Kindergarten memory book: drawing and dictated answers
Collect a child's drawing, chosen photo and answers in their own words. Repeat the page near the start and end of their school year, dating both and letting questions stay unanswered.
A kindergarten memory book can use drawings and spoken answers whether or not a child wants to write. An adult can record their exact words without improving or completing them.
Use the downloadable page near the start of the child's year and again near the end. Match the dates to the school calendar rather than assuming September to July.
Make the memory book together
Invite people to send photos and their own words, then choose what goes in the book.
Questions to ask a five year old
- What do you like doing best at school?
- Who do you play with at playtime?
- What is something you learned this year?
- What do you have for lunch?
- What is your teacher good at?
- What was hard at the start, and is it hard now?
- Which book in the classroom do you like most?
- What will you do when you are big?
Repeat the page at the end of the school year
The comparison is the point. Ask the same questions and take the same kind of self-portrait at the start and end of the year, then put the two side by side.
Date both pages and keep the first in a labelled folder. Make a note of the question wording so the second page repeats the same questions.
Writing down what they say
Write the child's answer as spoken, including grammar and made-up words. Do not suggest a better answer or tidy the one they gave.
Ask one question at a time and wait. If nothing comes, move on and return later, or leave the line blank.
- Read each question the same way for every child
- Write their first answer, not one given after a hint
- Note the date and who did the writing
Handprints and self-portraits
Do the handprint in poster paint on thick paper and let it dry flat. For a digital book, photograph it in daylight from directly above.
Ask for a self-portrait in the child's own way. Use the same request at the end of the year, without correcting the picture to make it match the first.
- Use crayon or felt tip on white paper for drawings you will scan
- Write the name and date on the back, not the front
- Keep the handprint big enough that each finger is clear
For teachers making one per class
For a class book, ask the school what may be included and who may receive it. Its rules for photographs and sharing apply separately from a parent keeping a private family album.
Print the same page for the whole class, fill it in small groups during the last weeks, and send each book home on the final day.
Check a sample copy for other children's faces, full names and identifying details before distribution. A school-made class book should follow the school's approved process for each child.
Pages to make
Start-of-year self-portrait
The child's drawing of themselves, dated, beside a first-day photo at the school gate.
Handprint
A painted handprint with the date and, if you measured it that day, the child's height.
Dictated answers
The printed page filled in by an adult in the child's words, with a drawing of what they like doing most.
End-of-year comparison
The second self-portrait and repeated questions facing the first page, with dates on both. Leave out comparisons the child does not want to share.
Questions
What goes in a kindergarten memory book?
Self-portraits from the start and end of the year, a handprint, a few drawings, answers the child dictated, and a first-day or class photo.
Is a reception memory book the same thing?
The activities can work in reception too, but names, ages and school calendars vary by location. Use the child's actual year and dates on the pages.
Can parents make one at home?
Yes. Use the printed page at the start and end of the school year and ask the questions at the kitchen table.