Ask Kiddio: What to Do With All of this Artwork?

Dear Kiddio, 

I like all of the creative things you do on your blog, but what do you do with all this stuff once you're done?  My kids come home with so much artwork from school and make more at home.  I feel really bad throwing it away, but honestly, how can I store all of this stuff...should I even try?  We've got boxes of it already, is there a better way to manage all of this?  I would love to hear what ideas you have for this one! 

Thanks, Ellen (a.k.a. Drowning in a Sea of Drawings).

Dear Ellen, 

This is a great question, and one that we can all relate to.  Kids grow up so fast that it's hard to bring yourself to just throwing away artwork that seems so irreplaceable and holds such meaning to your child.  Storage presents its own issues since kids make so much of it and it comes in such awkward shapes and sizes. 

Before we talk about strategies for keeping it organized though, let's really think about what we're keeping and why.  I started out archiving everything that Josie made.  I have a large art folio filled with scribbles, early pictures of 'dogs' and 'kites' (also resemble scribbles), shaving cream 'paintings'...even early preschool worksheets.  It's neatly stored, mostly dated and labeled...but seriously, what am I ever going to do with it?  I guess my plan was to pass it along to Josie when she's older, but at that point what will she do with it?  It might be fun to look through a few times, but I expect that she'll feel as guilty throwing it away as I did and it'll be another bit of clutter for her to move around.   I've since decided to keep only a selection of the most important works--those that represent a strong interest, she put a lot of effort into, or are just really worth looking back on in the future.

Store it:  

• First, use a pencil to label and date the piece on the back.  Make notes about the content of the art, since it may not be immediately apparent that that blue scrawl is a slide twenty years down the road.
• Purchase a large art folio (or make your own by taping two pieces of matboard together on three sides) to store the artwork flat.  The archival, acid-free envelope or matboard will keep the artwork from yellowing, and the handles on a folio allow you to hang it up in the back of a closet.
• Store a year's artwork in a shirt box.  They're usually just the right size for 8 1/2" x 11" paper (or larger pieces folded in half), and are easy to find so you can get a new one each year.  Pizza boxes work too, but are a bit harder to store.
• Scan or photograph the originals and have them printed in book form each year.
• Paste favorites in a coffee-table-book-sized scrapbook and keep it out where it can be looked through.
  

So what to do with the rest?  There are a few options here: trash it, send it away, display it, or make it into something else. 

Trash it:  

• I've talked with both of the older kids about this (following a particularly unpleasant episode where Josie found a cache of artwork in the recycle bin) and we decide which of their masterpieces are really worth keeping.  At this point we keep a few items a month for each kid, as well as the occasional special-for-mommy creation that I keep in my memory box.  Many peices go in the recycle bin.
  
• If getting rid of it right away is tough for you, you might consider keeping it all for a given period of time before you go through and pitch the least-important pieces.  

Send it away 

• We keep a couple of shallow boxes around to send to far-away relatives.  Things that are worthwhile but don't make the cut to keep forever and ever often go into these boxes and are mailed off periodically (with some cookies to thank them for taking it off our hands).  The family loves getting these boxes and it's fun to talk with the kids on the phone about what they sent.  
• For kids who are into sending mail to their friends, we'll put something nice in an envelope and put it in their backpack at school or drop it in the mail.   
• Fold art in half, write inside, and send off as an easy, meaningful thank-you card. 

Remake it:  

• We often take earlier pieces of artwork and cut them up for collages, glue them to a popsicle stick for an instant puppet, make paper airplanes from them, etc.  
• Smaller pictures can be glued onto a large piece of paper and laminated with clear contact paper for a personal placemat, or cut into strips, woven together, and laminated for a coaster.  
• Kids' artwork is also very effective in the 'photo-of-the-month' calendars you can pick up around Christmastime ($1 at Michael's!) to make good family gifts. 
  

Display it:

• Create a unique room divider or full-length wall-hanging by sandwiching favorites between two sheets of clear contact paper. 
• Hang a 'clothesline' in your child's room or play space and stock it with clothespins for them to clip favorite works on.
• Collect a number of large, interesting picture frames, remove the glass (optionally you can replace it with a piece of matboard), and paint them a single color, then hang on the wall.  Display art inside the empty frame.
• Photograph favorites and have them made into a large poster or place in a scrapbook.  This is a great way to manage especially large, three-dimensional, or otherwise unwieldy stuff!
 

What have you done to manage the artwork your child(ren) shower you with, and what ideas do you have for Ellen? 

This is the second in an ongoing series...Got a parenting/craft/kid/etc-related question for Ask Kiddio? Email it to ask (at) kiddio (dot) org and look for an answer in an upcoming post!

Oodles of Quick and Easy Ways to Have Fun with Your Mixed-Age Kids

Wow, thanks for the thoughtful questions! It sounds like there are lots of families out there enjoying creative time together and would like to do more, and many more who would like to be but just don't know where to start. So here's question #1 for Ask Kiddio, and keep those questions coming!

***

Dear Kiddio,

I'm home full time with my two children, a barely 1 year old son and 4 1/2 year old daughter. When the baby was small it was easier to spend time doing creative activities with my daughter but as my son is into everything more and more but isn't old enough to join in it's been really difficult to sit with her and do all these little projects that we used to do together. I feel like I'm spending all my time keeping my son out of her toys and making her clean up her wiggly eyes so he doesn't end up with one in his mouth, and I am always frustrated with both of them. What can I do to keep both of them happy and get that quality time that we're missing without stressing myself out!?

