What to Do W/ School Projects????

Hello A.,

Argh - I get it....it gets very overwhelming.

On the flip side of keeping them, I just yesterday dug out a box of MY old art work from Halloween from when I was 4, 5, 6 and up to 10 years old. I was delighted. It is a mess, they are all wrinkled and haven't been stored probaly, but it was great to see what I had done so many years ago.

What I have done with my daughter's art work is pile it all school year in one place and then at the end of that year, I go through it and keep art/school work that I think are special to her and me...she is NOT a part of this process as she can barely throw anything away right now.

The remaining projects get sent to grandma and grandpa and other special people in her life. (Not too many pieces as I don't want to overwhelm them either) and the rest go in the trash.

The projects that I keep then go into a three ring binder (yes I hole punch it all) and away it goes into storage.

Hope this helps.

M.

A. I LOVE reading all the ideas, as my son just started preschool as well! I am having my husband put up a few eye hooks in my sons room at two different levels then I am going to put a wire up with some clothes pins I thought I would have him color and then he can pick what he wants to hang and it will be a fun way to display his artwork! I LOVE the page protector ideas and I think I will do it as well! I only keep a few scribble/cutting pages and place the date on it to show growth over the year! Good Luck!

My daughter is in daycare and already bringing home a bunch of projects and pictures. I bought a rubber-maid container to store her artwork, with the best intentions to go sort them at one point. I do also keep a few of her daily communication sheets and "incident notes" because I figure it will be a lot of fun to show this to her when she is a teenager or adult.

Hi A.,

For my sister and I, my mom kept a folder for each year of school which sat on a shelf in the living area of our house. Schoolwork to save went into the folder. At the end of the school year, the folder moved to storage. That way, she limited herself to only saving the "special" pieces that would fit into the folder (plus a few samples of everyday items). Some bits were squashed a little, but it kept the collection compact as two girls went through the elementary years (and a little beyond) 25 Years later, she still has the folders.

I'll have to pull those out the next time we visit. I haven't thought about them since I've been an adult. :)

I display them on a whiteboard (one for each kid) and as that changes up with new ones coming in every day, I just stuff them in a closet for the short term. Then when we have a big pile (ideally three or four times a year) we have a "Bailey Museum". I tape all her work all over the living room and dining room walls and then we all walk around oohing and aahing. I try to do it when we have a friend or relative over to give it an air of importance. Then I make some rule like each visitor may choose 2 of their favorites and Bailey may choose 10 to keep. We then share with everyone which ones we've chosen to keep and why we like them (more oohing and aahing). She knows from the start that all the rest will be recycled. So far it hasn't been hard for her to part with any (she's 5 1/2) but as she gets older that might be harder. I think it's a worthwhile skill for her to develop both to learn how to part with things and also to determine which ones are worth keeping. It has worked really well for us but it is a bit of a production so I procrastinate sometimes. Now that my two younger ones are starting to produce more, we'll really cover the walls or I'm just going to have to get my act together and do it more often! Good luck!

I kept all my oldest son's projects in a large paper portfolio such as you can buy in the art section of UW Bookstore. Unfortunately, some of them faded or just weren't my favorite. After he went thru kindergarten, it was much easier to be objective and toss some of them - since he had more projects by that time! I also took many photos of them and made a scrapbook with smaller projects.

With my second son, I have taken photos of all of his projects with him, which is good since a lot of his projects are very large and 3D. I have also kept my favorites. I hung some of them inside my armoire in the living room, so the sun doesn't fade them (doors close) - and they are mine to see but won't get wrecked by other kids, etc. I guess I'll probably downsize those too eventually (and I already haven't bothered saving those which haven't been my favorites). I think you could also hang them inside your pantry or garage or laundry room - anywhere you need a smile!

I know that grandparents also appreciate getting a little bit of artwork in the mail.

I have a hope chest for each boy, with memories, keep sacks, and art.

