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What to do with those drawings

So, normally I write about racing or some outdoor activity and I did run a huge race over the weekend but my pictures aren't in so I'll save that for later. 


This week is a helpful hint blog: 

"What do I do with all these pictures my kids make at school?"  I hear that a lot from other moms.  There is only so much fridge space and you feel bad throwing them away.... So here is what a mother of three talented kiddos does. 

Step 1.  I differentiate between a coloring page and an art project.  This is more important in the 0-6 crowd.  Color pages get recycled or a short life on the fridge.  Art projects move to step 2.

Step 2.  Does it have an imprint of a foot or hand? 
                    Yes? Label with the artist's name, age and year. Move to step 4. 
                     No? Is it representative of their current skill and look like it's not going to fall apart?
                             Yes? Label with the artist's name, age and year.  Move to step 3. 
                              No?  Recycle
Step 3.  Place in a plastic tote (or pile) and sort every 6 months or so.  Chose a couple favorites move those to step 4 everything else moves to step 5.

Step 4.  Frame favorite pieces and create a gallery (I use cheap frames but you can use whatever).  Ours in in our stairwell, which works perfect because there is tons of wall space and I don't need to coordinate with any other theme in the house.  I also have some hanging in my office. 

Step 5.  Photograph everything else and upload it into a folder on the cloud with sub-folders for each child and year.  This way you have all those lovelies forever. 

Here's what my hallway looks like and some sample of framed artwork: 







 

What do you with your kid's artwork?  What about all their trophies and ribbons? 

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