This is one of my all time favorite things to do with kids. I’ve used it with my own children, and in classrooms. Children love to write and talk about themselves. They have such fun they don’t realize they are writing, thinking, reading, and making creative decisions.
This is also a very flexible activity. You can use a small binder, or a report folder, or simply staple the pages together. Or you can go all out and give the children their own blank books or scrapbooks. You’ll also need some drawing materials, and magazines. I like the cover to be a self-portrait of the child, and for the title to be “All About Me” or “All About Sam”. The “All About Me” book can be an afternoon project, or an ongoing project.
From there, you can make the book anything you like. It can be more of a journal for older kids, with questions like “This is my best friend, I like him because…..”. For younger kids a page with the title “My best friend” is probably enough. They can draw a picture of them playing with their friend, or attach a photo.
Other pages can be about favorite colors, or foods. You can include pages for games they like, or movies, where they like to go as a family, their favorite toys, or anything. For younger kids I like to do a page with their favorite stuffed animals. More pages can be added for pets, favorite books, favorite time of the day or year, favorite candy, or something they learned to do like roller skating or subtracting. You might want to include some family pages too with drawings or photos of grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. You can even do a “100 Things About Me” page for older kids.
Making an “All About Me” book incorporates so much learning. Kids read, write and develop a sense of self. The book will always be treasured, and a copy of the book makes a nice present for grandparents.
A Scrapbook Journal Making Party