What to Keep of Child's Schoolwork/artwork/organizing Tips?

Oh, I love this question, because I have a really hard time throwing away things my kids make.

Here's what NOT to do: feel like you have to have a nicely organized scrapbook. I did that and ended up with stacks of paper waiting for me to put them in an album, and 14 years later I still have a big trash bag of stuff in my closet.

What I finally did was get bins for each of my kids. I call it their memory box. When they make something I want to keep I PUT THEIR NAME ON IT, and DATE IT. Very important. Then I immediately put it in the bin. It is also good for keeping special toys or loveys or awards they win.

In that trash bag that is still sitting in my closet most things don't have names or dates, so now I don't remember which kid did it, or when (and I thought I would). With the memory box method, if you're not sure whether to keep or toss something, just keep it and you can go through it when you're an old granny.

And in terms of what the kids love -- they haven't cared about their past as much as I have but so far I think they like to see certain old toys they used to play with a lot. I kept the first Thomas the Train (Stepney, he was called), that my youngest son ever got, for example. There was no way I could keep them all.

And p.s. by the time they get to high school there is very little they make that is worthy of keeping, unless they are unusually artistic, and a lot of stuff never makes it home, so you don't have to worry about a never-ending stream of keepsakes.

And p.s.s. keeping these things can be very helpful - when my daughter applied for a paid camp counseling job this summer, there was a lot of competition for a few positions, but I went to her memory box and pulled out the award certificates she had received for being most enthusiastic, etc. the previous two years as a counselor-in-training, and she submitted them with her application. She got the job.

The memory box is a great idea, and labeling with name and date are key! I do this for my girls as well. I also have a binder for each girl filled with plastic page protectors, and I slide the ones I want to keep into the plastic sleeves. (I try to keep pieces that represent a new skill or technique-i.e., ABC's, writing name, cutting and pasting, pictures of family, etc.) Another thing I have begun doing, as they are making several "masterpieces" every day and consider each one their most special picture, is to gather them together and take a picture of a whole group. I am a scrapbooker, so now I can put most of their artwork on a page or two. You could even save up the artwork from each month and do a monthly picture, then crop each month into 12 1x1 inch squares and put them all on one page. Another picture idea is to simply put the pictures of the artwork into a photo albulm for each child.

I have 2 artist kids and can relate! Check out www.gathersortstore.com. Their kits include everything you need to gather, sort and store your loose papers and go beyond just kids' stuff: organize recipes, articles and documents of any kind. Try a box for each kids to collect all the treasures, then at the end of the year my boys and I sort and decide what goes into their "book". Its fun to do together. good luck!

You've gotten some good advice already. I'm going to try some of the ideas myself! :)
There is something I can add--I've started using my scanner (as well as the camera) to save some of the work. Then I don't feel the need to save the original (or I can send it to grandparents).
Another thing I do is write down the child's description of what it is right on the paper along with the name and date. (like "It's me fishing and catching a shark") Because in 10 years I'm surely not going to remember what all those shapes and scribbles were...

Hi B.~

I have two bins, one for each child. I put names and dates on all the artwork that comes home and then I put them in a drawer. Once a month I go through the drawer and I pick out the pieces that I'd like to keep. Those go in the bins. The ones leftover I let my daughter divide for the grandparents. This is especially appreciated by the grandparents that live out of town. I send the artwork or school pages to them with an explanation about what they are working on in class. Since they don't get to see with frequency all of the day-to-day things they really love seeing what they've been working on...even if it's practicing a particular letter over and over.

I wrote a book about arts and crafts for preschoolers and often speak to parent groups about the book. I bring with me a ton of completed crafts from the book. I purchased a storage book of sorts...it's probably 2 1/2 x 3 feet. Each side of the book has flaps that you can slide artwork into and it stores flat, so I keep it under a bed. I bought it from Once Upon a Family. You can check their website for a consultant in your area. They also have a ton of other products and ideas for keepsakes. Whenever I speak for a group I usually get somebody interested in that large book for craft storage...it is so wonderful!

Good luck! I can't wait to see all the responses...I'm always on the hunt for good ideas on this topic!

Hi B.,

I'm actually a consultant for Once Upon a Family and the portfolio that Andrea mentioned is a beautiful (and convenient) way to preserve those special pieces of childhood.

Let me know if you are interested and I'll email you my website. :D

~M.