Taking over this yearbook blog is a big deal for me: I don’t remember a time without a yearbook. Now that I’m about to finish middle school and have eight yearbooks to look through, my appreciation for them leveled up. Yearbook moms (and dads) deserve our appreciation. If you are thinking about joining their ranks, know it impacts your kids and their friends.
My Yearbook History
The oldest yearbook memory I have was when I tried to get as many signatures as possible in my book. My friends and I once had a competition to get the most. We’d ask everyone at lunch and during after-school care to sign ours. Because my mom ran the yearbook, I had an advantage with the older kids. They all knew her, and she’d talk about me in class.
Now, the signing part is more or less to show my kids one day that I did have friends. My school does its signing party in the summer. I look forward to it because I get to see all my friends again.
Before I started fourth grade, my family moved across the country. When I changed schools, yearbooks became even more important. They helped me remember my old friends. Since yearbooks capture memories of the school year, I use them to brag to my friends about doing things like scoring a touchdown or winning the science fair.
How My Mom Makes the Yearbook
At my old school, my mom taught the yearbook class. The yearbook students were recognizable on campus. Now, my mom takes photos at school and recruits other moms. She then uploads them and puts them on pages. When it comes to design, she uses the pages to organize how events happen at school. Sometimes I get out all my books and look through them so I can remember.
Every year, she chooses a theme, and she doesn’t tell me what it is. At our school, it’s a surprise for the end of the year. No matter how much I beg, she won’t tell me. If the book was bland or the designs were scattered, it wouldn’t make much sense. I’m glad she puts time into making something that looks like the school year. Each one is different: 3D, like a journal, or even patriotic.
Having a Yearbook Mom
Now that my mom is making the yearbook as a volunteer instead of a teacher, she does all the work from home. Even though she constantly takes pictures of my friends and me in class or hanging out at recess, it feels good to know we will all be in the book. She knows us, and we can all relax (OK, I’m not always relaxed because she can sometimes be embarrassing).
Know it’s a good idea to be a yearbook mom (or dad). You’ll help more kids get in the book. You also get to help make something special that your kids and their friends will look at over and over.
Guest blogger Erikson (age 13) spends his time outside school cooking with his culinary team, serving as the 4-H teen leadership council vice president, and volunteering with Giant Cow Ministries. His Treering custom pages feature family vacations and 4-H achievements.