A.,

At the end of my son's preschool, he had about an 8" stack of paper, plus a couple dozen 3 dimensional projects. We kept the 3-D ones out and enjoyed them through the season or holiday, by the time the holiday was over the project was pretty tired looking and everyone was ready to toss it. We did take pictures of many of the projects, but we also got to enjoy it instead of tucking it neatly into a box.

Remember that at this age, they're so proud of what they can accomplish. At the end of a couple of weeks, or when the projects start to pile up, ask your daughter which is her favorite so you can save it for her. Then the two of you can put it into her preschool box to look at when she's all grown up.

Hope this helps.

This idea would not work for long term storage but does help with the piles of art on every flat surface or the fridge being consumed.
I strug a clothesline in the hallway on some nails. I used a nail every couple feet to make it a scalloped pattern to support all the art. It is flesh against the wall between my girls room and the bathroom. It has about 15-20 clothespins on it. My oldest can reach to add or change out the display. I take or add to the display rather than letting the art pile up elsewhere. It looks beautiful and is always changing.

My daughter just started Preschool also. I am saving each week's work in a container and at the end of the year I am going to go through them with her and pick out the favorites to save. It will be fun to see the progression throughout the year.
I also plan to scan them as well, not so much to replace the original, but just for safe keeping.
Good luck!

Remember though: the ones that you think are the "best" your child might not agree with. Let them help to choose the best ones and if you have to take a few extra's thats alight too. :)

We scan everything into the computer. It shows the fine details that a picture doesn't. We then send the actual picture as cards to family and friends.

My mother saved the best ones each year and put them in a folder for me to have as an adult.

I know they are so precious, and it is really hard to throw them away, but by the time they get into first grade, your stack will already be huge!

You could just get a box and put them all in the box to keep or sort through at a later date. Just make sure they are all labeled with dates.

My daughter just started preschool too! What we have been doing so far is putting her projects in gallon sized plastic freezer bags. I have maybe 4 or 5 in one so far. Honestly though, if its just a crayon scribble, I don't keep it for too long, just a while on the fridge. I keep the ones that are more extravagant, and the ones that she was especially excited about.

Tape them to the inside & outside of her bedroom door to "display them" when you run out of room remove some of the older ones to make room for the new. Only keep the best of them or the ones that she is most proud of once you take them down. Be sure to store them in a plastic container with a tight lid to help preserve them.

for the projects that my son makes in preschool (he is almost 4), I put each picture in a plastic page protetor and put them in a binder...of course, some I have to cut down to the right size, and some are just entirely too big, so I have to fold or find another way to store...but for the typical art project, that seemed to work fine last year, and I will do it again this year. I know some people who decorated their garage with pictures...you are going to get A LOT!!!

I'd say, just keep the ones that are particularly good, and then put them in one of those large drop down scrapbooks, or Ross and TJ Max, sell really cute boxes of all sizes, so you could get a box to keep them in. I am sure years down the road she will love going through them!

i started with one of the smaller totes to keep them stored in..but holy moly you will get overwhelmed after so long with keeping them all and then you will realize you dont need to keep them all..if you need to keep them try and do it year by year and then at the end of the school year you and your daughter go through them all and pick out 1 or 2 favorites to put in a scrapbook..you have to remember 12 years of keeping ALL the goodies for just one kid in school just wait till the other one starts and how much clutter it will create..i also wanted to keep all the neat stuff till all the kids were in school and it was completely chaotic and a mess...i have 3 boys in school right now and a 4th on the way...LOL

You'll have to let go soon - no way you can keep everything.

We've started scanning things to post on her "picture website" then we let things go - a few things for each developmental stage.

Paintings we use for warping paper.

Put them on a wall and when the wall is full take a photo of the wall..... Then save the photos.

I think it's going to be mostly a matter of deciding which projects are really special enough to keep the actual item, and which are just "special" now because of the age of your daughter. I would get a designated storage bin or basket and have that be where you keep the projects for now. Maybe take a digital picture of them as she brings them home, then at the end of each school year go through it and have your daughter help you pick out 5 items that you both want to keep.