Are you knee-high in your kids' artworks? Does your child constantly bring home masterpieces from school, daycare or preschool? Do you love their art, want to foster creativity but not know what to do with all their creations? It's all a bit overwhelming, isn't it?
I’ve put together some tips to help you, including what I do with my own children's artworks plus a few extra ideas I've come across in my journey as the owner and art teacher for the Art With Ros school holiday art program.
Tip no.1
Continue to encourage your child artistically. Art and creativity is absolutely invaluable to the development and wellbeing of a child. If you're after either an online art program or a school holiday art program, search for Art With Ros on Google.
Tip no.2
Choose the best artworks and deal with the rest. Start by sorting into ‘absolute keepers’ and ‘other.’ Absolute keepers might be ones that spark joy or remind you of a great day you had together or a milestone of some sort.
Tip no.3
For the ‘absolute keepers’, consider how you will store them. A clear sleeve display folder kept in darkness is ideal for preservation. Your little one may be the next O’Keeffe or Picasso and how amazing would it be if you kept their first artwork in prime condition!
Tip no.4
Leave it a week or so and look again at the ‘other’ pile. Sort it into 3 sections: ‘keepers’ and ‘repurpose’ and ‘discard’. Secretly and quickly throw away the items in the ‘discard’ pile. Digitally scan the ‘keepers’ then add them physically to the ‘repurpose’ pile. Keep the scanned files on a device or in the cloud or print them out as little albums.
Tip no.5
Talk to your child about the ‘repurpose’ collection. Discuss that people would love their artworks as framed gifts, wrapping paper or greeting cards. Then go ahead and do just that!
Ros
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