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This week's guest post is from Signe Whitson, a licensed social worker, a mom and a freelance writer. I just LOVE her idea and am totally going to do it with Lil Man. He is a big time collector, even collecting acorns while we were camping over Labor Day weekend!
Is your child a collector? From rocks and stones, to pretty leaves and “precious” grains of sand, my daughter loves to pick up items from wherever she goes. I often run out of pockets to hold all of her treasures but have learned that each item does hold real significance for her (and that “losing” them is a very poor option.) To aid her in preserving special moments and to save my own sanity from the random collections in her room, we have come up with a great way to “contain” her memories and display them in a beautiful way.
We began with a little walk through our basement shelves, where I store dozens of inexpensive, used floral vases. I let my daughter pick her favorite three (the curvier, the better for her tastes) and fill each one with the sand, rocks, pebbles, stones, marbles, and other treasures that she has collected. She spent hours (I’m not kidding!) arranging and rearranging her collection over the course of several days. I learned a lot about her creativity, imagination, and memory through the process as she wove incredible stories about each creation, including incredible detail about where we were when she found each item. She took such joy in preserving her memories in this tangible way.
Upon her request, we put two of the vases on a high shelf in her room, where she could still reach each when desired, but where playmates would not think to disturb them. With the third vase, we added dried flowers and placed it on our family room coffee table. Her centerpiece has truly been the focus of many conversations and memories. All of us have been inspired to join in, pointing out shells that remind us of particular beach moments and rocks that recall a fun hike. I think we’ve created ourselves a family heirloom!
By Signe Whitson, LSW. Having been a child therapist for over 10 years, she has wonderful advice for My Baby Clothes Boutique to share with the parenting community. If you want more from Signe, check out her blog on passive aggressive behavior. Don't forget to check out the adorable baby clothes, baby accessories, and baby gifts that our partner has to offer.
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