Thank you!! Chrissy

***

Dear Chrissy,

Thanks for the great question! I completely sympathize with you. A baby this age is so tough to manage and play with at his level while trying to engage your older child in activities that fit her developmental level and interests. Even as they get older, it an be hard when their interests are different. In so many ways it's just a joy to have more than one child, but all too often I find myself wishing for the connection and undivided time that I had with my daughter before her rowdy little brother (and needy, angelic baby sister) crashed our party. Certainly as they get older it becomes easier (the baby doesn't put every little thing in his or her mouth, the kids just naturally play together and give you a little break), but this time is bound to be tremendously difficult as you are one person trying to care for two kids with utterly opposite capabilities. Besides the ideas below, I think it's critical that you give yourself a break. It's hard enough to manage all the responsibilities of caring for a couple of kids, keeping house, and maintaining your marriage (let alone doing anything for yourself), you have to lighten up on yourself a bit and honestly pick what's important to you. If you just can't keep up with this now, know that your kids will grow up, there will be more opportunities to build your relationship and do the creative things you want to do, and that honestly, it's not going to ruin them if you let a few things slide to take care of what really matters at this moment.

One of the reasons that I love creative play is that kids of different ages and interests can have fun in completely different ways with the same materials. Here are a few creative activities that have helped us get through this tricky period:

• Fruity Cheerios. They're colorful, tasty, and have a hole in the middle, making them a super-versatile material. The baby can sit and munch on them while your older child sorts them by color into piles (you can use an egg carton or bowls if your baby isn't too grabby), strings them onto elastic cord to make edible bracelets or necklaces, or glues them onto paper to make pictures. This one has been a perpetual favorite for us.
• Puffed Rice 'sandbox.' Empty a bag of puffed rice (look in the cereal section where the bags of cheap cereal are; crisp rice works almost as well) into a tray or storage box. Add funnels, bowls, and measuring cups for more edible play. With close supervision (and without the cereal!) you can enjoy kitchen floor water play as well, but there's a fair bit more cleanup!
• Pudding Paint. Mix up a batch of vanilla pudding (yum!), add a few drops of food-coloring, then let your kids paint paper or the table with it. Your older one may use it as paint, your little one may end up just licking it off his fingers, but they'll both have a great time.
  
• Cardboard Box Playhouse/Rocket/Train/School. Procure a large cardboard box and cut a door and windows into the sides if you like (keep an eye on that sharp knife!) and invite your older child to decorate the outside with markers. Furnish the interior with a blanket and some stuffed animals, books, etc, and you may be surprised at how they can actually play together (for five minutes, anyway!)
• Window Washing. Fill a spray bottle with plain water and give it to the older child, then provide them both with towels. The older child sprays the window, the kitchen floor, the refrigerator, and they both wipe it down.
• Outdoor Water Painting. Two brushes and a bucket of water, I'm sure you can intuit the rest. Show them how to make hand- and foot-prints on the driveway, let them paint the fence, the side of the house, etc. As it dries it'll disappear.
  
• Nature Walk. Load the little one in a stroller, backpack, or other carrier and head out for a hike or, perhaps less optimistically, a walk around a local park. The little one can peek over your shoulder at the treasures your big kid discovers. Even at a small park there are roly-polies and snails to find and new flowers to talk about.
• Nature Hunt. With a little forethought, your nature walk can turn into a nature hunt! Write up a list of things to find (the smallest bug ever, a yellow flower, two different kinds of pinecones...) and add simple illustrations to guide pre- and early-readers.

While it's helpful to get them playing together, sometimes kids just need their space to do their own thing. Here are a few things that have worked for us:

• Set up the playpen. Sure, you could put your baby in it and expect him to entertain himself, but how about using it to contain your big kid and her potentially dangerous materials? Set her up with the pom-poms, googly eyes, and scissors, and let her glitter to her heart's content with the knowledge that your little one won't get his hands on her goodies.
• Use naptime to its best advantage. I know, I'm guilty of using this sacred time to please, please, please get some housework done/check my email/eat chocolate, but a couple of times a week plan a special activity for just you and your big kid while your little one is sleeping (and stick to it!). I know that this seems super-obvious, but I really have to plan for it or I squander my time in front of my computer :)
• Work at the kitchen table. Set your younger one up with some finger-food and your older one up with an activity that the two of you can share. Your attentions might be a bit divided, but you'll still be attending to both of them.
  

What ideas do you have for Chrissy? How do you keep your little ones having fun together? Please share an idea or two in the comments!


Have a question for Ask Kiddio? Just leave a comment on this post or send me an email to amanda [at] kiddio [dot] org !

Ask Kiddio!

Hey there readers! You all have been leaving me the nicest comments and dropping the most thoughtful emails in my inbox. It got me to thinking. As just about anyone who's met me will attest to I love to give advice. I find it absolutely irresistible. Not only that, my passion is research (in a previous life--the pre-kid one--I was a Developmental Psychologist...all about the research) and I know just enough about everything to say something about just about anything. So welcome to my new feature: Ask Kiddio! Got a question? I can help you out. Trouble finding crafty inspiration? Stocking your craft cabinet? Finding your inner fun mom or fostering your kid's creative side? I am here to help. I'd love to hear your questions and give you my best insight.
So hop to it! Either leave me a comment on this post or drop me an email at amanda (at) kiddio (dot) org with your questions. Look for the answers in the coming week!
Thanks for playing!