IFAPA Lifebook Pages
IFAPA has created over seventy free lifebook pages for foster and adoptive families and social workers to use.
What is a Lifebook?
A lifebook brings together a child’s past, present, and future. It is a book to document a child’s history, celebrate accomplishments, and allow his or her talents to shine. It is a record of a child’s life in his or her own words using photos, artwork, and things picked up along the way. It allows a child to honor life, one day and one event at a time.
Working together on a lifebook can bring a parent and child closer together. It creates a natural opportunity to talk about the circumstances of the foster care and/or adoptive placement. A lifebook is a useful tool in any stage of foster care or adoption.
- A lifebook is an easy tool to use to get to know a new child in your home. Working with the child to create pages that reflect his or her life will help you get to know the child better and build a relationship in the process.
- A lifebook can help a child prepare to return to their birth family. You can help a child document and celebrate accomplishments while in care, and keep track of the important people in his or her life.
- A lifebook can help prepare a child for adoption. You can work with the child to build a bridge between the birth family and the adoptive family.
- A lifebook can help a child build self-awareness and self-esteem. When a child looks through his or her history, they can better understand what has happened to them, who to turn to for help, and the strengths they have which will allow them to move forward. A lifebook should include important milestones to remind a child how much they have accomplished and how many people they have cheering for them.
- A lifebook allows a child to express themselves creatively and dream about the future.
- A lifebook can be started at any age. If a child comes to your home without one, it is the perfect time to start working on it.
IFAPA created these lifebook pages to allow a child to pick the pages that fit his or her style. Each page can be downloaded and printed separately which allows a child the ability to hand-select a preferred page.
These pages are available to download and print for FREE!
Free IFAPA Lifebook Pages
Whole Lifebook (All Pages):
Full Lifebook in English ALL PAGES IN ONE PDF!!
Individual Lifebook Pages:
If I Could Change One Thing - option 1
If I Could Change One Thing - option 2
Important People - Contact Info
Messages from Important People in My Life
Other People I Lived with in My Birth Family
Someone I Lived with that is Important to Me
Teen Stuff - Important Phone Numbers & Websites
The Day You Came Home from the Hospital