Archie (4) brings home on average 4 or 5 pieces of "art" a day from school. Great big folded pages, or things with bits stuck on etc. I hate throwing it away, but can't store it all! Was considering perhaps scanning things in, or maybe laminating the best or storing things in a folder and dating them to see how he's progressed, but suspect I wouldn't stick to it.
Wrapping paper is a fantastic idea - grandparents lap it up! I've also used it as covering for exercise books etc. But it's hard to beat the wrapping paper!
i had the same problem with my son as he went to daycare then kindy and now school so a lot of art work. what i have done is made a folder for certificates/ report cards/ awards and i have a tub for art work now what i do with the tub is put everything in it for 1 year then at the end of that year my son and i go through it together and choose 5 favourite pieces which then get filed in a second folder with the dates on to see his progess we've done this since he was about 2 and half. we store the tub and folders under his bed for him to pull out and look at ,at anytime.
I used to have twice the amount having twins.We nominated a large art wall in the kitchen where art work used to go.Every two weeks or so we would recycle the wall-really good stuff would go in a big box for storage,which we still have nearly 6 years later,or put it in the bin! I know that sounds awful but you can't keep everything.Involve him in the process and obviously if he really can't be parted from his art, you will have to use your initiative! Half the time they can't remember things they made yesterday never mind two weeks ago.Good luck.
I was thinking of the same thing the other day. My son is only 3 and brings home a LOT of stuff! I found this website http://bindingtreasures.com/ .
I also found something awesome a while back, but silly me I didn't bookmark it. It's web based company where you send them all your kids art work (they send you a package/envelope to put the art works in) and they scan it and make it into a true to color book! Wouldn't that be an awesome coffee table book. :-) Darn it, I can't remember the website. I do remember that I found it in one of tracey's blog.
I have 2 big 48L buckets (2 kids) and all their work goes in there and at the end of the year we go through it together and I ask them what they want to keep and throw away. At my school we have A3 folio's that all their work goes in from school.
My MIL use a scrapbook for each year. she did the same thing but she chose what she liked not the kid.
There are several articles with ideas on this - see Tracey and this anon article.
Me, I put up my favourite preschool pictures on the kitchen cupboard doors, but until she started school there was always too much. So in the end I just had to get ruthless, when she wasnt looking. So hard, but my DD1 was just as productive as your DS, and you really cant keep it all! My other great outlet, is grandparents! Wrapping paper, or cutting out the best bits to mount & make cards also works ok, if Archie will let you attack his masterpieces!
I was a pre school teacher before having Katelyn 12 weeks ago a few ideas could be, we use to stick most of the childrens art work in a scrap book and give it to the parents at the end of the year, you could also use the big butcher paper paintings for wrapping paper, one parent use to take a photo of the art work then throw it out, if you want to be out there there is web sites ( not sure what the site is ) that you can scan the art work and send it off the be put in a book, but very costly. if you do throw any out please dont let Archie see.
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