My six-year-old has a classmate who is Chinese, so lately she has become very interested in all things Chinese. “Tell me about China, Mom. Did you wear any costumes?”
I love how little kids think. I went to China twice – once to staff a board of directors meeting and another time to participate in a community service project with the same company.
“Funny you should ask, Molly. Actually, I did wear a costume in China once.”
“Oooh, can I see a picture?”
“Well, okay. Let’s do that tonight at bedtime.”
I am on the left in the red costume they told me was for concubines. The other costumes are for royalty. As directed by my ego, I am just going to assume they put me in the concubine outfit because I was so young (and hot). Not to mention, I look quite devious in the picture, so perhaps they sensed that and clad me appropriately.
So I showed my daughter the picture and told her about it (san concubine reference). She was all about it and wanted me to walk her through the entire album and tell her about my trip. I did, and it was really fun to relive the memories and tell her about where I went and what I did. And the stories I told were illustrated by the photos in the album.
I think this is something I am going to start doing with my kids at bedtime once in a while. It’s a really good way to share our family history. And I mean, really, what are these albums doing, but taking up space in the closet? We might as well do something with them. So, we have a new bedtime story option in our house.
All my more recent photos are digital. So once we get through all the books, I need to think about ways to share the electronic photos. How do you share family stories with your kids, and what do you do with your digital picures? Do you still print photos and put them in albums?
Loved this! I still print some photos off but mostly I take advantage of free photo books whenever I get the chance. So we have our cruise vacation in a photo book, my son’s 1st & 2nd Christmas in a book, his 1st trip to Buffalo, NY to visit his Nana & Papa Joe, etc. (And, yes, I managed to get all those free – paid s&h only – or at a huge discount (think groupon.com) When my son is older, I look forward to going through my old photo albums & talking about my childhood with him. Thanks for a great idea. ☺
Hi Angela! Hope you are well. Its always interesting to hear what other moms do. Great idea to take advantage of free photo books. Very cool. Are you saying you got a groupon deal there was another company that gave you a groupon-like deal. I’d love to know which company does offers free photo books.
Such a GREAT idea! I made a bedtime book for my son when he was 6 weeks old that contains a photo of each of his family members from Great Grandma to his cousins (oh, and his cats). We thought it was a great way to get our new baby introduced to and familiar with his family members! I have so many digital photos – but, I love the option of making photo albums on Shutterfly – I like to make them and then wait for a sale before printing (they do come around pretty often). I have been VERY pleased with all of the photo books we’ve created! Enjoy telling your family stories!
Ooooh, the family book is a cool idea! What a great way for a little one to get to know relatives who don’t live nearby. Good idea, too, to have your photobooks in the queue and then wait for the sale to print them.