can download the template to edit in your word processor.
Notes: I recommend using higher quality binders and sheet protectors like the ones I linked to. Economy ones just don't feel as nice or hold up as well. The Kudos! book is going to be around for a long time, so the few extra dollars are well worth it!
For help with any organizing project,
simply call Linda, 716-631-5619.
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