This past year my youngest went to Kindergarten.   I swore that since he doesn't have much of a baby book (that happens with number three) that I would document his Kindergarten year and create a special memory book for him at the end of it.  I actually kept my promise and I got it done!  I surprised him with it this summer and he loves it!   Sometimes, when I wake him up in the morning, I find the book in his bed with him.  

I want to share my process with you so that you can do this for your child (or children) this coming school year.  Just follow these 6 steps to create your own memory book:

Step 1:  Create an album on your phone for the photos you will collect for the memory book.

Step 2:  Document any school events with photos; first day of school, class parties, eating lunch with your child, field trips, etc.  Any time you are at the school, remember to snap a few pictures.  Sometimes your child's teacher will even use an app for parents and she may share pictures through the app.  Save those to your phone.  As you take pictures, I find it easier to go ahead and add them to the album on my phone right then verses trying to search for them later.

Step 3:  Document other events with photos.  Your album doesn't just have to include school events.  Anything important happening that year can be a part of the album.  I included holidays, birthday parties, trips, etc. as well.

Step 4:  When my son would bring home papers or artwork I would choose one of several that were worthy of keeping.  Then I would take a picture of it with my phone.  I would crop off any excess portions of the photo and straighten it if needed.  You can do all of this right on your phone.  Again, remember to go ahead and save those images to the designated album.

Step 5:  At the end of the year, you will have all of your photos in one place which makes it a lot easier to create the album.  There are even apps that allow you to print so all of this can be done right from your phone.  I prefer to transfer the images to my computer - I use airdrop for this - and create my memory book on the computer.  Both of the options that I recommend for printing allow you to create your book right on their website - no special software needed!

Step 6:  Print your book!   I recommend mPix for printing books.  One thing to note; their books have paper pages that can get torn and bent.  If you are looking for a book that is more durable that your child can handle and look thorough without having to worry about them ruining it, I recommend ZNO.  Their album will be more expensive than a book, but a lot more durable which is what I chose and what I would recommend.