Keepsakes And Memories

I definitely have talking children.  The most humorous aspect of that is that one of them qualified for speech therapy when she was three years old! She had beautiful receptive language but had a hard time clearly expressing herself.  It was difficult for other adults and children to understand her when she spoke and speaking a mile a minute didn’t help either!  I clearly recall filling out the paperwork for speech therapy.  One of the questions asked me to list my child’s strengths.  For my daughter, her number one strength was talking!  Ironic as it sounds, it was true.  In fact one of my girls talked an entire eight-hour car ride without stopping!  She was noticing everything from animals to colors of cards to pictures on billboards. It was quite an entertaining ride and something we look back at fondly.

One of the keepsakes that I started when my children were young was a postcard collection.  Every time we go on vacation or travel to a new place (even if it is in our hometown) I purchase a postcard for our collection.  We punch a hole in the corner and keep them on a ring.   When we are on vacation each child picks out a postcard they want for their “memory ring.”  My children’s rings are unique and they fit each child’s personality as well.  We look at it from time to time and recall important things that happened that day, special food that we ate or who we may have visited.  My children’s vocabulary and social knowledge of the world around them grew each time we took a “walk” through the pictures.  We were able to reminisce about the past and dream about the future. My children were always quick to mention cities in conversations because they had been there and had the opportunity to review the visit multiple times increasing their cognition and memory.

As a family we enjoy having conversations about just about anything. You can trigger memories from your child using photographs, words or pictures in a storybook.  Listen to your child’s conversations as she shares information with you about the world.  Your child is taking it all in, processing the information and storing it for later.  She is ready to tell you what she is observing and what she thinks.  Sit back and give her your full attention.  She’s only four once!  Savor every moment.