Preschool Crafts and Art Work and the Need to Contain

Today we’ll discuss how to keep your child’s projects without making your home look like a preschool.  I love my girl’s pictures and projects, especially the ones with glitter and colorful construction paper.  But one turns into two and two into three and on and on…

Kids feel valued and special when we display their work.  Walking into a home you should know a child lives there too.  This isn’t to say that their things need to be all we see.  As in all things, balance is the key.  

These are a few of the things I do to keep our home in balance.  I’d love to hear what you do. 

Use chopsticks and tape to make plant decorations.  Tucking a little craft into a plant makes the craft look intentional.  It keeps it tidy and is really very cute.  Almost like a secret treasure to be discovered.  One plant can house up to three little projects.

Garlands.  Who doesn’t love a garland?  Stinging a cute ribbon across the fireplace with a few paper clips attached does the trick.  Little drawings and crafts attached to the clips … nothing sweeter.   Garlands also are  cute strung across a curtain rod in the bedroom.  Preschoolers like nothing more than seeing their “stuff” in their rooms.

Frames make a child’s drawing look like a million bucks.  Really, those special ones  are priceless. I’ve hung all my “good” art in the bathroom and my girl’s work is framed alongside.  I think they are beautiful.

 You can get simple, easily changeable, inexpensive frames at Michaels.

 All crafts from craftyfunmom.com.

playroom, missing one. Perhaps on the floor.  :)

A bulletin board layered with work is charming. You can pick one up at Target or Walmart for a few bucks.  We keep one in my husband’s office and one in mine.  It makes us smile and lets our girl know she is special to her daddy and me.  We just keep laying them on.  As they pile up, I’m able to take some of the ones in the back down and shhhhh…  I throw some of them away. 

This one is in my office. 

Even with these ideas there does come a time when we need to change out the projects.  Throw them away or put them in a box to give her on her wedding day?  Our children will grow up and hopefully will have their own children one day.  Will they really want a box of their little art projects and papers to keep next to the growing box of their children’s work? Probably not.  But to throw away her first scribble or the family picture drawn on a napkin … how hard this can be.  

I’ve started photographing her work and putting them in books. There are so many online picture books out there.  Try here or here.   Just download your pictures and you have a small reminder of the way she was when she was 3, 4, 5 …

I’d love to hear your ideas. How do you archive your child’s work?  How do you display current masterpieces?