Even if you aren't able to take your nieces and nephews on a big vacation this year, you can still make everyday outings extra special. Creating a summer outing scrapbook can involve all the special kids in your life and can even enrich their experience by helping them remember it later.

It's also a great way to spend a rainy day - when you can't go out, stay in and make some memories together that way, instead!

Maybe you're going to the museum, a baseball game, the swimming pool or a state park. No matter what you choose, you can make a small scrapbook to commemorate the occasion - just follow these steps:

Materials:
Bag or purse for collecting items
Notebook
Sketchpad
Pens, pencils or markers
Camera
Scrapbook and associated supplies

1. Assign the roles: reporter, photographer, scavenger and artist.

Reporter - this person is responsible for describing in writing the location of your outing, how you got there and how everyone felt about the experience. He or she should ask questions of everyone. These notes will later been transcribed into your scrapbook.

Photographer - this person is responsible for documenting the outing in images. He or she can follow a scavenger hunt-style checklist of things to find, or can set goals in advance, like getting a photo of each person in his or her favorite spot along the way. Auntie should be aware of the photography guidelines at the outing location, and teach the photographer how to deal with them, such as turning off the flash.

Scavenger - this person is responsible for collecting all the various papers, including brochures, ticket stubs and postcards that you might receive while on your outing. These items will later be pasted into your scrapbook. If you're going to a faraway place, you can write on the postcards and mail them back to yourselves before you leave.

Artist - this person is responsible for providing illustrations for the scrapbook. He or she can sketch them while on the outing, or do them later from memory. This is the ideal job for a younger child who may not be able to perform the other jobs.

2. On your outing, each person should perform his or her job. Auntie can help where needed.

3. Once you're home, Auntie's job is to compile all of the paper items, have the photos printed and gather the scrapbooking supplies.

4. As a group, design the scrapbook pages and add captions, illustrations and embellishments. If you're handy with a scanner, Auntie, you can scan your pages and make color copies for each of your nieces and nephews so they'll each have a souvenir of your trip.