Remember When…

| By: Committee for Children

At the end of each year, one of my favorite activities to do was to make a “Remember When … ” book for each child. It was a great filler during that last week when we needed to write, but couldn’t really begin a new unit of study or project. More importantly, this book would fulfill a social and emotional goal of mine. The goal was that each of my students walked away feeling part of a community of learners. They were special. They were one of a kind, and they knew it.

A goal like this can be hard to fulfill as a teacher who has many tasks at hand, especially at the end of the year. This “Remember When…” activity made us all slow down, focus on each person in our class, and reflect. It was one of my favorite activities of the whole year and now I will share.

I use the famous popsicle sticks in a cup with all the kids names on them to draw one child at a time. That child gets to sit in the “hot seat” in the front of the room. The time is set to 5 minutes (this is purposeful and a must- otherwise there’s no way to get through all the students!) and usually some soft symphony music put on. The child sits (and usually smiles out at all of us). After a minute, the child comes and gets their cover of their book and decorates it with stickers/coloring as we all reflect for the remainder of the time. We write about that special child, all of us. Yes, even I the teacher get a piece of paper in front of me that says “I remember when__________…” It has this line at the bottom and space for a picture up above. I do my best as the teacher to think of the just one thing that I could write about as there are so many thoughts that flood my mind; so many memories about this child who I taught throughout the year. The students reflect too. This is a quiet, mindful time that takes them back to the moments that matter, when their peer shared a pen with them, played with them at recess, helped them with their reading, or told them “You can do it”. The illustrations the children draw of their friend almost make you tear up as much as the words: The hand holding, the smiles, the sunny days of play, the books being read side by side, and the details that they remember most about that person. These are the memories, the learnings that matter most.

We do five or six a day the last week typically. Then once we are finished I take the self-decorated covers and bind them with a page of their book from each person in their class. The book is thick. It is thick with thoughtful words and illustrations of our fondest memories.

On the last day of school we celebrate how far we’ve come and I pass out these “Remember When…” books. The symphony music plays and all is quiet once again. The students carefully read, adore, and flip each page. Their faces glow. The smiles beam on each face once again.

With this activity, I could observe my goal was met. They felt part of a community of learners. They felt special. They were one of a kind and they knew it.

These books are kept and treasured. I know this because I have one for every year I have taught, too. I have the special words and pictures my community of learners has given to me, like “I remember when… I first saw my teacher. “ I remember when… my teacher taught me to read.” “I remember when… my teacher told me I could do anything I put my mind too.” “I remember when… we all laughed until we cried.” “I remember when… you were my favorite teacher of all time.”

Thanks to my students I felt part of a community of learners. I felt special. I was one of a kind and I knew it.