Family Time Capsule Photo Project

By Alissa Marquess Zorn on May 6, 2016 (updated October 24, 2016)

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Making a Family Time Capsule

by Beryl Young
There are certain moments in this parenting journey I wish that I could package up to store in my mind and remember forever. I want a dedicated compartment in my brain where I can simply unlock a room of special memorable parenting moments. (wouldn’t that be amazing on the hard days?)

I’d love to have a video highlight reel reminding me of all the ages and stages and how we’ve evolved through the years.

Unfortunately I’m not the mom who keeps a written log of all the milestones for my daughter — the kind where you write the cute things she’s done, the funny things she’s said, and the date they all happened.

I do however have my camera. The camera is the closest thing I have to being able to document our special moments.

And although I can’t go back in time to re-document the past, I can make a more concerted effort to document the here and now with my child. At age 5 she’s more interested in the camera than she’s ever been before and I want to capture our life not only from my perspective but from hers as well.

How to Make a Family Time Casule

Family Time Capsule Photo Project

One of our favorite activities we’ve done together is put together a time capsule – something special for just her and I.

The jist of the project is to talk to your children about some of your favorite things to do together: for us that was saving earthworms, going out for ice cream, playground playdates.

Gathering photos for the time capsule:

You could choose to do this project with each child separately or choose to do it together as a family unit.
Choose a day to do a few of your favorite things together.

Before setting out for our activities, we began this project by setting the stage for snapping pictures together with a book: [easyazon_link identifier=”B01F03RF8G” locale=”US” tag=”snglbkpost-20″]Phoebe the photographer gets a camera[/easyazon_link] is an inspiring story of a little girl who falls in love with photography and it will get your kids excited to use a camera.

From there we connected through these activities and captured little details through out.

We set the goal to have about 20-30 pictures at the end of our adventures.

Creating the time capsule:

Next was the fun part. Creating the time capsule. There are two ways to do this depending on what you feel like doing:

Printed Family Time Capsule: Print the images and place them in a sealed envelope. Or make a quick photo book with the pictures (my favorite place to print is Blurb) You could get creative and bury the capsule outdoors if you wish, or simply tuck the images away in a corner/closet/room in your house. Set a date a few years in the future to unearth them and look at them with your child.
Digital Family Time Capsule: Save the images to the cloud (Dropbox would work well for this) and then write a letter with your child on Future Me. Be sure to include a direct link to your Dropbox folder of images in the letter! Schedule the letter to send to you in the future!

Photos may not tell the full story of our life, and they aren’t that highlight reel I’d love to install in my brain, but they’re the perfect start.

Photos are the key to more conversation and deeper connection as a family.

Where will you let photography lead you and your child? What memories will you capture together?

Love this family photo time capsule idea? Looking for even more ways to enjoy photography with your child? Download the Beryl’s Free guide: 25 Conversation Starters for Better Photos with Kids and unlock laughter and connection through the lens.