Weekly Memory Jar

What You Need: Slips of colored paper; pen/pencil; special jar (e.g. cookie jar).

Doing It:

Sometimes we live our lives at such a frantic pace that we don't stop to savor the memories we're making. Parents can start a weekly Memory Jar as a good family conversation starter. If grandparents live nearby, use it when everyone is together for a visit. If grandparents live faraway, mail them memories and discuss them over the phone.

Each person in a family pays attention to anything warm, happy, fun, interesting, or moving that happens to them during the week. Write it down on a slip of paper (just a few words to remind you of the memory); young children can draw a picture. Fold up the slip of paper and drop it in the Memory Jar. No one can peek inside the jar until the "official" weekly opening.

At the end of the week, everyone takes a turn pulling a memory out of the jar. The person who wrote the memory explains what it was. You don't have to go through all the slips of paper -- perhaps two or three per person.