****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
Once my daughter entered preschool, I ordered this memory keeper book to document her school years and for the most part, I am extremely happy with it, but there are a few things I would change about it. I like that the front cover has space for you to put a small photo from each grade, but I don't like that there is no spot for a preschool photo, even though inside the book, there are pages for preschool. I do like that all of the pages are very thick and colorful and also that each page serves as a pocket for you to store keepsakes, such as school drawings, report cards, photos, etc. The spiral binding is a really nice touch because as you add more items into the pockets, it allows room to still be able to turn the pages.You can use a pen to write on the pages, even though they have a slight gloss, but I prefer to use an ultra fine tip permanent marker. I also like that for each grade, there is space for a few photos, drawings, and questions to answer. My daughter has been in preschool since age 3 and I have started to use the preschool section, but I don't like that there is no Pre K section (for age 4) - it just jumps to Kindergarten. So what I have done is reserved 2 pages for preschool, then in place of the collage page in the preschool section, I've glued in a heading for Pre K and will use the remaining two pages from preschool for Pre K. That way I don't have to miss documenting both because of the limitations of the book.The early years of the book have 4 pages per grade, but once it gets to seventh grade, each grade only has 2 pages, and then for high school, there is only ONE page per grade. I find that disappointing because high school years are filled with activities for most kids and I think the whole book would be better if there were 4 pages per grade for all grades. Also, I like that for each grade there are fill in the blanks about the child's favorites, friends, and favorite activities. In the preschool section, I used correction tape to cover the question about a class pet - class pets are a thing of the past in most schools I've worked in and I hate that they wasted space on that. The correction tape I used was barely detectable and I wrote over it about class jobs she enjoyed instead. Overall, the memory book is well made and I look forward to using it, but I may have to get a separate memory book just for high school since this one doesn't allow much space for that.At first I thought the cover was a solid picture art. I was very pleased to find that you may place a picture in each one of the rectangles, including the center black one (designated for 12th grade). Each frame is then specifically named from kindergarten through 12th grade (no designated space for preschool on cover, though) and rotates in a clockwise chronological order. Behind the cover, there is a backing similar to most common picture frames that allows the pictures to be placed inside and then locked in by rotating a black movable leaf. Inside, the book provides a generous amount of pages for each grade - especially the younger years. Furthermore, every page is a folder as well, so whatever you don't put on the page can be neatly tucked away inside the double sided pages. The first page is a welcome page (picture, name/siblings/pets/ect. The Preschool through 3rd grade sections includes 5 pages for each grade of all about me, my classmates, I love school/favorite memories, and half/full pages designed for showing off artwork, pictures and drawings. 4th through 6th grade had 4 pages each to capture special memories, favorites, field trips, ect. 7th and 8th grade have 2 pages each, with reflection and black page to put in choice drawling or pics. 9th through 11th grade are one page a piece with questionnaires on favorite class, most challenging....weekend usually consists of...kind of questions. The 12th grade is two pages, one being like the rest of the high school years but adding a graduation page for a photo(s). The book seems very sturdy and secure. Although my white squares have a slightly different artwork than the stock picture, everything else looks the same and the isbn's still match. The binding and the spiral bound organizer are not flimsy in the least. Definitely a recommended memory keeper.****UPDATE: 2015 - Binder is still holding strong after 3 years of heavy use and we just bought the newer edition last year for my second son starting school. I want to add that BOTH binder editions are SPIRAL BOUND and contain a HARDCOVER and except for some different colors/ pictures and wording, they both are pretty much the same. Feel free to choose your design and enjoy!!! My son's and I just love these books!!!****Bought 2 of these, one for each child. This was the cutest school memory keeper I've seen. It has lots of pockets to keep their school work. I love the questions they ask so you or your child can fill out. The pages have lots of detail and pictures.The only bad thing about them was they were sent to me with a slit. It looks as if someone used a box cutter and cut the ablum in one spot. Other than that I would definitely buy again.Exactly what I wanted! This is the nicest school memory album I have seen anywhere. It is a 12x12 with pockets in every page so you don't have to fold important papers! It has so many pages to write just about everything down from their favorites to their height each year! There are also pages for them to be creative and draw photos of themselves or mount photos and artwork. As it gets into middle and high school there are less of the "child" pages but still a pocket for each page. The front cover is a frame to put every school year photo except Pre K but there is plenty of pages for Pre K inside. The one weird thing is that it asks if the child can go potty in pre K or kinder which is a little funny. This is a spiral bound album with quality thick pages and will last a lifetime! Love it- thank you!Had purchased a similar book to store school photos and report cards for my daughter years ago at a warehouse club at a much lower price. Unfortunately my older son’s book was limited to elementary school years and I’ve been looking for years to find less gender-specific grade-school-spanning books at a reasonable price but it seems that they are no longer stocked. This did the trick, was in good condition and delivered as stated, and now each has their own organized book.Great book to record those school year memories. Thorough and well organized. I have to girl version for my daughter and was glad to see there was a boy version available too!This was exactly what I was looking for!
