Why not scan them into the computer and make a digital album? Or punch holes and put them in a 3-ring binder? Maybe not all, but the special ones.

Here’s our artwork process:
* new artwork gets hung in the playroom on our magnetic strips (from IKEA)
* artwork coming down from the wall goes into a big tupperware bin under the couch in the office
* three or four times a year, we pull out the big bin and sort through it — piles are Keep, For Nanny, For Ba (their other grandmother), and Recycle.
* Keep stuff goes into a similar tupperware bin each child has in their own closet, their “art keepsake bin”
* For Nanny and For Ba stuff gets mailed and the rest gets recycled.

I used to try to get the kids help me with the sorting part. I thought it would be better for them to know what was happening to their art; also I thought they might like to pick out the stuff to keep (4 or 5 pieces) and stuff to mail to their grandmothers. However, after trying that a couple of times, it turns out it is far, far too traumatic for them to try to create a recycling pile. They cry and cry and just want to keep everything. So now I do it at nighttime on the sly, and slip it into the box with a bunch of cereal boxes on top.

This works for us because if they do mention something specific or want something back, it’s usually still in the bin, because there’s a few months window of time that stuff sits in there. By the time recycling day comes around, they’ve forgotten about what’s in there.

I love Lynn’s process…I may have to adopt that one Since starting D with homeschool, I take photos of everything – we submit them as learning evidence, but the side benefit is a wonderful digital album. And the special ones are in a binder…as Abbie suggested.
And sending to Grandma, etc…that’s such a wonderful one for all involved too

I must admit I’ve recycled. My 4yr old never asked me about any of his artwork. He does however like to collect things that he finds outside and give them as gifts (leaves, rocks etc…).

Those I have to tell him that I cannot keep for long. He doesn’t complain, just keeps collecting.

Lynn’s art ‘life cycle’ is excellent. An unfortunate part of having multiple children (I have 3 sons – mostly teenagers now) is that part of the domestic task of maintaining a home is stemming the tide of paper and stuff that kids collect, create and bring home. With little kids, it is much easier to cull the pile when they are not around (this goes for toys as well). As my kids got older and we would go through their books and toys, I would talk about kids that did not have anything to play with and how the things that they no longer needed could make someone happier. I think the most important thing is to keep some kind of pace in regards to things leaving your house because if you continually have things enter and never leave the whole ’stuff’ situation can get to a point where you can’t enjoy anything.

having boys that did both not even PICK up an art utensil until they were over 5 this was not the case for me-0 in fact if they made ANYTHING I framed it!!! lol now with school they are always bringing home items that i too reclycle when they are not looking! i start dealing with this though- so I will get back to you!! LOL

I do what Lynn does – I keep it tucked away for a few months until it’s forgotten and then I cull & recycle. I do keep some (probably too many I kind of have the opposite problem where I am more sentimental about the art than my kids are!!

Lynn’s art cycle is great!
Artwork from the wee guy goes into a huge pile which I then stuff into large envelopes, pay lots of postage and ship the recycle guilt off to relatives in the UK. partitioning the guilt is my mummy-coping strategy.

PS: we will be travelling with a suitcase of artwork for my sister this summer!
PPS: wee guy has discovered masking tape and drawing pins so a lot of his artwork is up on the walls at his own doing. result = a low level, irregularly hung, cheerful gallery which he changes at his whim. i’ll try the magnetic strips idea too

This is great and made me laugh out loud. We give many art projects to the grandparents. And we save some. And our son is only TWO. tadababy.com scans art and can make it into posters. I havent used it but a friend did about 6 months ago and loved it.

I started taking pictures of the girls art. I have them lovingly stored on the computer. We can look back on them any time we want.

Yup, we’ve recycled. I like Heather’s suggestion of photographing the kids’ artwork. But here’s another thing we do; I get all artsy and judgmental and set aside her “better” artwork (yuck, I can’t believe I just wrote that . . . but you know what I mean?).

Anyway, I think even Soule Mama parts with her kiddos artwork or uses it as wrapping paper or something or other . . .

When the girl first started school I would hang up all her artwook in the hallway. It got crowded. So I took a picture. Now I take pictures of anything really good. I figure I can make a photo book one day for her with all her art.

The digital age is brilliant for this!
If it is artwork that they are particularly proud of, I take a photo of them holding it! Then I have a picture of the art AND a way to remember just how cute they were when they created it.
Either that, or I scan the drawing…. I make sure they are on my “slideshow” screensaver on the computer so that it pops up fairly regularly with all their other masterpieces. I tell them this is better because it can’t get wrecked, or lost, the colours don’t fade and I see my monitor more often than anything!
And with the digital one safely on board the computer I encourage them to give the original to grandma or another special person that doesn’t see them often.

That whole scene is so familiar! We have a small house, and I keep only the most meaningful art and various projects, but I take photos of most, including the complex Medieval battle grounds that take days to set up and take over the whole living room (why not their bedroom? because my kids bedroom is already a battle ground on most days!)

I’ve been busted…mid recycle even! I’m like Brie and take pictures of it all.

I’m getting some good ideas for ways to approach this problem—our house is getting taken over, and Ryan isn’t even 2 yet! Each week at daycare, his teacher has a theme for the week, and all artwork carries out the theme. She posts it on the bulletin board in vertical columns up from each child’s cubby. Every day when I pick him up, I know the picture on top is what he did that day. I try to be sure to comment that day, because Friday is “clean up day,” and his teacher puts the week’s artwork into a bag to be brought home. Some weeks, if there’s something particularly cool, it goes on the fridge, but many weeks, all the art stays in the bag. Or ends up on the unused end of the dining room table. His teacher dates everything, so I keep thinking that someday I’ll be able to make everything into a scrapbook that’s chronologically ordered. Someday, when I realize that I don’t need to sleep.

I always get busted when I trash “treasures”. I like the scanning idea, but I am realistic enough to know that I will never actually get around to doing it.

I’m totally taking that idea of photographing the treasured art. Then I can dispose of the things made with glued food products at preschool before they rot!

My 3 year old has found his art in the recycling and been horrified! Mama, this isn’t supposed to go in the RECYCLING!!!!!!

Yes, it’s hard, but I still have to do it -there’s no way I could keep every one of his thousands of drawings! I do, however, regularly make him go through stacks and assign them to people we should mail them to.

Kids have such great memory. They would even remember the candy they asked you to hold on while she goes to the bathroom.. I can suggest that you make a scrapbook out of all her artworks.. You can compile it in such a way that you can still keep track of the dates when she gave that piece of art.
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