Time Capsules

My 8 year old's time capsule with impressive detail, local newspaper, sale flyer, journal sheets, drawings, recipe for a favorite meal, and one red pencil.

The time capsules we made with the boys at a recent meeting is one of those times our activity just doesn't fit into any category for earning a bead, loop or arrow point.  But the boys had fun, so I'm okay with that.

The meeting before we were to work on time capsules I sent a little note home with the boys asking them to bring in 3 to 5 small items that represented what they are interested in right now or reflected a current hobby.  I also suggested they bring in family pictures.  I did stress that whatever they brought, they would need to be able to live without.


To assemble the time capsules, I took some shoe boxes and covered them with kraft paper.  I was going to let the boys do this part, but once I got one covered for an example, I realized they would never be able to cover these boxes well enough to stand the test of time.  I then collected copies of the local newspaper for about the same time period we put together our time capsules.  I wanted them to be able to read the local and national news of today when they open their capsules.  I also collected sale flyers from the grocery store so they can get an idea of what food prices were like.

Rather than encouraging 8 year olds to write a letter to themselves, I made up some journal sheets with question prompts like "If could invent something, I would invent [blank] to do [blank]."  And "I love my pet because [blank]." And "An ideal friend is [blank]."  I scoured homeschooling and parenting sites for ideas of questions.  I also provided blank lined paper and plain blank paper so they could write what they wanted without the prompts and/or draw pictures.

At the meeting, the boys decorated their time capsules however they wanted.  I suggested to them that they write their names and the date to open their time capsules on the front of the box.  Ten years seems to be a good goal.  They will be 18 and just ready to graduate from high school.  I also encouraged the boys not to be too hasty in sealing their box and stashing it in a top closet shelf.  They need time think about the items they want to include and information they want to share in their journal sheets.

The boys with siblings were also sent home with extra journal sheets so that they could create a more family oriented time capsule if they so decided.

We talked about each item the boys were going to add to their time capsules and why.  I passed out the newspapers and sale flyers.  Also at the meeting, while we did not fill in our journal sheets completely, we talked about their answers.  This was also a great way for my boys to get to know each other better.

All in all, this activity had a lot of meaning to the boys, they all seemed very thoughtful about the process and I hope in 10 years when they open the box, they will be able to remember the significance behind each item they contributed.