November

How many times this month have you heard “But Mom, next year I’ll be at college and you won’t even know what time I come home!” Or “Dad, I’m an adult now; I can make my own decisions!” Do you catch yourself sounding like your own parents… “As long as you live in my house…” or “You’re an adult when you’re paying your own way.” If this sounds like your house then you might be the parent of a high school senior.

No matter how aggravating they are right now, you’ll miss your little birdies when they fly away, so thanks again for joining us on our journey to capture these memories! As always, you can catch up on our tips from past months by visiting our August, September or October newsletters.

Focus on…Friends:

Last month we suggested focusing on your teen’s “Favorites”. For November, why not gather information about the most important favorites in your teen’s life – their friends. As it begins to hit them that everyone will be moving on soon, your son or daughter is probably beginning to cherish those times with friends even more.

Here are a few ideas for capturing the memories of friends:

Map It: Google Maps and Mapquest both have features in which you can place “pins” at various locations and add descriptors about that location. It might be fun to have the names and addresses of your son or daughter’s best friends or favorite hangouts all mapped out.
Facebook: The most popular social networking site can be a treasure trove of photos of high school kids and their friends. And they recently introduced the option of downloading high resolution versions of the photos posted, which makes it a perfect way to access photos you might not otherwise see. But of course there’s the issue of access. If you are friends with your teen on Facebook, congratulations! That is a special privilege. But if you haven’t been granted that access or aren’t on Facebook at all, you might need help from a friend or sibling. Once you’re in, grab a Print Screen (there should be a button for that on your computer keyboard) of their Profile page and their Wall, just as a snapshot in time. Then take a look for photos tagged with your Senior’s name and see if there some you’d like to print or save on your computer.
Grab a partner: If you haven’t already done so, ask one of his or her friends to be your partner on this memory journey. The right friend can help you gather memories from kid-only events, including photos and captions or descriptions.
Then and Now: Are there friends who have been in your teen’s life for years? Some of the most poignant photos are the then and now photos of two (or more) friends over the years.
Solicit messages: Before it gets too close to the craziness of graduation, now might be a good time to ask a few special friends to write a message to your son or daughter about what that friendship has meant to them. Not every teen will feel comfortable doing this, but it might be worth a try.

Looking Back:

As you gather memories and photos of activities this month, think back to past years and collect some that will make a nice “Then and Now” contrast to current photos. What about…

Fall Clubs
Fall sports tournaments
Fall music, art or drama events
Friends through the years
Thanksgiving celebrations

What’s Happening This Month?

Here is just a partial list of events that may be occurring in your senior’s life this month and ideas on how to capture the moments. As always, be aware of everyday photo opportunities, and consider jotting your own thoughts and feelings down on index cards or in a notebook.

The End of Fall Sports – continued from October.Fall tournaments are coming to a close – did your team make it into late rounds? Did you save clippings, programs, rankings? Was there an Awards Event? You can take photos of trophies, or scan award certificates or plaques.
College applications – continued from October. The due dates are approaching rapidly – some of the early decision dates have come and gone! How is this process going? Are they still making last minute college visits? Has there been any early news of acceptances? Be sure to save the acceptance email and packet, and maybe the rejection letters as well. (Someday they will be able to look at those with perspective.) Save a copy of their essays. Take a photo of your Senior clicking the SUBMIT button to their favorite college.
Teacher Conferences – Did you have one last round of teacher conferences? How did those go? How did you feel?
First Quarter Grades – Are there any signs of creeping Senioritis yet or is your teen keeping their nose to the grindstone? Be sure to save the grade report and any notes from teachers, good or bad.
Save the Bad Stuff – No child is perfect - save any detention slips, traffic tickets or other “bad news”. Someday you will all be able to laugh about it, and maybe even prove to your grandchildren that their mom or dad wasn’t perfect.
Thanksgiving – How will your family be celebrating Thanksgiving? Does your teen help cook? Are there special family recipes you want to share with them? Will there be special family members that you want to take a photo with your teen?
Winter Sports – As a new season gets underway, take a photo of your teen in practice garb – before and after practice to illustrate their hard work. Save a copy of the written schedule for workouts and games, preseason newspaper articles, etc.

Special of the Month:

Plan Ahead and Get Your Project on Our Busy Spring Calendar! Pay your deposit for your graduation book or poster project before December 31 and get a free second copy of the final product. (Up to $60 value.)