Creating the Photo Album

Vino Nataprawira

Creating the Photo Album

While a family vacation must come to an end, involving children in the making of a photo album will extend the adventure and preserve the family fun. The following tips will help you create a photo album and keep your kids entertained for hours.

Before you depart

* Determine the type of travel album you and your children would like to create. A traditional photo album, scrapbook or website?
* Assign responsibilities. Who will take pictures and notes? Collect leaves? Buy postcards? Save plane tickets?
* Give kids their own tools. Buy a disposable camera and notebook for each child. In addition to enabling kids to capture and note their observations, a camera and notebook will keep them entertained throughout the trip.

Collecting information

* Let your children help decide what to snap, write and collect.
* Don’t forget to the record the sound. While tape recorders may be old fashioned, they take up limited space, enable children to record interviews, messages and travel songs and, most importantly, keep sticky fingers away from your valuable digital equipment.

Making the photo album

* Begin working on your album as soon as you return, precious memories fade quicker than you may imagine.
* Hands on! Kids enjoy cutting out pictures, attaching postcards, and writing descriptions.
* The words and art should be their own. If your kids are not old enough to write, take notes of the things they liked and disliked or ask them to draw pictures.
* Help them plan their work. Get mementos ready and add supplies; glue, tape, scissors, colored pencils as well as stickers, cloth, ribbons, and frames.
* Manage expectations, particularly your own. If the album does not turn out the way you anticipated, create your own.

One last tip. When you're done, encourage your children to share your travel photo album with family and friends.

(By María Laura Lecuona)