8 tips on what to do with your kids art work

8 tips on what to do with your kids art work

Everyday my daughter and son come home with some kind of artwork that was done at school. Being that she is in first grade now, I have seen less from my daughter, but with my son being in a Pre-k class, I still see new work brought home everyday. It can be frustrating at times and there is always that lingering guilt of throwing it away, so here are some alternatives that can help you preserve these precious memories (you may not feel this way now but trust me you will be glad you saved them).

  1. Having 3 kids with artwork can create tons of clutter around the house. The best thing to do is to get yourself organized and layout all the work for your child. Sort through and find the ones you feel are worth saving (you can even have your child help you decide which ones they would like to save). This can be anything from their very first art project that comes home to the art project on which they wrote their name for the first time, or anything that has meaning or value to you and your child. I know it is hard to pick and choose but think about it this way, you are still capturing their precious childhood moments in those few pieces, and their will be plenty more that will be sent home.
  2. Pick and area in your home to make an “art wall.” Maybe a child’s playroom, their bedroom, or an office. Whichever area you choose (again you can include your child in the decision-making) there are multiple ways you can hang them. You can use a string of yarn and hang the work with clothespins, you can find a magnetic board and hang them with magnets, or you can even hang on the actual wall with tape or push pins. Whatever method you choose it will be worth it to see how proud your child is to see their artwork displayed. You can keep it up for a week or so and then recycle whichever ones you do not want to keep because as I mentioned before there will be plenty of new ones being sent home.
  3. Send it off to a loved one. When my kids make some pretty cool artwork I usually mail it to the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins! It is a sentimental gift to give, and who doesn’t love receiving fun stuff in the mail! My mom had all of my kids artwork hung around her house and the kids loved seeing it when they would visit her.
  4. Turn your artwork into gift tags. Sometimes it seems like there is a birthday party every weekend and sometimes you don’t have time or you forget to pick up a card. Why not make use of the artwork you plan on getting rid of anyway, and it is a great way for the cards to be more personalized. This works for other holidays (Christmas is right around the corner) too, not just birthdays.
  5. Use it as décor in your kids playroom or bedroom. You can find reasonably priced frames at IKEA or on Amazon. You can pick different colored frames, pop their artwork in there, and voila you have a new piece of décor.
  6. I love the app Keepy. In this app you can take pictures of all the artwork and then share it with your family and friends via email, and it can be used if you have multiple kids.   It also has a recording option, which allows your child to say something about their piece of art. This app is great for all kinds of things that your child creates such as homework, tests, journals, projects and book reports!
  7. Another fun option is to turn your kids artwork into business cards! On www.moo.com you can upload your child’s artwork, and for an inexpensive price create business cards! This is fun for your kids to play around with at home or even take to school and pass out to their friends.
  8. The most common thing parents do is to save the artwork in a scrapbook. You can use a three-ring binder and some sheet protectors to collect and preserve your child’s artwork. Remember to put the years on the artwork so when you go back to reminisce about your they childhood memories you know what age they were when they did that art piece! The best part about this option is you can give it to your kids as a gift down the road.

Hope this post helps you create memories with your children’s artwork!  What are some other things you do with your child’s artwork?

 

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