Talk about sneaking a writing assignment on your children! This is a gem.
STEPS TO MAKE YOUR OWN TIME CAPSULE:
1. Have your kids write a story about their life.
2. Give them questions to answer about their favorites (color, food, movie star, Bible verse, place, birthday memory, animal, number, friend, Bible character, book, website, video game, subject in school, item of clothing, vacation, toy, restaurant…).
3. Get them to write a few lists out about life today (top headlines from the newspaper, a top 40 song list, the names of the president and vice president, and possibly the gas prices and grocery prices for top items). You can get more ideas from the time capsule site.
4. Add memorabilia. Take a few pictures of them and maybe their house, their room, their pet, and a group shot of the family. Include some of their artwork. Put them in plastic baggies or sheet protectors (depending on your container). You could even throw in a few trinkets like a favorite rock, bottle cap, fortune cookie slip, letter from a friend, etc.
5. Stick all of your goodies in a water/air tight container and BURY it somewhere. Half of the fun is digging it back up in ten years. Have a ceremony. Do it on the day before they graduate highschool. Give them a glimpse of how far they have come in this world and give them fond memories to look back on.
I did this one year with my church youth group when I was younger. I never got to dig mine up since I moved away; however, my mom saved a lot of things I wrote when I was a kid and that served as a good enough time capsule for me. I have plenty of old school-work and photos to look back on. I plan to do this project with my kids this summer. We will dig them back up in about seven or eight years when the kids graduate homeschool, before they go on to college. Of course, we won’t be burying ours in Arkansas. I’ll take it home with us and keep it in the bottom of some box somewhere – out of sight until we can find a safe place to bury it. You could even bury one of these each year if you wanted… or keep them in a box in the top of a closet and let them open one each year after five years passes (on their birthday or at the end of the school year). Oh, the ideas are endless. Have fun! Don’t forget to enjoy those kids while they are little. You’ll be amazed at how ‘time flies’.
Buzz Words: homeschooling, kids, homeschool, children, time, education, memories, growing up, yesterday, learning, memorabilia, project, fun, elementary, teaching, scrapbook, kids, life, character, Christian, parenting, photos, school, creative, family, journaling
My Boaz's Ruth says
I can’t get the link to work 🙁 I’m looking for ideas for my new baby
Jessie says
This is a great idea! I am going to do this with my children during our Summer break. Thanks so much. ((Hugs))
Sprittibee says
Not sure why you can’t get it to work, MBR. 🙂 I clicked it and it came up fine. The only problem is, you have to wait a few years after the birth of your child for the lists to compile correctly. 🙂 They come up fine for MY kids (but they are 8 and 10). Just buy a newspaper for the date your child is born (or the Sunday nearest). Make sure to take the baby book with you to the hospital and fill it out after your epidural. Gotta love those anesthesiologists.
Jessie – 🙂 You are welcome. Looks like snow in your photo! I’m glad for the warm weather that has FINALLY come now that it is May. It got over 85 today for the first time all year here in AR. Feels like summer.
Marcie Norton says
This is such a great idea. This is why we do what we do. We want you to capture traditions and history in a time capsule for years, to re-celebrate life later. You can get decorative and artistic Baby and Wedding Time Capsules from http://www.timecapsule.com
Thank you for sharing your ideas. I love them.
Marcie Norton
The Original Time Capsule Co.
http://www.timecapsule.com