How to Use a Friends and Family Book in the Elementary Age Bedroom

Healthy family connections bind us together and help us feel we’re a part of something greater than ourselves. The Friends and Family Book is a visual representation of our human connections.

Elementary-aged children often delight in creating their own Friends and Family Books or Boards that include a wide range of family members and friends. Provide supplies for children to make a simple Friends and Family Book by inserting photos into an inexpensive photo flip book. You can also help children make a Friends and Family Board by velcroing or clipping photos to a piece of foam board.

Especially in families where close family members or friends may be away for long periods of time (military deployment, shift work, long-distance friendships, relatives who live far away, incarceration, etc.), it’s helpful for the photos to be removable or to make duplicates. Children often find comfort in carrying around a photo of those they miss. (For durability, you may wish to laminate photos that get a lot of love.) The photos in these books and boards serve as a way for children to connect with beloved individuals, even when they’re not present.